Jhonser said… Using Bogs to teach is easy and useful. Thanks to the access many people have today to computers, software and Internet service, the use of blogs has become relatively easy for many people, especially for teens. In a study on teen use of the Internet, probably in The United States, Pew researchers found that 19 percent of online teens keep a blog and 38% read them (Lenhart & Madden, 2005). Even when this research is 7 years old, it clearly indicates that teens from developed countries are changed the way they communicate. If we take into account that globalization is a phenomenon occurring not only on developed countries but on developing countries as well, the use of blogs by Costa Rican teenagers might not be too different to the use of blogs by teenagers from developed countries. In other words, thanks to the access to computers and the Internet, teens from Costa Rica have probably increased the use of Blogs to communicate, too. This is understood in part to the simplicity of creating a blogs. The videos posted by the professor’s explain step by step how to create a blog. It looks really easy. Since creating a blog does not require sophisticated technological knowledge, blogs are excellent ways to force students to read, write and originally express their feelings and thoughts. Moreover, some of the benefits embraced by the use of online communication technologies, like for example blogs, are authenticity, voice, equal learning opportunities, individual attention, freedom of expression, convenience and accessibility, engagement, collaboration, and technological literacy (Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers, pp 22-23). For all these reasons, blogs can play an important role in our classrooms, however, it is important to consider the technological knowledge of the students, the access they have to it as well as the activity that best adjust to students’ needs. A blog activity I can think of for students is to assign homework in which students have to watch or hear a song and then they have to write a short reaction paragraph about the song. Another way to use blogs with students, is to let them create their own blogs about any topic they want and then invite other students to post comments about that topic.
Using blogs is very common nowadays. A lot of people have their own blog in which they post different kind of information depending on their preferences and the purposes they have in mind for their own blog. As it is seen in the video, creating a blog is not a big deal, just follow a few steps and you will have your own blog completed and ready to be used. After that, you can post all the information you want to share with other bloggers day by day. Furthermore, as it is avowed in the reading Weblogs, “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43). At this point, we are focusing just on educational blogs, in other words, blogs in which you publish relevant information regarding the topic studied in class and that you want your students to studied and practice at home. Besides, your students can have their own blog in which they publish comments, doubts, and information they found and they think will be important to check for supporting what was studied in the classroom. So, it is a teacher-student and a student-teacher learning process in which everybody takes part of it by publishing efficient information in their own blog. As a teacher, I have never used a blog in my class because the majority of my students do not have internet access at home, so it is difficult to work with this kind of tool, but in the future I really want to implement this helpful tool in my English classes, so my students can practice and reinforce the different units studied at the school. As a teacher I will use my blog in the different ways, for example: • Publishing readings about the different topics we are studying at school. Students are asked to read them and then write a reaction or comment about what they just read. • Also, each student will be asked to create their own blog in which they have to publish readings and videos about a unit studied in class. Then, each student has to check their classmates’ blogs in order to comment about the different posts they made.
Using blogs is very common nowadays. A lot of people have their own blog in which they post different kind of information depending on their preferences and the purposes they have in mind for their own blog. As it is seen in the video, creating a blog is not a big deal, just follow a few steps and you will have your own blog completed and ready to be used. After that, you can post all the information you want to share with other bloggers day by day. Furthermore, as it is avowed in the reading Weblogs, “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43). At this point, we are focusing just on educational blogs, in other words, blogs in which you publish relevant information regarding the topic studied in class and that you want your students to studied and practice at home. Besides, your students can have their own blog in which they publish comments, doubts, and information they found and they think will be important to check for supporting what was studied in the classroom. So, it is a teacher-student and a student-teacher learning process in which everybody takes part of it by publishing efficient information in their own blog. As a teacher, I have never used a blog in my class because the majority of my students do not have internet access at home, so it is difficult to work with this kind of tool, but in the future I really want to implement this helpful tool in my English classes, so my students can practice and reinforce the different units studied at the school. As a teacher I will use my blog in the different ways, for example: • Publishing readings about the different topics we are studying at school. Students are asked to read them and then write a reaction or comment about what they just read. • Also, each student will be asked to create their own blog in which they have to publish readings and videos about a unit studied in class. Then, each student has to check their classmates’ blogs in order to comment about the different posts they made.
Creating a blog is a great opportunity to encourage students' participation. If a professor creates a course or lesson blog, students will be allowed to practice topics studied in class, suggest class activities, solve their own or others' doubts, add videos with further explanations of topics, for example. If students are asked to create a blog, they will be given the chance to develop their responsability, creativity, knowledge, self-confidence and motivation. According to the reading Weblogs, "As you get more settled into the rhythm of posting, begin to write more in depth about what you are reading, drawing on your own personal experiences and reflections. In this way, you'll come to understand the true mental work that is blogging" (p.44) This is what is expected from students blogging: provide opportunities to have them develop their skills and improve their learning process.
Two examples to use blogger in the classroom are: - In pairs, students are in charge of posting after every class on the course blog. They have to: propose activities to have their classmates posting answers or doubts and check their classmates' work.
