Saturday, April 3, 2010
Thing 3
This is very exciting for the classroom and my head is beginning to fill with lots of ideas. We could use it for the Book Clubs next month. There will be six different clubs going on, so six different blogs would be required. The questions for each book could be posted every week and the rubric could be a fixed piece of text. The kids might like doing the written work on a blog rather than in the traditional manner. Another idea could be to use it for Social Studies. Right now, the fifth grade is discovering the events that led up to the Revolutionary War. Timeline software is available and this meshes well with the Montessori way. Also, causes and effects of main events during the War could be examined successfully and additional links could be provided for the students. Blogs may become as common to the classroom as paper and pencil in the future.
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I am also just wondering if you have a filter set-up for this blog so that you moderate your comments before they post?
ReplyDeleteRhonda, I posted this a minute ago and it disappeared so let me try again. I love the idea of using the classroom blog with the reading groups during book clubs. Something that I think will change the way the students look at responding, especially to essay questions. They may be more explanatory on a computer rather than with pencil or paper. I think it would be great to give this a try and see what happens!
ReplyDeleteFiltering a blogs comments is an important decision. The big picture might be concern over inappropriate comments. The blog owner can delete any such comments at any time. When someone posts a comment, they generally want to see it--instant gratification. Otherwise there can be feeling of disappointment. This can be offset on a filtered approach if the blog owner is checking daily and does a turnaround time that's short. If people can view their posts instantly, a discussion can flow with a healthy conversation. That is difficult to do if every post needs approval.
ReplyDeleteFor example, what I've chosen to do is allow posts only by people with registered gmail accounts. I don't allow anonymous posting. There is a further step in security you could choose: Only registered posters invited by you (i.e. students) may comment.
Lots of options for a very important decision.
Thank you for helping me understand the pros and cons of comment moderation.
ReplyDeleteSince I am going to use this form of communication for the Book clubs, I am still considering how to proceed with the students in that regard. Of course, I will have it blocked to Anonymous postings and each student will have to register- a parent consent may have to go home for this. I am thinking about using one blog for each book and one book per group of students. There will be six books and six different groups. I intend to post the questions and will have a rubric posted on the Site. I will have to moderate the comments in this case, since students, even after a lesson on etiquette, will test to see what they can get away with. If I want to have them correct their grammar or spelling will that be possible when I get it for moderation? I could set it up to require a peer review before kids push the Post button. Do you have any further suggestions? We begin the book clubs May 5th.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, sorry about the repetition of comments. I posted once and got a browser error. Thinking that it didn't go through, I tried again. :)
What a great idea to use the blog for the book club. Once a comment is published it can only be deleted. Only Blog Posts can be edited.
With that said, there's a preview option for posts which students could use. Or, have them compose using a word processor, which they can use the spell and grammar checks. After review, the students can copy and paste the text into the comment section.
You could do a Blog for each book, that could work well for building students' interdependence and autonomy. The Wiki might be another option to consider (Thing 21 & 22). Jump to it, and check it out. You can have a section for each book with students posting with in their section. Consider PBWorks.com if you do. You could link your classroom blog to the wiki. The wiki might house the class projects.
With a Blog, write a Post for each book, and then insert a Widget to your blog that allows you to post links. The links would go to the Blog entry you created for each book. That's how 23 Things is set up.
Thank you for your advice. It sounds like jumping ahead for a quick look at Thing 21 and 22 would be just what I need for the Book Club project. I hope to get a chance this weekend to do just that:)
ReplyDelete