I never thought I'd turn to blogging. I never thought I was much of a writer, or had anything that really deemed itself worthy to post for the masses. I never really had an "audience" for that matter. Teaching changed all of that.
A blog can take on any format, from text-heavy musings to short pictorial posts and everything in between.
I had a vision that I wanted to create a central online "learning center" for the courses I teach, and it seemed a blog would be the best way bring this concept to life.
With the help of my bf, we created The Learning Pad. It is a blog that focuses on the Core topics we are covering with correlating web interactives, current vocab terms, daily HW assignments, and school events for the most part.
I have tried to design my page to be student friendly & accessible to all ability levels. Most posts are very visual with post-its for easy directives, and all posts offer an audio option.
I love that this website is a one-stop shop for my students. There are tons of websites that offer math & science content, and it can be difficult for kids to filter out good content. I get to research & test out activities, preview & create videos, create & post flashcards, and can get a quick assessment of my students understanding through various interactive activities & quizzes.
It is also a one-stop shop for me! I love that I can pull my blog right up on the smartboard & my resources are right there at my fingertips. I don't have to dig around the internet or access multiple sites because they are embedded in my blog posts. Why waste time searching for a Youtube video in class when I've already added to a blog post. I can also model where to find class notes, pull up & review vocabulary flashcards, complete an interactive in class w/the kids so they can do some independent practice at home. I have fallen in love with blogging.
It has taken time (a little over 2 years...lots of hours!) and a lot of playing around and figuring out some basic HTML code to get The Learning Pad to where it is now..truly a labor of love! Maintaining this blog has been the ultimate professional development, as I'm constantly reading about new web tools, how to engage students with technology, improving 21st century skills, and all the fun ways students can get involved & learn. I'm scouring tweets for new ideas, subscribing to blogs on Google reader, learning from peers from around the world thanks to the internet.
But even still, after all this....every blog, website, journal, artwork, whatever...needs a good critique. I feel my ultimate critics are my students. They are no holds barred when it comes to voicing their opinions most of the time...so since my website is geared towards them, why not get their feedback on what they like & don't like and what they would like to see (one student asked me a great question about Mt. Everest, and this turned into a new blog post designed with him in mind). Every good thing needs a tweek now & then to stay fresh...so immediately I thought, create a website survey for my students to complete after they have had some time utilizing my website in school & hopefully at home.
Take a look at the form below, notice it not only is about the website, but it also allows me to get an idea of if the kids have a handle on how to navigate to the different posts & categories, and if I need to assist in any areas.
I also never thought much about blogging, seemed a little self indulgent to me, but I agree, it has massive potential as an interactive teaching tool. Good for you, you've really worked on providing a meaningful, differentiated blog for your students. Tell me, how much time do you need to invest in monitoring/maintaining the blog?
ReplyDelete@Karen Thanks for the kind words...as to the time it takes to monitor & maintain, it varies. Depending on topic, how you plan on using it, how interactive you want it to be, it can consume a few hours a week if not a couple hours per night here & there. If I have time at school I will set up posts or quickly edit homework, etc.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you want it to be more of a bulletin board, visuals, links, etc..it can take as little as 20 mins here & there.
It can be frustrating at times, but I've figured out more just by playing around with settings and visiting other blogs for inspiration.
A blog is whatever you want it to be....have fun =)