- Look for blogs about the topics studied in class; present the blog to the class and have a discussion about its advanges, disadvantages and what can be improved. Then, they can apply those suggestions to their own blogs.
Using blogs is very common nowadays. A lot of people have their own blog in which they post different kind of information depending on their preferences and the purposes they have in mind for their own blog. As it is seen in the video, creating a blog is not a big deal, just follow a few steps and you will have your own blog completed and ready to be used. After that, you can post all the information you want to share with other bloggers day by day. Furthermore, as it is avowed in the reading Weblogs, “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43). At this point, we are focusing just on educational blogs, in other words, blogs in which you publish relevant information regarding the topic studied in class and that you want your students to studied and practice at home. Besides, your students can have their own blog in which they publish comments, doubts, and information they found and they think will be important to check for supporting what was studied in the classroom. So, it is a teacher-student and a student-teacher learning process in which everybody takes part of it by publishing efficient information in their own blog. As a teacher, I have never used a blog in my class because the majority of my students do not have internet access at home, so it is difficult to work with this kind of tool, but in the future I really want to implement this helpful tool in my English classes, so my students can practice and reinforce the different units studied at the school. As a teacher I will use my blog in the different ways, for example: • Publishing readings about the different topics we are studying at school. Students are asked to read them and then write a reaction or comment about what they just read. • Also, each student will be asked to create their own blog in which they have to publish readings and videos about a unit studied in class. Then, each student has to check their classmates’ blogs in order to comment about the different posts they made.
Blogs can be use to enrich the learning process. However, as it is stated in the reading Weblogs "How can a teacher can expect her students to blog...if she doesn't use it herself, exploring the impact it has on her thinking, writing, research and creativity" (p,43) So, teacher must blog to get into the experience of blogging and they must learn how to use the tool blog's offer to apply them in the class. In addition, Teachers could learn more about their students especially those who do not participate in the classroom. According to Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom an educational benefit of blogs is that "Highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms." So, blogs can be use to make students more active while they state opinions. Besides that, according to Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom students depending on the activity teachers create students could learn to be more collaborative because through the blogs they can help other students.
Two ways in which I would use the blogs are:
1) I would prepare questions each day and then Students should answer those questions or comment those questions. After that, I would take students answer and comments a make a relationship between their answers and the topic of the class. In this way students can discuss their ideas and clarify doubts.
2) Teacher gives a role-play to students and then they prepare a video about the role-play. Therefore, students post the dialogue and the video in groups. Finally, students watch all the videos and read all the dialogues and comment at least on two videos.
By using blogger as dynamic element of different English lesson, teachers motivate students to go beyond their abilities. Not only because blogger complement different intelligences, but also because it contributes to make classes less boring for teachers as well as for students. Thus, by starting small, blogs help teachers to increase students knowlegde in a organized and different ways of reviewing previous lessons and then students and teachers go beyoond throung different postings blogs permits. So, "As you get more settled into the rhythm of posting, begin to write more in depth about what your are reading, drawing in your personal experience"(Weblogs, p.44) Thus, Two ways I'd use a blog are 1. To continue the development of a topic in which students need review by showing them videos and comments that ilustrate further explanations about diffent topic. 2. Depending on the level they (SS)could critically express opinions about topic developed in class or start a discussion about their reality and points of view. In this way, they could apply what they learn in class to contextualized and current situations. Then, comment more in class.
A blog can be an innovative and dinamic tool we can take advantage of. Since we need students to communicate , a blog will be a great aid for such purpose. The use of a blog can make a course more interesting and participative.Through it students interact and exchange their opinions and ideas when posting their comments.I would use a blog to assign homeworks which I could check and provide constant feedback along the process.Besides I can post videos and ask students to identify specific aspects contained in them such as cultural content or vocabulary.All of this can be a rewarding and encouraging experiece for teachers as well as for students.So the blog becomes a supportive tool of cooperative work where the teacher can be a moderator as cited in chapter 3 , page 47 ( Weblogs:Get started) "...when overseeing students´blogs , the teacher´s role becomes that of a connector , not just a an evaluator." This means that we can implement the use of blogs in our classes to help students become more independant and selfconfident.
Nowadays, blogs can be used in many different ways for teaching purposes such as homework assignments, extra practice, research, and interaction among students. Besides, students can access other blogs related to the topics being studied in order to find extra information and add the links to the blog of the class. A blog can be used as a social network type of tool, so students are able to communicate among them and the teacher outside the classroom. Even it is possible to get students into creating their own blogs and using them in other ways besides entertainment. And as blogs are free and easy to use, there is no reason to think that students would have a lot of trouble using them on a regular basis.
Xinia Ledezma Rodríguez A32788 Nowadays the use of Blogs has been growing. They are conceived as an excellent way to present different topics. It is really important to have access to information about the contents one must develop. The mayor issue is to get students involved in the use of them as ways of expressing opinions, ideas and thoughts. As Richardson states, “Teachers should blog to show students that it is something of value and to model appropriate ways of doing it” (3 Weblogs p. 44). Since it is easy and free to use, any person can have access to a blog. It is a healthy practice for students to become bloggers. It is available any time during the day or night and it can also be accessed from any place with internet connection. I would use a blog mainly as a way to improve students’ writing skills. Probably most of the assignments would be related to comment (in a written form) about a matter posted weekly on the blog and considering the topics studied in class. Another example would be to make students improve their reading skills by posting special information useful to complement the topics studied in class on the blog. Make them aware of the importance of reading in order to acquire general information for class discussion.
