I enjoy journaling. I've kept a journal for a few years now as a way to reflect on problems I'm having, plan for the future, and get out frustrations. I've also used journaling as a TA to de-stress my freshman comp students around finals and prepare them for their sophomore year. The difference is that blogs, for the most part, are public. Other people read them. But they serve the same purposes: reflection, transparency, and a way to keep track of your life. So I think the best blogs are candid and personal, but public.
I would create writing assignments that blend creativity and creation of a personal voice. Maybe having students find a quote that is meaningful to them and writing about why. That way they're using search tools but also writing in a personal voice. Or maybe creating a prompt that has them reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses. This causes them to reflect, while also discovering (hopefully) that some of their strengths are important life skills (I strongly believe that kids are not told about different kinds of intelligences in school, but that's a discussion for another time)
Assigning blog posts would improve computer literacy while still working on writing skills. This is becoming increasingly important because, as we learned from our readings, technology is only going to develop, and students who are computer literate are going to have an advantage.
As a teacher, I can see myself using blogs to track my own progress- reflect on best practices/failed assignments, create a professional portfolio, store documents for later use, or to follow other teaching blogs for ideas. I think it would be useful as a student resource- post lectures, homework assignments, links to useful websites. Maybe one day I'll become comfortable enough with them to be able to have students create their own blogs, but that day is far off. But it's not hopeless.
After reading these articles, it's becoming more and more apparent that it's evolve or die! Maybe not that dramatic, but it is extremely important that teachers become comfortable integrating technology into their classrooms, not only for the neat tricks you can do on a computer, but because technological equity, what Roblyer and Doering call "the digital divide"(p.20), is increasingly becoming an issue. Using email, word documents, and the internet are now basic skills for success, and it's important that students are familiar with these things. However, technology can make your life a lot easier as a teacher: smartboards, electronic portfolios, even open-source tech can improve your life. And in advanced classes, it would be fun to use student-led media, like podcasts or video editing, on large projects.
Right now, I'm not very comfortable using technology as a teacher. But now that I understand its importance and its potential, I'm much more determined to find ways technology can work for me and my students. And, per Shareski's advice, I am following a few teacher's blogs, and hopefully I'll pick up a thing or two.
After reading these articles, it's becoming more and more apparent that it's evolve or die! Maybe not that dramatic, but it is extremely important that teachers become comfortable integrating technology into their classrooms, not only for the neat tricks you can do on a computer, but because technological equity, what Roblyer and Doering call "the digital divide"(p.20), is increasingly becoming an issue. Using email, word documents, and the internet are now basic skills for success, and it's important that students are familiar with these things. However, technology can make your life a lot easier as a teacher: smartboards, electronic portfolios, even open-source tech can improve your life. And in advanced classes, it would be fun to use student-led media, like podcasts or video editing, on large projects.
Right now, I'm not very comfortable using technology as a teacher. But now that I understand its importance and its potential, I'm much more determined to find ways technology can work for me and my students. And, per Shareski's advice, I am following a few teacher's blogs, and hopefully I'll pick up a thing or two.
cited: Roblyer, M. D., and Aaron Herbert Doering. Integrating educational technology into teaching. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon Publishers, 2013. Print.
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