Rip, Mix, Learn Playground

Congratulations! You found the playground!

You had a chance to read some classroom and teacher blogs. Now you can try your hand at writing your own blog post. ;-)

There are three parts to blogging:

1. Read


2. Think


3. Write

Blogging Prompt
You have just read several blogs. Think about what you read. Write a blog post in response to one or more of these prompts:

• Thinking back to some of the blogs you just looked at which one(s) impressed you the most/least? What was impressive (or not) about it? Be specific.



• Do you think using a classroom blog can help to enhance your student's learning? If so, how? If not, why not?



• Do you think you can learn anything from following edublogs? What in particular? Which blogs would you like to follow?



• Did you read anything that made you think: "Wow! That's cool/amazing/incredibly stupid/(pick an adjective of your choice)?" What was it (include a link to it) and what about it made you think that?



• What is your personal Muddiest Point about anything you've learned so far this morning? i.e. What are you most confused about? What would you like to learn more about?



• The latest edition of the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics includes The Assessment Principle and The Technology Principle. I think blogging will make it easy to meet, and more likely exceed, meeting these standards. Do you? Why or why not? (Actually, I think it will address the goals outlined regarding Equity, Teaching and Learning as well!)



• Blog about anything you'd like. Read the Blog Writing Tip below first.

This morning has been almost overwhelming with ideas of how blogging might be used in the classroom. To anyone new to the concept and feeling skeptical (as I did initially) I would compare the use of blogging in the classroom of today as paper might have been welcomed in the classrooms of a century ago.

The technological learning has time implications and finding time may prove to be a bit of a hurdle. I think, however, it'll be time well spent.

I still have questions pertaining to posting mathematical notation (exponents, diagrams and the like), as well as how to set one up and keep it interesting enough for students to want to log on.

Thanks Darren, I'm sure we'll bump into each other again.

Ross

An overwhelming start - but can see the advantages and possibilities that a program like this can offer. We like the interactive aspect, as opposed to a class web page that only provides info. Eager to learn - will definately keep in contact to become more blog literate.

I only recently heard of blogging and now in the last 2 weeks have been exposed to the tool.It is overwhelming at this point but I find that with all technology.I think it is a skill that need to be introduced to all teachers but the effectiveness will come from implementation startegies.Is there a need to challenge all school divisions to ensure this technology is available to all staff? Do days need to be set aside specifically for inservicing in a situation where time and instructors are available to meet the needs of the teaching staffs.

I've definitely found this session interesting. I'm thinking of my Pre-cal40S students and all the difficulties and questions that came up at the start of the year (especially because I'm teaching this course for the first time) and how it would be really great if students had a way to voice their concerns to me and get help from their classmates as well. I like the idea of having students taking more of an ownership role in their learning and also the idea of school entering into my students "world" outside of school.

I have several friends who have set up and use blogs regularly (none though as an educational type tool) and had not previously considered it as one. After the conference today however I have seen how useful they can be, that being said however it would require a large time investment by the teacher to set up and maintain the blog. Certainly it would not be a small undertaking.

I know it's not virtual for you guys, who are actually sat down in Winnipeg doing stuff, but I am loving listening in on Skype. I wouldn't need to be in the same room to learn from Darren. Don't forget to come back regularly to your blogs and write posts as often as possible. Also, keep an eye on your comments - I've left a few helpful (and cheeky) ones for you today. You can then cite what I've said (and link to me, of course) or just continue to leave a comment under the one I left.

In other words, try to have a conversation on your blog or on my blog.

Thanks for your inspiration.

See you Jimmy!

I enjoy how this (adams.typepad.com) blog is used by the teacher and students. The students ask questions, share workload, and seem to have a very close relationship with the teacher. The teacher is able to communicate assignments, assist with homework, and share some interesting course related info and interesting other stuff.

This seems to be an effective tool, I take too many notes on paper that I misplace or discard because I've forgotten their relevance. This would seem to let me get back into the mindset when the thought initially occured. Apparently I have to find time for a new learning tool.