As stated in http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47 blogs are instruments that can be used in order to go beyond boundaries of school. Moreover, students can be in contact with the language anytime during the day, in any place with internet access and a computer. In addition It presents a not conventional idea of developing the learning-teaching processes. According to Glencoe, some of the main characteristics enhancing blogs are: • Highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms. • Excellent opportunities for students to read and write. • Effective forums for collaboration and discussion. • Powerful tools to enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur.
Technology is part of student´s daily life, so why not include it in the classroom? A Blog is a technological tool that helps students and teachers to get out of the traditional teaching strategy. According to the reading Second Generation CMC Tools, “Blogs can be described as online hypertext journals that others read and react to… they allow students to exercise their own voice with a freedom that cannot be experienced in moderated discussion forums” (p.1); that´s one of the blogs’ advantages: students can feel part of the learning process by relating their own experiences to the content studied, giving opinions, etc. As I said before, technology is part of students’ daily life so the use of blogs in the classroom motivates them as is stated in the Second Generation CMC Tools reading: “Reynard (2007) maintains that blogs can be used effectively to develop each student’s individual learning voice but only if they are intentionally designed into the course and are clearly valued throughout the course to engage student motivation and participation” (p. 1). Since motivation plays a big role in education, blogs are great resources that promote deep learning and help students to learn actively. Besides, blogs do not require technological abilities as we could see in the video; the person just follows the directions and can easily create a blog. Two examples of how I would use blogs in the classroom are: 1. Blogs can be adapted to the level, but for any level I would use them to post class information such as calendar, assignments, events, supporting material, useful links, news, and any kind of useful information for the course’ purpose. 2. With higher levels, I would ask them to create their own course blog where they post their assignments, comments about the material the teacher posts in his/her blogs, they can also post on their classmates blogs giving opinions, etc; it´d be like an online interactive journal.
Learning is as worth it as the professor lets student enjoy the process, sometimes, teachers do not appreciate different tools that may be around us, tools that would make a huge difference in students’ learning process. That is why, using technology, such as blogs, while teaching may end up in a more significant learning process. The usage of blogs is increasing around the world, because of its benefits that are mainly educational. Blogs let students express their feelings, ideas and thoughts with their classmate for having a cooperative environment. Moreover, one of the main advantages of using blogs is that students may access to the them even in their houses, “Blogs work well for students because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer. Hence, they can be used by computer savvy teachers to create a classroom that extends beyond the boundaries of the school yard.” (Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom). There are many usages we may give to the blogs, like using them as evaluation for topics that have been covered during the current classes, in a way in which students can express what they have learned about an specific topic; another way of getting advantage of them may be by creating a discussion group, in which students can clarify any doubt they may have about a topic. The professor have to be creative for getting the best from students.
Certainly, blogs are useful tools teachers can implement in their daily classes’ activities. It allows teachers to create blogs about any topic; blogs are very flexible allowing teachers put many didactic materials such as: images, videos, presentations, and other web sites, so on. The inclusion of other web sites helps students to learn more about the topic they need information, being these web sites proved and given by teachers. For examples, I will use a blog to create a picture dictionary about any topic I will develop in classes in order to help students with the vocabulary. Also, at the end of the year I will ask students to create a blog about their favorite topic and to encourage other students to participle in their blogs.
Long ago teachers were limited to the classroom, but today the technology provides the opportunity to go beyond the boundaries of material walls. Sometimes students get into the habit of keeping the information away from them while they are out of the classroom. For this reason Blogs offer us powerful tools to call the attention of students through interactive posts, videos, readings and a way to put into practice what they know about a topic. As is stated in the reading “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43); the true potential of blogs is based on the purpose that the participants desired. Inasmuch as the possibility to become the tool ineffective relies in the hands of the teacher and the interaction with the students. Based on the previous statement, teachers must know the tool to use it in the truthful method; "As you get more settled into the rhythm of posting, begin to write more in depth about what you are reading, drawing on your own personal experiences and reflections. In this way, you'll come to understand the true mental work that is blogging" (p.44); as our students utilize the blog we could realize the way they growth (technologically), the first post could be dreadfully poor and without relation to the topic, but that is the purpose of using the new technology…to provide them the chance to see their process since the beginning to the end. • A teacher could use a blog to publish readings that will help students to practice their English through some questions that they have to answer posting a comment. • Teachers could post some videos or links about some pc programs to help students to practice their listening skills, or links to web pages that contains information or practices about the topic studied in class.
