EDTECH597: Blogging in the Classroom
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Veatch Russel Reflection
Besides all the student driven blogs, there were classroom blogs, and most interestingly, there were a multitude of links provided to other school and classroom blogs. The internet is ripe with classroom blogging activities, which gives me pause.... Where is the internet access in my classroom? Having worked in several school districts over the course of the last ten years, I have noticed that the smaller districts are actually able to make internet access more available to their students than the larger districts. Is this because of a jaded cynicism on the part of the bigger districts? Do they just have more experience dealing with hackers, vandals and litigation than the smaller districts? Are smaller school districts able to keep better track of student usage and parental involvement, and thus able to make activities like classroom blogging more available to their students? It is an interesting conundrum, and one I would like to explore more.
Shanda Veatch
Russell Street School
Russell Review
Russell Street School
I like that the main blog has kind of that overview feel of happenings going on in the school. My school actually does this as well. Our principals take control of posting and updating the big things going on in our school. Mostly it's pictures from school events or activities going on in the classroom. Our blog has basically taken the place of the monthly school newsletter that used to go to print and get mailed home. But I have to say that this school has really showed me the potential that is out there to do so much more.
I love the different uses of all of the classroom blogs. I noticed that most of them post updates about what's going on in the classroom, and that's a great way to keep parents informed. But I really love how it appears that students are actually using technology and producing the items published on the blogs. As an English teacher, I loved to see that in Room 12 (Dozen Fresh Eggs) the students are using technology to produce things like book trailers and putting it out on the Internet for a worldwide audience looking for feedback. I think that is so much more meaningful for than simply writing a book review for the teacher. I think that some kids really need that push of knowing they are writing and producing for a "real" audience.
I also just want to add that the freedom and flexibility that the teachers and students have in creating their class blogs and deciding what and how to post to those is awesome. I think that one of the main reasons something like this is so successful is that it appears that all of the teachers and administrators are on board and fully support teaching students not only the required content, but the technology they will need in life. With that in mind, my school has maybe a handful of teachers who would support something of this nature. How do you do it? How do you get teachers to almost have a new way of thinking in order to prepare students for the new world we live in?
Friday, July 15, 2011
FEEL Russell Street School by Reading their Blogs
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Russell Street School=AWESOME
WOW…I am blown away by the Russell Street School in Palmerson North, New Zealand. The standout feature of this school is the system wide adoption, buy-in, and implementation of blogging as a learning tool. It isn’t one or two teachers focusing on using the tool, but rather the entire system consistently using it in an impressive manner.
One of the awesome things about their implementation is that the teachers definitely have a higher level of technical capabilities as a whole than what I regularly see in the United States. This must come from one of their belief system’s stating, “We believe in providing intensive, well funded whole school professional development (or professional learning) programs." They also host Apple Bus Tours that introduce their entire school community to a variety of technologies.
I also like the variety of ways teachers integrate blogs in their classrooms. This shows me there is a certain level of freedom for teachers to use blogs in a way they see as beneficial. Enough freedom in fact that teachers are allowed to choose the blogging platform they are most comfortable with. This is important because it allows the teachers to buy into the use of the tool, and be able to be creative in the integration with their students.
Blog uses I noticed while visiting the site:
· Reflection
· Creative writing
· Discussion
· Home work postings
· Reporting on local and world wide current events
· Multimedia production
· Postings on best practices in education
· Communication tool with parents
· Student showcase
Wrapping up the post, the Street Talk Blog is amazing! Street Talk is a, “Show made by R9 which is a Year 6 class at Russell Street School in Palmerston North. The show is produced every 2 weeks and is based around what is happening at Russell Street School.” The production qualities of the episodes rival anything I have ever seen from students of this age. Their storyboarding, script writing, presentations, editing, music selection, and basically anything that goes into these posts is very well done. This is an impressive reflection on all stakeholders with this school. I look forward to following Russell Street's posts in the future, and use it as an example of what our students are capable of.