My first post...I'll try to get this right.
From what I've seen about blogs, some of its benefits as a teacher comes from finding stuff on the web and using it freely in the classroom. I've tried this before as a math teacher, and finding something that is just right is the challenge. I've spent (wasted) many hours searching and searching endlessly. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way of doing this more easily? Enlighten me.

Hi Ewan how are the HEARTS doing these days! I am an OWLS fan and are struggling through some lean times these days.
DJ

My first post.
WOW!!!!
Before this PD I really had no idea what a Blog was. Now that i have seen some examples of Blogs being used in the classroom i can see how useful they would be in my own classroom. Currently we have just finished exams and a Blog would have been a great way to prepare the students. I can see myself creating a Blog to help my students review for their math and science exam.

I want to post websites like this one www.allshakespeare.com/hamlet/ so that students will reference them from home.

my brain is fried!

Sitting in the workshop I am drawn back to the possibilities that all students are able to have a sense of belonging to the community of their math class. It is going to be an interesting mountain to climb and challenge to tackle. I am excited to see the increase in the math chatter that will occur once they are created.

How many quiet kids don't understand what you have just taught. Do they not say anything because they are shy or just don't want to ask the question because of the ridicule of their peers. Blogging is a way for those who will not speak in class to have a voice.

Teenagers are at their best after 3:00 in the afternoon. blogging might be the work that they choose to do when their brains are working at their peak level.

Though I feel literate in technology I am wary of creating a blog space for 140 students.

As any person who cannot dance taking the first Ballroom Bootcamp steps will be the most daunting. I am confident though that by the time January rolls around the students will be beginning to have their first math blogging experiences.

The results of the final exam in June will show the increase in math literacy from their conversations online.

Darren your enthusing is infectious.

Thanks for spreading it!!!!!

As a teacher I have wondered how the blog could be used to the best of its abilities to create and foster a strong learning environment especially as a middle years math community. I am still a little overwhelmed with all the technology and how to use it. I am also wondering in which way it could be used by a classroom teacher that potentially could have over 100 students responding to a prompt. How to manage?

I strongly believe that writing is an important part of any learning and that communication between students and teachers is vital to learning. However when faced with the numbers of possible responses and the time it takes to read I don't know that it would be a feasible task. How would you handle this scenario?

Hi ... I thought Mr. D's metaphor on the "tango" was a fascinating way to showcase the way in which "partners" in education can help our students dance to the beat of todays music.

Without wanting to "dance" around issues, I invite bloggers to comment on how we can protect younger students in schools and classrooms from inappropriate blog and web sites and yet give older, more responsible students access to the world-wide community of learners that share ideas and resources through blogging.

Remember "to dance is to live ... to live is to dance."

I asked my students if they had ever used a blog before and many of them had. I asked them if they liked using blogs and they all replied, "Yes! It's a great tool for learning." This is why I signed up for the workshop.

I am pondering how this can work at my school. My students have a "computer class", with their computer teacher, twice every six days, but have little or no access to the lab during the rest of the week. As well, not all students have a computer at home, or if they do, not all have internet access. The logistics of this are discouraging me from beginning to blog with my students.

My most struggling students need this the most and I am unsure how to motivate them so that they will give blogging a chance.

Any help would be appreciated.

I am so excited! I had some recent surgery that left me deaf in one ear and some problems with my balance. I don't have very good balance, especially when thinking about dancing. Hey, no problem! I have one very good hearing ear and here I am today still dancing away! And to think, I thought my dancing days were over. No way, here I am doing the tango! What fun!

This is an incredible workshop. I am connecting with an incredible group of Canadians. Who would have thought that a Georgia girl could make such a connection? The day was started with the group singing "Oh Canada". It was beautiful.

Right now all the participants are creating blogs and making their first post. Darren just said this is his favorite part of the day. He gets to see what others are thinking. Well, I give Darren a great big tip of the blogger hat! I can't believe I had the good fortune to spend the day here. The semester is over and we have a little down time to catch up on things. Forget catching up - gotta go tango!