The most important issue when creating a blog for educational purposes is to carefully look for the information one is going to be posting on the blog. In that sense, one is going to make sure that there is an agreement between the lesson studied in class and the materials posted on the blog that complement them. According to the usage one is going to make of the blog, it is fundamental to establish clear patterns for the goals being stated as well as to inform every person that is going to be part of the development of the blog during the course. Just as Richardson states, “Regarding of how you start using Weblog with students, make sure that students, parents and even administrators are clear about the expectations and the reasoning behind it” (p. 46). Moreover some people could have some prejudices about the use of internet for educational purposes, so one has to state clear objectives and work hard to achieve them.
Blogs are an excellent tool for sharing information outside the classroom and therefore provide our students with additional support for learning a language. As seen in the videos, making a blog, publishing on it and customizing it is not difficult even for people who are not familiar with hosted blog software. Among some of the advantages pointed out in the articles given, I found really important the collaborative learning students can give each other while they work on homework assignments or improve their writing skills as they publish online. In addition, working on blogs gives students an appropriate setting to “have time to be reactive to one another and reflective” while discussing topics. This is something essential for dealing with that type of affective filter that might prevent students from expressing themselves in the class. Concerning the use in the classroom, I would follow first the recommendation of “start small”. I would use it to provide students with information related to the course given such as homework assignments, important events, etc. Then, as soon, as they become more acquainted with the use of this tool, I’d post small readings that might deal with provocative content in order to elicit comments from them and foster a forum
Using blogs has become one of the strategies many teachers have started to use lately, however, using a blog has sense only when we use them as "publishing tools" (Richardson, "Weblogs", p. 43). It may be all right to post information in the blog that students may need for their test or next lesson, but I definitely believe that its main purpose should be to interact with our pupils. Nowadays we are supposed to be working on the web 2.0, meaning that we are sharing information, it is not simply to read or watch what is on the screen, but also to respond and ask, doubt, look for more perspectives, and so on. And for sure, as teachers, we do not have all the answers, that is why we should allow our students to provide feedback. The following are two examples of how we could use blog for interaction: 1. Once every lesson is finished, we may post a question on the blog for the students to check it and answer it, like What was the most relevant issue covered today for you? (then we will obtain personal opinions and feedback about the lesson) 2. Post a video regarding a topic and ask students for opinions about it, its reliability, what they have heard about the topic, etc.
Using internet when teaching English can be a great tool due to the multiple resources that it offers to EFLstudents. Some elements found in the web can contribute to the acquisition of academic attitudes such as: discussion, collaboration, peer correction among others; This elements are not really common in our country, but the use of then in English teaching have been scarcely implemented, mainly at higher education. However, a resource that has been growing is the blog (Web-Log) which constitutes a new way of eliciting participation and involvement from students. Blogs have constituted a potential and powerful source among the diverse technological alternatives introduced by educators to the teaching and learning process. For that reason, it is necessary to provide a precise description of the function and effect that blogs have in nowadays societies and even more important, the contribution it has to the educational field. According to Georgescu (2010, p. 1), “A blog is a type of website, usually maintained up to date by an individual, including texts displayed together with their authors’ names and the date and hour of their posting”. The author uses the phrase “on-line collaborative diaries” to refer to blogs and points out that they were mainly employed by users as a mean of communication, and expressing thoughts and ideas. Although their usage was, at first, considered only as an entertainment tool, users started to apply blogs as a technique for educational purposes, since they were determine as an interesting, easy, and free resource that could be implemented in classrooms. As it is recognized by Georgescu (2010), “Educational blogs are usually generated by the actors involved in the teaching process…[ ] Its main advantages reside in contributing to developing or improving collaborative learning and bringing people (teachers and learners) together inside and outside the classroom”. (p.2) Incorporating such a web tool may be especially useful for those settings in which course duration is limited as in the case of this research setting. Through integrating blogs into the class, the teacher can extend the instruction beyond the school walls as blogs enable teachers and students to be together at any time and place. As teachers we may implement blogs with the purpose of helping students improving language skills such as reading and writing. One main aspect concerning the application of blogs in classrooms is to encourage students’ creativity and self perspective when expressing ideas and communicating with classmates, as well as sharing and providing information and knowledge about certain topics. The idea is to create a blog in which students will be active participants, not only as a respond to teacher´s instruction or commands but also as a way of interacting and communicating ideas through the learning process. Students will work on activities involving reading and writing skills.
Because blogs are connected, they can boost the development of students. Authors (teacher or students) can share opinions with each other and support each other with commentary and answers to questions. Besides, blogs give students ownership over their own learning and at his or her own rhythm, allowing them to adequate their needs and inform about their own learning. Blogs have been shown to contribute to identity-formation in students. (Bortree, D.S., 2005). Also, the use of blogs helps students see their work in different subjects as interconnected and helps them organize their own learning. Working with the teacher along with the blogs, students can conduct a collective learning into a particular topic or subject matter by creating their own interpretation of the material at their own rate of understanding. As an example, Blogs can improve a variety of skills in addition to the particular subject under discussion. By using blogs the development of writing (usage of grammar, since every comment must be written) and research skills may improve as it became more familiar using blogs to understand information towards a topic.
