'You are a 'blind optimist' who believes that by using blogs in your
lessons you might afford new learning opportunities for students and
perhaps encourage your colleagues to become interested in using Web
2.0 tools. You would like to present 'A Vision for Incorporating
Blogging into Lessons' at the first staff meeting of the year. Explain
your plan for incorporating blogging. (What do you have in mind and
how you will accomplish it?).
I believe that before we can incorporate blogging with our students we, the teachers, must be familiar with them ourselves.
So the first step in the plan would be that each teacher has to set up a blog to experiment with it. The main purpose of the blog must be sharing professional experiences among the teachers, but each teaher can choose a more specific area to blog about.
After the teachers' blogs are up and running smoothly, i.e they have learnt the basics of blogging and understand or realize the power of this tool for students, we can move on to the second step.
The second step is to introduce blogging for students.
In order to do this I would plan for instances in which students can start interacting with blogs, without having to have their own blog first. I mean, responding and adding comments in other blogs. An example is this: http://isfareviews.blogspot.com/. Here students must write book and film reviews and post them to the school's blog.
A third step would be for students to have their own blogs. But I haven't thought of specific content or guidelines for these.
This is my first take on the subject... will probably adjust my ideas along the way.
Hello Vicky !
ReplyDeleteI've also just done the same sort of job - started blogging with my students. http://wonderfulplaces09.blogspot.com/
It can be useful and fun if we make something together: a blog, a project. then the students will have to really use English: communicate, read, write. What age are your students ? Mine are 14-15, pre-intermediate level.
Looking for ward for your response!
Margaret - TX, USA
ReplyDeleteVicky, thanks for stepping up and posting the first response to the week 2 scenario. I appreciate your organized approach. Working step-by-step, from teacher blog to student orientation to blogs to student blogs is a solid, logical approach.
By Saturday I hope to have a coherent response in my blog. My approach will be different in that it will be adapted to my own teaching situation, but I think your ideas are a wonderful, professional scenario to give other teachers inspiration!
Thanks for being first!!!
I agree that before teachers can expect students to blog, they must become comfortable with the concept and procedures themselves. There are always little problems we encounter along the way, and I like to be able to help my students solve these. Getting students into blogging can then be accomplished more easily.
ReplyDelete