Using
blogging in the classroom!
I introduced “Kidblog”
in my classroom last year and was amazed at how often students were posting
their “assignments” at midnight or 1 in the morning. J I had
already logged a few hours of sleep by then! The examples and anecdotes here
refer to my languages classroom with “French as a Second Language”
students. Blogging is certainly doable
in many subject areas.
Home page: http://www.kidblog.org
What do I like the
best about kidblog? Not only can I
access my students’ homework from any computer at any time, it is a forum that
allows students who are shy to join in without having to do so in person.
When you begin with
kidblog you first set up an account where you are the “administrator”. “kidblog” is free of charge and this is what
I use for my classes. For each class
that you decide to set up you need to go through and set up your “settings” and
also choose a “theme”. The “theme” is a
background design as would be the case on a personal blog if you use one. I have chosen a different theme for each
class so that at a glance the students know whether they are on the correct
blog page or not.
Create a new class – Use this button to input the names of your
students. I use just first names and if
there are two “Sarahs” for example I use the first letter of their last names
to distinguish between the two. After
your names are inputted the class list appears on the main blog page for the
class. If you missed 2 “Davids” you can
go back in and “edit” the name via the control panel. Click on “users” and your class list will be
shown. You can edit the student name or remove a name all together.
Control panel – the control panel is the location from which
you can make all the changes you need to make as “administrator” of the blogs
you have set up. – You can add students
here, change passwords, delete users and so on.
My classes – This is where all of your classes will “show
up” on the screen so that you can choose which one you want to work with.
My blog – This blog will document all of the “new
posts” that you have made to your students.
It’s a great way to keep track of how often you have posted and what the
subjects were that you talked about.
From the students’ point of view, their individual blogs will show up
for them to look at.
New posts – Always choose new post when wanting to post
something to your students. In turn, I
always ask my students to choose new post also when adding to the forum
subject. By doing so, the students can
look at their progress throughout the school year and see what improvements
they have made in their work especially if it is a skill based subject such as
language arts and second/third language learning. From the teacher’s standpoint also, you can see
if a student has made the required entries or if they have missed any or have
done no entries at all. (At a glance) eg. Five entries? Student is engaged in learning. One entry?
Assignments are being missed.
Comments – This is where I allow my students to comment
on each other’s entries. Before we start
we discuss “on-line etiquette” and “respect” for one another. Some of the “keen” students will spend hours
on-line commenting on each other’s work.
It encourages the students to use their language as well as seeing what
others have to contribute to a discussion or an assignment. My students even
the beginning level grade 8 students tried to make their comments in
French. When there were words they
couldn’t find I encouraged them just to write the word in English. I promote “franglais” when needed so that
students are not using on-line translators which when used improperly take away
from their abilities to improve their language skills.
Note:
If you have a student
who goes by a different name than what originally appeared on your September
class list you are also able to edit that name without deleting any posts they
may have already made.
I create my own
passwords for the students as I create the kidblog pages before they arrive in
September. You can however collect
passwords from them and input their choices or you can use the “kidblog
generated” password that is displayed for you.
Use whichever you find most convenient for yourself. Because the work done on the blogs for my
classes are formative assessments and not summative assessments I do not worry
about the passwords too much. Students
in my classes know that respect and on-line etiquette are crucial in my
classroom and so far I haven’t had to deal with any issues.
What kinds of activities do I do?
1. My opening activity which I give one week for is to have students
become comfortable with using the blog page. “Tell me a little bit about yourself in
2-3 sentences in French.” Beginning level students are allowed to simply
write words that they know that might describe themselves or people in
their family. – likes, dislikes,
favorite foods, subjects, family, activities that they do, pets.
2. I love to put up “pictures” on the blog as an activity. Students must write something about the
picture or they might need to answer a question or two about the picture
posted.
3. Sometimes the answers are just free responses to a question or to a
picture that I have uploaded.
4. Sometimes the answers must use a particular “grammatical concept”
that they have been working
on in the class. (focus on one or two things so that the students will
experience success)
5. Having students comment on someone else’s post is interesting. I ask them to look for something “good” about the post and to comment on it. You can either
assign each student a particular person’s to comment on or just “let it
happen”. I like to do a combination of
the two over time.
6. Put up a picture of an interesting “mask” and have students
describe the mask. Work on sentence
structures during class time in order to get a better variety of answers.
(-or you may get just a list of colors.)
7. Complete the sentence with a minimum of 6 words. “Hier, ma famille …..”
8. « Regardez
les deux photos. Laquelle est ta favorite et pourquoi ?»
9. « Quel
était ton histoire favorite des 3 que nous avons lues? »
10. « Qui
suis-je ? » Décrivez
quelqu’un dans la classe. Ensuite,
lisez la description faite d’un autre camarade et devinez. – Use the « comment » tab within that person’s blog to
make your guess.
11. « Créez
et écrivez un indice pour cacher les œufs de Pâques. Le professeur va les cacher en employant
les indices que vous avez écrits. » The class gets to help you create the clues for the Easter Egg
hunt.
12. For the older grades who have a better handle on manipulating the
French language. “Ecrivez le début d’une histoire d’enfance dans une paragraphe de
50 mots. Ensuite, regardez celle de
votre partenaire et écrivez 2 questions.
Un autre étudiant doit répondre à ces 2 questions. »
13. «Qu’est-ce
que tu vas faire après l’école vendredi ? »
NOTE: This is a fun and interactive
way to get your students involved in their learning. You must be firm about using the “language”
that they know and not relying on translators.
It does not take away from language learning within the classroom. I believe it enhances it. Have fun! Lorraine J
(mrslryan – 2012) http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrslryan
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