Blogs represent a new idea to innovate the English learning process. It can be used as a tool for teachers to incorporate material they cannot use in class due to time or to reinforce certain topic they want students to comprehend better. “Blogs work well for students because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer.” (http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47) It is important to use the available resources we have. If the school or the library has a computer’s lab then we can implement the use of blogs to enhance the learning process. Blogs are a very attractive tool for students at any level and it is a good activity for them to work individually or as a group. As a teacher I would use a blog as follows: If the students have the means to access the internet at least once or twice a week, a blog could be used to ask students different tasks such as homework assignments, pronunciation exercises, listening exercises, news about the school, projects such as portfolios to check their progress via a digital archives, among others. Share information, strategies, techniques with other teachers not only from Costa Rica, but Ask students to create a blog where they share their ideas and thoughts in regards to the English class. In this sense, teacher can incorporate some student’s ideas in the course blog to improve and create a more inclusive atmosphere in the classroom.
Technology is everywhere; it is absolutely undeniable that our students face this reality everyday. In my opinion, the population that belongs to our classroom environment is very skillful in this field (of course there are some exceptions but they are few cases). Given the fact that teenagers have access to different technological devices and internet easily, we as teacher can not grasp old fashion strategies and keep thinking that these activities will get the students´ attention for the rest of our teaching experience. The proposal that includes blogs is a very useful tool. A blog can not cover every single need that a student may have but it definitely helps. Using gadgets and posting updated data, students could go deeply through a topic, find extra material, practice outside the classroom, post comments to develop even more the blog`s functions and usage. A blog can provide a lot of interactive material like links to get data from the web. A blog can the link to another accounts like youtube or any other web page that the owner of the blog might consider as relevant. Another advantage is that this application is there 24/7, all the info is available just after a click. A good administration of this type of applications can lead to a more significant learning to the student, besides it could be an option to the teacher to make sure that the students are achieving the objective of the educational proposal, that is by the way, the main requirement to use a blog under the circumstances that we are dealing in this teaching-learning process. There are as many gadgets as your creativity can imagine. I am sure that blogs will evolve even more, the possibilities will be more and the benefits to the education field will be priceless • I will use a blog in order to provide audiovisual material like songs, videos, high quality images, and any other material that sometimes is difficult to bring to the classroom by obvious reasons. • I will create a blog in order to increase the students` interaction outside the class, for examples, I will assign a task to an specific group of students every week, after the assignment is posted, the ones that were not part of the homework must provide comments expressing what they think about the final version of it. These comments could be recommendations, opinions, suggestions, and any other aspect that motivates the activity.
Jhonser said…
ReplyDeleteUsing Bogs to teach is easy and useful. Thanks to the access many people have today to computers, software and Internet service, the use of blogs has become relatively easy for many people, especially for teens. In a study on teen use of the Internet, probably in The United States, Pew researchers found that 19 percent of online teens keep a blog and 38% read them (Lenhart & Madden, 2005). Even when this research is 7 years old, it clearly indicates that teens from developed countries are changed the way they communicate. If we take into account that globalization is a phenomenon occurring not only on developed countries but on developing countries as well, the use of blogs by Costa Rican teenagers might not be too different to the use of blogs by teenagers from developed countries. In other words, thanks to the access to computers and the Internet, teens from Costa Rica have probably increased the use of Blogs to communicate, too. This is understood in part to the simplicity of creating a blogs. The videos posted by the professor’s explain step by step how to create a blog. It looks really easy.
Since creating a blog does not require sophisticated technological knowledge, blogs are excellent ways to force students to read, write and originally express their feelings and thoughts. Moreover, some of the benefits embraced by the use of online communication technologies, like for example blogs, are authenticity, voice, equal learning opportunities, individual attention, freedom of expression, convenience and accessibility, engagement, collaboration, and technological literacy (Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers, pp 22-23). For all these reasons, blogs can play an important role in our classrooms, however, it is important to consider the technological knowledge of the students, the access they have to it as well as the activity that best adjust to students’ needs.
A blog activity I can think of for students is to assign homework in which students have to watch or hear a song and then they have to write a short reaction paragraph about the song. Another way to use blogs with students, is to let them create their own blogs about any topic they want and then invite other students to post comments about that topic.
Using blogs is very common nowadays. A lot of people have their own blog in which they post different kind of information depending on their preferences and the purposes they have in mind for their own blog. As it is seen in the video, creating a blog is not a big deal, just follow a few steps and you will have your own blog completed and ready to be used. After that, you can post all the information you want to share with other bloggers day by day. Furthermore, as it is avowed in the reading Weblogs, “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43). At this point, we are focusing just on educational blogs, in other words, blogs in which you publish relevant information regarding the topic studied in class and that you want your students to studied and practice at home. Besides, your students can have their own blog in which they publish comments, doubts, and information they found and they think will be important to check for supporting what was studied in the classroom. So, it is a teacher-student and a student-teacher learning process in which everybody takes part of it by publishing efficient information in their own blog.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I have never used a blog in my class because the majority of my students do not have internet access at home, so it is difficult to work with this kind of tool, but in the future I really want to implement this helpful tool in my English classes, so my students can practice and reinforce the different units studied at the school.
As a teacher I will use my blog in the different ways, for example:
• Publishing readings about the different topics we are studying at school. Students are asked to read them and then write a reaction or comment about what they just read.