For those of you who didn't come to Martini's for lunch, we had an interesting conversation that eventually led us to the topic of ethics and appropriate behavior. It was agreed that some inappropriate behavior on the Internet can be expected when kids are not properly supervised. One would hope, however, that students should understand what is and what is not acceptable and act in an appropriate manner whether they are under the scrutiny of a teacher or not. When we are part of a global network, it is important to abide by a consistent code of ethics.

I therefore feel that we, as educators, should teach internet "appropriateness". If we all took the time to do this, perhaps our division would not have a need for such a limiting proxy server as exists at the moment.

What is YOUR opinion?

BTW, wouldn't this discussion be a perfect topic for a blog...

Errr.... I guess that's just what I'm starting right here!

I looked over the sites to do with English classes, and noticed that most of the day's postings were about how hectic the students' lives were and how hard it was to keep up with classwork and how many hours they were working at their part-time jobs. like teacher-endorsed MSN. But I scrolled down and found the on-topic postings - discussions of Shakespeare, interpretations of novels, etc. It was impressive. i can really see this working for a group of students I have who love to read and will discuss their reading spontaneously, but not necessarily broadly. I would like to see applications to literature circles. Did anyone see a site on this?
Rebecca

Mr. K is the most Blogtastic guy in the blogiverse. He allows the stublogs to take their edublogcation to levels unimblogagined before. He also blogs the blogging with blogerific blogitude and bloggety blog blog blog bloggy blog blog.

I've really been enjoying blogging with Erin and the S1 math class. It's opened an opportunity for me, as a student teacher, to get to know the students better since I don't seem them on a regular basis like regular classroom teachers. It also gives me the opportunity to interact with students outside of school.

A thought that's come up out of this workshop is that all student teachers should have a classroom that they're blogging with right from the beginning of the school year. It's a "win-win-win situation" (right Darren?). This way a student teacher can track a class, their activities, and their learning an entire school year AND contribute to these things as well. The cooperating teacher benefits from having another teacher "managing" the blog, and the students benefit from having another teacher-mentor. Plus, the class could be anywhere in the world! That's something that always interests me. When I did a teaching practicum in Costa Rica, my eyes were opened to a whole other approach to education and I know there is much to be learned from other perspectives I have yet to cross.

Are there teachers out there that would be willing to have their class "adopt" a student teacher for a year?

I am a bit slow on the uptake but I finally got to the page where I could post a message. My concern with all this wonderful information is that I will be unable to provide access to it for my students. We have one computer lab for 1100 students and most do not have their own computers...any suggestions?

I am finding that the blog is actually not an easily navigated site/tool. Do you find that you need a training time for your students?

TESTING

The search for the Truth is more important then its possession. (Lessing)

Just exploring... nice colours

I hope students will be as excited about this as I am.

The possibilities for this technology are very interesting. I do wonder about the the logistics of operating of blog with students in a school where technology is very limited. Any thoughts?

I'm really liking this idea of getting my students to get blog-savvy and perhaps interact and synthesize the information from the day's lesson. However, I don't often have much time to get on the web myself, let alone some of my students. But it's a good way to post the java applets that they could view to get a better understanding of some of the concepts.

Unfortunately, my room is in the tech-knowledgeless part of the school so I haven't been able to show them in the classroom. And even worse than that, the only computer labs available during my classes are the old computers which don't support java applets. So I'm frustrated with my inability to get technology into my lessons. Perhaps this is the only way. If I can find only find the time ...

I'm a blogger

Looking at the blogs that are already on line in this particular blog the students all seem to be in PreCalc or Applied. The students appear to put a lot of effort into their posts. I like the review of the lessons that they are providing. I'm just wondering if Consumer students would be able to provide the same level of detail. It seems a fairly painless way for non-attenders to catch up on notes that they have missed.