I have to admit, I have in the past been leery of blogging in my fifth grade classroom. I just assumed that students weren't ready or that it would just be more work for me. I have to say though, I was very inspired by Kathy Martin's clip on blogging in the classroom. I thought she made some great points about how much more "aware" students were with their writing when they knew other people (besides the teacher) would see it. I liked the idea of giving them a rubric to help them self-assess their writing before posting. In fact, my colleagues and I are in the process of creating a universal rubric for all fifth and sixth grade students to use with their writing. We feel that by having the exact same expectations for writing, no matter which class or subject, that we will be creating stronger writers.
When I think about how to use blogging in my fifth grade class, I really like the idea that was given in the video. I like the prompts and then the expectation that students respond to at least two peers. I'd like to try to post a prompt on a weekly basis. The topics covered in those prompts could range from content areas to hypothetical questions regarding character traits. (Kind of like that TV show, "What Would You Do?"). Blogging would be great as a formative assessment in content areas. Not only could initial posts be used, but their responses to peers could also be great data to indicate understanding.
I actually have a fifth grade blog already started, but we only use it in the summer as a way for students to share books they are reading. Nothing more than a quick description of the book and peer responses of "I read that!" or "I loved that book!". They never really dug deeper. I tried to invoke more discussion, but it was summer and it was hard to engage them. I am excited about the prospect of bringing it into the classroom to use on a regular basis!
I posted earlier, but apparently it was not published. :( If it is simply in moderation, I hope that you will only approve my initial response.
ReplyDeleteI teach third grade and I have the same hesitations as you of using a blog in the classroom. I think moderating it would definitely be a challenge, as you would need to be meticulous to be sure nothing inappropriate was posted. I love our fellow classmate, Stephanie's blog. She does an amazing job posting thinking probes and prompts for her students to respond. I enjoyed reading them and hope to use her blog as inspiration for my own. (http://msbattaglia.weebly.com/class-blog) I also wonder about the challenges of having enough technology for everyone to participate, and if you could require at-home participation. Many of my students do not have internet at home, nor devices to use.
I look forward to hearing back from you!
Jessica Burnette
3rd Grade - Math / Science
Woodruff, SC
Jessica,
DeleteThank you for your comment! I just started my classroom blog late last week. I have told my students to that they are more than welcome to post and or comment from home. I have it set up to where all posts and comments must be moderated by myself, which does take time. I'm going to try not to use the time I take to approve posts as time to also assess. I think I will just skim for appropriate content and then approve just to get them out there, then I'll go back to assess and comment on my own. Do you have any other suggestions or ideas that might make things run more smoothly?
Amber
Hi Amber!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your post and insight you gave. I can understand how you are hesitant to use blogs with fifth graders, as I would be too. Once getting use to how to create to use it as a tool for success, it is amazing! Using the blogs and formative assessments also offers a great way to keep data organized, and more easily, readily facilitated.
Have you ever had an issue with how your students respond to these assignments regarding plagiarism or copying and sharing answers with one another? Or do you more so use the it as a tool of communication with students. I'm sure there are settings I am not familiar with regarding blocking what other students can see regarding other assignments. I am just curious as to what/if any other challenges you have faced. Thanks for your post and insight!!
Rebecca DiCicco
Kindergarten
Exton, PA
Rebecca,
DeleteI am new to blogging, so any advice that I might give is purely thought and theory... no personal evidence to back it up, yet. ;-) I can't honestly answer how I would handle any of the issues you raised. Other than the fact that I have it set to where all posts and comments must be moderated by myself and do not go on the blog board until I approve them. If it were a highly graded assignment, I could not approve the posts until all students had submitted them, therefore they would not have the opportunity to read what their classmates had written. If you have any other thoughts or suggestions, please share! :-)
Amber
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight!! I have definitely had similar hesitations when I started blogging with my students. At my school, one type of school-wide formative assessment we are doing is having students respond to a similar blog by grade level based on content and reading level 2-3 times per year. This not only prepares students for upcoming standardized testing on the computers, but also provides us information on what we need to do to provide our students more support. Students must read an article, book, etc. and then usually watch a video on the same topic. They are asked to make a claim based on the two sources and use evidence from both to prove their thinking. My blogs started off as a way to practice this skill. I have found that having my kids practice this is really beneficial because they can see how one another not only respond to the same question, but also comment on one another's thoughts. I usually choose a "webmaster" after we blog that I feel did a great job showing their thinking and using correct evidence. I also have been focusing a lot on students who are providing comments to their classmates to probe thinking or encourage one another. I think it would be really challenging to manage having to approve each comment because usually there are about 50 in one blog post, so that may be something you may eventually want to think about changing as your kiddos get more comfortable with it. Just my opinion, though! :)
One thing that is really challenging for me is keeping track of who comments. When we blog in the computer lab, sometimes there are issues with the weebly site logging them off as they type, so they lose information. Also, we don't always blog at the same time, so there are times when students have to finish their comments at home, and this is hard to keep track of. I like the idea of using rss feed, but I'm still learning about this!! Keep me posted on how this goes for your students! I would love to hear other ways people are having their students utilize blogs!
Stephanie Battaglia
Amber,
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the main things that you speak of that could be of great value, if you were able to work this out with future staff of students, would be to put together a summer learning experience for students through the use of blogs. Student participation might be a little low however if the expectation from future teachers is that they have to participate throughout the summer there might be less resistance. Engaging students throughout the summer and creating a shared learning experience for them would do great things for both your school district and student's progression as well. Perhaps that is something that you could look into.
Good Luck!
Cody