• Also, each student will be asked to create their own blog in which they have to publish readings and videos about a unit studied in class. Then, each student has to check their classmates’ blogs in order to comment about the different posts they made.
Using blogs is very common nowadays. A lot of people have their own blog in which they post different kind of information depending on their preferences and the purposes they have in mind for their own blog. As it is seen in the video, creating a blog is not a big deal, just follow a few steps and you will have your own blog completed and ready to be used. After that, you can post all the information you want to share with other bloggers day by day. Furthermore, as it is avowed in the reading Weblogs, “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43). At this point, we are focusing just on educational blogs, in other words, blogs in which you publish relevant information regarding the topic studied in class and that you want your students to studied and practice at home. Besides, your students can have their own blog in which they publish comments, doubts, and information they found and they think will be important to check for supporting what was studied in the classroom. So, it is a teacher-student and a student-teacher learning process in which everybody takes part of it by publishing efficient information in their own blog.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I have never used a blog in my class because the majority of my students do not have internet access at home, so it is difficult to work with this kind of tool, but in the future I really want to implement this helpful tool in my English classes, so my students can practice and reinforce the different units studied at the school.
As a teacher I will use my blog in the different ways, for example:
• Publishing readings about the different topics we are studying at school. Students are asked to read them and then write a reaction or comment about what they just read.
• Also, each student will be asked to create their own blog in which they have to publish readings and videos about a unit studied in class. Then, each student has to check their classmates’ blogs in order to comment about the different posts they made.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCreating a blog is a great opportunity to encourage students' participation. If a professor creates a course or lesson blog, students will be allowed to practice topics studied in class, suggest class activities, solve their own or others' doubts, add videos with further explanations of topics, for example. If students are asked to create a blog, they will be given the chance to develop their responsability, creativity, knowledge, self-confidence and motivation. According to the reading Weblogs, "As you get more settled into the rhythm of posting, begin to write more in depth about what you are reading, drawing on your own personal experiences and reflections. In this way, you'll come to understand the true mental work that is blogging" (p.44) This is what is expected from students blogging: provide opportunities to have them develop their skills and improve their learning process.
ReplyDeleteTwo examples to use blogger in the classroom are:
- In pairs, students are in charge of posting after every class on the course blog. They have to: propose activities to have their classmates posting answers or doubts and check their classmates' work.
- Look for blogs about the topics studied in class; present the blog to the class and have a discussion about its advanges, disadvantages and what can be improved. Then, they can apply those suggestions to their own blogs.
Using blogs is very common nowadays. A lot of people have their own blog in which they post different kind of information depending on their preferences and the purposes they have in mind for their own blog. As it is seen in the video, creating a blog is not a big deal, just follow a few steps and you will have your own blog completed and ready to be used. After that, you can post all the information you want to share with other bloggers day by day. Furthermore, as it is avowed in the reading Weblogs, “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43). At this point, we are focusing just on educational blogs, in other words, blogs in which you publish relevant information regarding the topic studied in class and that you want your students to studied and practice at home. Besides, your students can have their own blog in which they publish comments, doubts, and information they found and they think will be important to check for supporting what was studied in the classroom. So, it is a teacher-student and a student-teacher learning process in which everybody takes part of it by publishing efficient information in their own blog.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I have never used a blog in my class because the majority of my students do not have internet access at home, so it is difficult to work with this kind of tool, but in the future I really want to implement this helpful tool in my English classes, so my students can practice and reinforce the different units studied at the school.
As a teacher I will use my blog in the different ways, for example:
• Publishing readings about the different topics we are studying at school. Students are asked to read them and then write a reaction or comment about what they just read.
• Also, each student will be asked to create their own blog in which they have to publish readings and videos about a unit studied in class. Then, each student has to check their classmates’ blogs in order to comment about the different posts they made.
Blogs can be use to enrich the learning process. However, as it is stated in the reading Weblogs "How can a teacher can expect her students to blog...if she doesn't use it herself, exploring the impact it has on her thinking, writing, research and creativity" (p,43) So, teacher must blog to get into the experience of blogging and they must learn how to use the tool blog's offer to apply them in the class. In addition, Teachers could learn more about their students especially those who do not participate in the classroom. According to Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom an educational benefit of blogs is that "Highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms." So, blogs can be use to make students more active while they state opinions. Besides that, according to Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom students depending on the activity teachers create students could learn to be more collaborative because through the blogs they can help other students.
ReplyDeleteTwo ways in which I would use the blogs are:
1) I would prepare questions each day and then Students should answer those questions or comment those questions. After that, I would take students answer and comments a make a relationship between their answers and the topic of the class. In this way students can discuss their ideas and clarify doubts.
2) Teacher gives a role-play to students and then they prepare a video about the role-play. Therefore, students post the dialogue and the video in groups. Finally, students watch all the videos and read all the dialogues and comment at least on two videos.
