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Grade 3 – Mathematics
Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom
Teaching in the 21st-Century classroom is a learning experience for students as well as teachers. Research indicates that students spend more time on the internet than teachers. Although most students use technology for entertainment; it is up to teachers to redirect this usage to enhance their learning when in the classroom.
I have always known that blogs existed, however, I didn’t realize their importance in the learning process. During my first years in an inner-city school, my survival years, I could have used a blog to communicate with my parents about their children and activities in the classroom. Blogs have unlimited uses as I learn more and more about them.
Blogs can provide teachers’ communication between students and parents as well as between students. As part of my class, I plan to show how blogs can be an indispensable tool. Blogs can be a form of secondary documentation for sending information to parents along with written communications sent by the school. One use on my blog will be a section for missed assignments for students who were sick or absent. Another section will include upcoming projects, materials and dates. Student’s reactions to problems, pictures, videos explaining math steps, and writing prompts will give students practice with writing across curriculum. Students will see how their classmates feel and if their feelings are similar.
Finally, blogs provide a setting for teachers to discuss math problems and instructional techniques. According to Killough (2011, September, 30) teacher collaboration can raise student achievement. She states: “Research suggests that collaboration with colleagues around student instruction is an essential part of our teacher’s job and results in rising student achievement.” Killough, refers to Leana, C. (2011), Leana states: Students showed higher gains in math achievement when their teachers reported frequent conversations with their peers that centered on math, and when there was a feeling of trust of closeness among teachers. In other words, teacher social capital was a significant predictor of student achievement gains above and beyond teacher experience or ability in the classroom.”
References
Killough, L. (2011). Research shows teacher collaboration helps raise student achievement.
Connecticut Education Association. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://blogcea.org/
2011/0930/collaboration-raises-achievement/
Miners, Z. and Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43 (10), 26-34.
Used by permission.
My Blog: Teaching with technology. 