I have set up my Diigo account and joined the IT 5650 group, I think it will be similar to the del.ici.ous account.
This week's reading was titled, "Reflections from the Introduction of Blogs and RSS Feeds into a Preservice Instructional Technology Course." I found this article very interesting since of course we have had to keep a blog for some of the previous courses as well as the two this semester and I have enjoyed the blogging activity in the past. In fact, I enjoyed so much that I decided to start my own personal blog.
I loved the suggestion that was stated about using blogging as a way for teachers to promote literacy as a parent I worry that will all the technological advances that sometimes we will lose so the human interactions. For example, a friend's 14-year old came over and we were talking about school and I asked her what books she reads to which she replied oh, we don't read a lot of texts in school, most is all online and I really don't like books. So I think the blogging practice in a school is a great idea as I think it could promote some of the outcomes the article mentioned as well as give parents the ability to feel connected (if it was for middle/high schoolers).
I thought it was important that the article stated how even though they thought their students was on the same page, it is important to still try to explain "how to" - I found that with some of our users in my previous job, that they may be tech savy, but if we were using something new, we needed to do some "how to" explaining.
In reading the article, I also found that I really had no idea what an RSS feed was, so it was helpful to read about that as well.
This week we are also to be reading 4 other blogs, plus Laura's. I read Marilyn's blog and really like her point about the Chapter 6 that provided a solid background on Design and Development strategies and wishing it was available last semester, I completely agree. I found that chapter very useful, which I felt all the Chapters were relevant, so I printed it to have on hand. Phil made a great point in his blog regarding that reading the other blogs is time consuming, but I have found it interesting to read what others are thinking, it seems I have been able to find something different that I may have missed the first time around, so even though it is time consuming, it is valuable.
I also read Chad's blog and found his post about the RSS feed update video useful, so thanks Chad for posting that, it was a helpful reminder and easy to understand. I also agreed with Jodi's blog when she mentioned something from the article, point 3 - Minimize the number of websites students need to visit to gather information. Keeping these simple will keep the task manageable for students. (p. 58) I am not a teacher, but as a student, I think this is important.
I definitely think my post is probably longer than it maybe should and it is getting late, so I'm going to finish for now.
Pinwheels for Peace
12 years ago
4 comments:
Wow, the comment from you 14 year old friend is sad, kids need to develop a love for reading. The more successful is kid is with reading the better they perform academically. Our school tries to focus on reading each day time is set aside where everyone in the school including the janitor are engaged in sustained silent reading. We have found a lot of success with this reading program.
Hi Dena. That's great that you enjoy blogging so much you started your own personal blog. I'm enjoying the second blog I set up, (Messaging class). I'm using it more as a scrapbook. It's kinda fun.
Speaking of kids, my son (9) hates writing, but likes the computer. We had him start his own blog last year. He puts some of his book reports on there and gets thrilled when someone (family) leaves a comment. So far none of his teachers have really taken an interest in it. The opposite of your friend's daughter. Most of the teachers are using computers in the form of Power Point, White Boards and Word in the school. But, we are still going ahead with the blog as it provides a way to get him to write more.
Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts.
Wow, I can't imagine students learning without books! I hope the internet does not entirely take over books, it just seems unimaginable. I do think blogging could be useful for students though to keep up some literacy, and like you mentioned, to keep parents involved.
Blogs can be as short or as long as you want them to be. :-)
I encourage people to write blogs about various things, but I always state that the blog is for the individual, not any one else, it is only a benefit when someone decides to read it and make a connection.
As far as books and reading go. Your friends' daughter might not like books, but she does like reading. I love books, but I'm not to scared if people rely more on the internet. What scares me most are the students that won't read anything period.
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