Comments for Mrs. Hocutt's Reading Blog

Comment on 21st Century Skills by MelodiP

MelodiP — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:55:36 +0000

Alecia, it is getting quite scary with budget cuts to conjure up how we as country, let alone teachers, will be able to give our students the technology they so deserve and need to succeed in the 21st century. The points made within this website are relevant and motivating but low budgets do really set many schools at a disadvantage. At least we can begin to address the design of more project-based learning and collaboration. We can teach students how to think critically and discern information. The site offers a good model of how to integrate technology with what we do have available in our schools. We can adjust the curriculum even more to include some of the better programs suggested on the site should we find access to the appropriate funding or grants.

Comment on Educational Blogging by ahocutt

ahocutt — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:13:36 +0000

Melodi,
I think I am going to try to do a blog as a center at least once a week. The problem is, my computers are also needed for students to do several required educational testing programs, so they are often occupied by students doing this. I am just having some issues with time constraints. Thank you for your suggestions.

Comment on Educational Blogging by ahocutt

ahocutt — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:10:33 +0000

Karen,
I don’t think I will ever completely replace class discussion because I believe it is a great benefit to exchange, correct, and change our thoughts in an authentic and personal way. It is also a great chance to question students for understanding. However, there are so many times when I have to stop a great discussion because of time limits. Blogs are a great way to allow students to share ideas that they are excited about.

Comment on Educational Blogging by Melodi P

Melodi P — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:38:11 +0000

Hey there. It sounds like you have some wonderful ideas for blogging in the classroom.

When you conduct author studies, do you plan to try to have students communicate with any of the authors online? Our reading this week showed a perfect example of how this could be done.Blogs for chapter book summaries would be beneficial as it may excite the students a bit more to know they are sharing what they have done with the world. Having the students comment on one another’s summaries will be extremely beneficial to get more interaction among the students.

The questions you have posted regarding blogging are good ones. I think that if you can’t do blogging in a computer lab so the whole class can access the blog, it might work well to have it as a center. I have seen blogging in a whole class instructional setting but never as a center. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work as long as every student has a chance and enough time to complete their post with accuracy.

Comment on Educational Blogging by Karen Greene

Karen Greene — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:18:38 +0000

I think your idea of using a blog for your students’ author study is a fantastic idea and a very appropriate use of a blog as a teaching tool. It reminds me of the example presented by Will Richardson where he used a blog to create a collaborative space for his students to create an online readers guide to a book the class was reading (Richardson, 2009, p.23). I think a blog is an appropriate tool to use to supplement or even replace a class discussion. By using a blog, it is possible to include students who may not feel comfortable speaking their mind in front of everyone but enjoy posting their ideas instead. In the meantime, you are reinforcing good writing behavior, so you end up getting two benefits for the price of one.

I am in a similar situation in that I am also just beginning to venture into the possibilities of blog use in the classroom. I also have many similar questions about managing bogs. I have only two computers in my classroom and the students have access to them during a 50 minute time slot, once a week. Logistically, trying to get an average of 25 students access to these computers during that time period seems an impossible task. I have looked into using our school’s laptop cart which houses 30 laptops and a wireless router. Does your school have a resource similar to this that you could utilize? Or do you have a computer lab in your building that your students could access your blog site and make entries? I also think your idea of setting up a “blog center” where students rotate through the computers in your classroom on a schedule, would be a practical solution.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Comment on Standardized Testing by Melodi P

Melodi P — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:49:24 +0000

You are not alone with this. Although I am no longer in the classroom, I am often the one that teachers come to in order to talk to someone about what’s on their minds.

In our schools it seems that professional development, assessment, and data has taken precedence over everything including teaching. There is a great deal of frustration felt by many teachers as they are assessing so much that it leaves them with little time to teach the way they want to.