By using blogger as dynamic element of different English lesson, teachers motivate students to go beyond their abilities. Not only because blogger complement different intelligences, but also because it contributes to make classes less boring for teachers as well as for students. Thus, by starting small, blogs help teachers to increase students knowlegde in a organized and different ways of reviewing previous lessons and then students and teachers go beyoond throung different postings blogs permits. So, "As you get more settled into the rhythm of posting, begin to write more in depth about what your are reading, drawing in your personal experience"(Weblogs, p.44)
ReplyDeleteThus, Two ways I'd use a blog are
1. To continue the development of a topic in which students need review by showing them videos and comments that ilustrate further explanations about diffent topic.
2. Depending on the level they (SS)could critically express opinions about topic developed in class or start a discussion about their reality and points of view. In this way, they could apply what they learn in class to contextualized and current situations. Then, comment more in class.
A blog can be an innovative and dinamic tool we can take advantage of. Since we need students to communicate , a blog will be a great aid for such purpose. The use of a blog can make a course more interesting and participative.Through it students interact and exchange their opinions and ideas when posting their comments.I would use a blog to assign homeworks which I could check and provide constant feedback along the process.Besides I can post videos and ask students to identify specific aspects contained in them such as cultural content or vocabulary.All of this can be a rewarding and encouraging experiece for teachers as well as for students.So the blog becomes a supportive tool of cooperative work where the teacher can be a moderator as cited in chapter 3 , page 47 ( Weblogs:Get started) "...when overseeing students´blogs , the teacher´s role becomes that of a connector , not just a an evaluator." This means that we can implement the use of blogs in our classes to help students become more independant and selfconfident.
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ReplyDeleteNowadays, blogs can be used in many different ways for teaching purposes such as homework assignments, extra practice, research, and interaction among students. Besides, students can access other blogs related to the topics being studied in order to find extra information and add the links to the blog of the class. A blog can be used as a social network type of tool, so students are able to communicate among them and the teacher outside the classroom. Even it is possible to get students into creating their own blogs and using them in other ways besides entertainment. And as blogs are free and easy to use, there is no reason to think that students would have a lot of trouble using them on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteXinia Ledezma Rodríguez A32788
ReplyDeleteNowadays the use of Blogs has been growing. They are conceived as an excellent way to present different topics. It is really important to have access to information about the contents one must develop. The mayor issue is to get students involved in the use of them as ways of expressing opinions, ideas and thoughts. As Richardson states, “Teachers should blog to show students that it is something of value and to model appropriate ways of doing it” (3 Weblogs p. 44). Since it is easy and free to use, any person can have access to a blog. It is a healthy practice for students to become bloggers. It is available any time during the day or night and it can also be accessed from any place with internet connection. I would use a blog mainly as a way to improve students’ writing skills. Probably most of the assignments would be related to comment (in a written form) about a matter posted weekly on the blog and considering the topics studied in class. Another example would be to make students improve their reading skills by posting special information useful to complement the topics studied in class on the blog. Make them aware of the importance of reading in order to acquire general information for class discussion.
As stated in http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47 blogs are instruments that can be used in order to go beyond boundaries of school. Moreover, students can be in contact with the language anytime during the day, in any place with internet access and a computer. In addition It presents a not conventional idea of developing the learning-teaching processes. According to Glencoe, some of the main characteristics enhancing blogs are:
• Highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms.
• Excellent opportunities for students to read and write.
• Effective forums for collaboration and discussion.
• Powerful tools to enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur.
Technology is part of student´s daily life, so why not include it in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteA Blog is a technological tool that helps students and teachers to get out of the traditional teaching strategy. According to the reading Second Generation CMC Tools, “Blogs can be described as online hypertext journals that others read and react to… they allow students to exercise their own voice with a freedom that cannot be experienced in moderated discussion forums” (p.1); that´s one of the blogs’ advantages: students can feel part of the learning process by relating their own experiences to the content studied, giving opinions, etc.
As I said before, technology is part of students’ daily life so the use of blogs in the classroom motivates them as is stated in the Second Generation CMC Tools reading: “Reynard (2007) maintains that blogs can be used effectively to develop each student’s individual learning voice but only if they are intentionally designed into the course and are clearly valued throughout the course to engage student motivation and participation” (p. 1). Since motivation plays a big role in education, blogs are great resources that promote deep learning and help students to learn actively. Besides, blogs do not require technological abilities as we could see in the video; the person just follows the directions and can easily create a blog.
Two examples of how I would use blogs in the classroom are:
1. Blogs can be adapted to the level, but for any level I would use them to post class information such as calendar, assignments, events, supporting material, useful links, news, and any kind of useful information for the course’ purpose.
2. With higher levels, I would ask them to create their own course blog where they post their assignments, comments about the material the teacher posts in his/her blogs, they can also post on their classmates blogs giving opinions, etc; it´d be like an online interactive journal.
