First of all, I am a second grade teacher, so I teach reading, writing, math, social studies, science, art, and P.E. to 7 year olds. The socioeconomic status of my classroom is poor. I only have 2 out of 22 students that have computers at home with internet access. We do have a school website, so I post things to it that are intended more for their parents. This is because many of the parents are able to access the website from their work.
Therefore I do not believe that blogs would be effective for my students. I would use it more to interact with their parents. It would be a place where parents can interact about classroom learning and homework. As parents have questions I am often able to respond to them in writing, but a blog would allow me to reach more people at one time.
I could see utilizing a blog and having many different topics where primarily parents, but also students could get online and share thoughts or ask questions. I could showcase student work if I were able to proceed with the comic strip idea. I also like the idea of maybe using a blog to post children's writing samples with grades and explanations so parents know what their child should be capable of. To me, my students are too young to safely navigate the internet without adult supervision and the lack of technology in their homes would not make it feasible for them to communicate online. They are also in need of typing lessons. If my students were older I would most likely use blogs for instant communication between different periods and as a showcase for student work. As my students are, blogs would be more effective for the parents than for the students.
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If parents would do that, I think that would be great! Many times take-home papers get 'eaten by the bookbag' and parents never know what is going on in their child's school. Plus I think that would be a great way to deliver the information to multiple parents at once, as you stated... but it is also nice that you have the option to type to one parent as well!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned your class does not come from a wealthy area. Does your school have money? I think a Smart Board would be great for your class! But with any technology advances comes the issue of money.
Best of Luck!
I forgot to add a challenge, sorry! I believe a challenge would be the parents willingness to check the blogs and take the time to understand how to use them. Maybe if parents are interested, you could have a night or a set time for parents to come in and you can teach them how to use it! Or you can maybe type out directions to send home for the parents explaining how to use a blog and the beneficial purpose!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
I like your idea of having your parents blog, I would be curious how many would actually utilize the resource though. With the great number of the parents not having internet access at home do you think they would be allowed to use this feature at work?
ReplyDeleteI too teach second grade students. I understand your point that seven year olds are young to be navigating completely alone on the internet. I also see the importance of providing a safe outlet for their curiosity and lessons that teach them about safety as well. While your class has only two students with internet access at home, I only have one student who does not have internet access 50% of her time. My students are already exploring the internet at home and wanting more...
Would you consider using a blog for your students if it was a center during your literacy block?
i agree with you saying that the children are too young to be using blogs. The parent blog is a great idea to keep the parents connected with the teacher and the progress of their child. But like you said coming from a poor area where not many families have access to that. It is also tough getting parent involvement using a computer when most of them have no experience themselves using it. I think maybe a tech-computer night where parents of the children can come to the school and learn how to use the basics of a computer. By influencing the parent too, they can help their child at home be successful using the computer. Smart boards are great ideas, but reality not every district has money to support this technology. But your ideas and thoughts are great.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of publishing work online and through the blogs. Would this blog be public or would you need to invite the parents? I am only asking because I did not know if you needed permission from the parents or school to post student's work online.
ReplyDeleteShrift, a parent night is actually something I was thinking of doing. The only problem is finding a way to bring parents to come in to the school. We no longer have parent teacher conferences as those have become furlough days. Each grade level is responsible for having at least 1 parent night during the year where we teach parents how to do something to help their children. It is then offered to the whole school. When first grade did a writing night, 6 parents at a school of 900 students showed up. We have better luck with parents at Back to School Night. My hope is that next year I will be able to discuss blogs and provide parents with a handout. I would also post the handout on our class webpage.
ReplyDeleteWalden Class Blog, I would like to be able to create my own centers. However, I'm under strict guidelines as to what I can do. I can maybe bring in the comic strip idea once in a while, but for the most part I have to follow an EL handbook, a Challenge handbook, and an Extra Support handbook for my centers. There's not a lot in my classroom that I get to make decisions about. How I teach is something I get to decide, but I don't get to decide how long I have or what I teach. I have to follow a pacing guide. I don't see a blog as something I could really do. What I might be able to do is have a class journal that would act like a blog but not take as much time due to typing. Each child could write for 5 minutes in a shared journal. As far as parents using their work computers, it's what they do now, so I don't forsee a problem with that. It's up to the parents to decide if they should be doing it.
Youknowit102, I agree with you that Smartboards are a nice thought, but not realistic. I'd like a parent night, but school history says it wouldn't be very successful. I'd still try, but it's hard to get our parents involved unless something tangible is being offered. Thanks for the support.
Matthew Kennedy,as far as I know my district does not have a policy about posting students' work. Our only policy regards pictures. To try and deflect that issue, I'd leave kids' names off of the work. Parents would receive a hard copy or an email notifying them as to which belongs to their child. That way no one could claim work that was not their own, but there also shouldn't be a permission issue.