Learning is as worth it as the professor lets student enjoy the process, sometimes, teachers do not appreciate different tools that may be around us, tools that would make a huge difference in students’ learning process. That is why, using technology, such as blogs, while teaching may end up in a more significant learning process. The usage of blogs is increasing around the world, because of its benefits that are mainly educational. Blogs let students express their feelings, ideas and thoughts with their classmate for having a cooperative environment. Moreover, one of the main advantages of using blogs is that students may access to the them even in their houses, “Blogs work well for students because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer. Hence, they can be used by computer savvy teachers to create a classroom that extends beyond the boundaries of the school yard.” (Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom). There are many usages we may give to the blogs, like using them as evaluation for topics that have been covered during the current classes, in a way in which students can express what they have learned about an specific topic; another way of getting advantage of them may be by creating a discussion group, in which students can clarify any doubt they may have about a topic. The professor have to be creative for getting the best from students.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, blogs are useful tools teachers can implement in their daily classes’ activities. It allows teachers to create blogs about any topic; blogs are very flexible allowing teachers put many didactic materials such as: images, videos, presentations, and other web sites, so on. The inclusion of other web sites helps students to learn more about the topic they need information, being these web sites proved and given by teachers. For examples, I will use a blog to create a picture dictionary about any topic I will develop in classes in order to help students with the vocabulary. Also, at the end of the year I will ask students to create a blog about their favorite topic and to encourage other students to participle in their blogs.
ReplyDeleteLong ago teachers were limited to the classroom, but today the technology provides the opportunity to go beyond the boundaries of material walls. Sometimes students get into the habit of keeping the information away from them while they are out of the classroom. For this reason Blogs offer us powerful tools to call the attention of students through interactive posts, videos, readings and a way to put into practice what they know about a topic. As is stated in the reading “The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools” (page 43); the true potential of blogs is based on the purpose that the participants desired. Inasmuch as the possibility to become the tool ineffective relies in the hands of the teacher and the interaction with the students. Based on the previous statement, teachers must know the tool to use it in the truthful method; "As you get more settled into the rhythm of posting, begin to write more in depth about what you are reading, drawing on your own personal experiences and reflections. In this way, you'll come to understand the true mental work that is blogging" (p.44); as our students utilize the blog we could realize the way they growth (technologically), the first post could be dreadfully poor and without relation to the topic, but that is the purpose of using the new technology…to provide them the chance to see their process since the beginning to the end.
ReplyDelete• A teacher could use a blog to publish readings that will help students to practice their English through some questions that they have to answer posting a comment.
• Teachers could post some videos or links about some pc programs to help students to practice their listening skills, or links to web pages that contains information or practices about the topic studied in class.
Xinia Ledezma Rodríguez A32788
ReplyDeleteThe most important issue when creating a blog for educational purposes is to carefully look for the information one is going to be posting on the blog. In that sense, one is going to make sure that there is an agreement between the lesson studied in class and the materials posted on the blog that complement them. According to the usage one is going to make of the blog, it is fundamental to establish clear patterns for the goals being stated as well as to inform every person that is going to be part of the development of the blog during the course. Just as Richardson states, “Regarding of how you start using Weblog with students, make sure that students, parents and even administrators are clear about the expectations and the reasoning behind it” (p. 46). Moreover some people could have some prejudices about the use of internet for educational purposes, so one has to state clear objectives and work hard to achieve them.
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ReplyDeleteBlogs are an excellent tool for sharing information outside the classroom and therefore provide our students with additional support for learning a language. As seen in the videos, making a blog, publishing on it and customizing it is not difficult even for people who are not familiar with hosted blog software. Among some of the advantages pointed out in the articles given, I found really important the collaborative learning students can give each other while they work on homework assignments or improve their writing skills as they publish online. In addition, working on blogs gives students an appropriate setting to “have time to be reactive to one another and reflective” while discussing topics. This is something essential for dealing with that type of affective filter that might prevent students from expressing themselves in the class. Concerning the use in the classroom, I would follow first the recommendation of “start small”. I would use it to provide students with information related to the course given such as homework assignments, important events, etc. Then, as soon, as they become more acquainted with the use of this tool, I’d post small readings that might deal with provocative content in order to elicit comments from them and foster a forum
ReplyDeleteUsing blogs has become one of the strategies many teachers have started to use lately, however, using a blog has sense only when we use them as "publishing tools" (Richardson, "Weblogs", p. 43). It may be all right to post information in the blog that students may need for their test or next lesson, but I definitely believe that its main purpose should be to interact with our pupils. Nowadays we are supposed to be working on the web 2.0, meaning that we are sharing information, it is not simply to read or watch what is on the screen, but also to respond and ask, doubt, look for more perspectives, and so on. And for sure, as teachers, we do not have all the answers, that is why we should allow our students to provide feedback. The following are two examples of how we could use blog for interaction:
ReplyDelete1. Once every lesson is finished, we may post a question on the blog for the students to check it and answer it, like What was the most relevant issue covered today for you? (then we will obtain personal opinions and feedback about the lesson)
2. Post a video regarding a topic and ask students for opinions about it, its reliability, what they have heard about the topic, etc.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUsing internet when teaching English can be a great tool due to the multiple resources that it offers to EFLstudents. Some elements found in the web can contribute to the acquisition of academic attitudes such as: discussion, collaboration, peer correction among others; This elements are not really common in our country, but the use of then in English teaching have been scarcely implemented, mainly at higher education. However, a resource that has been growing is the blog (Web-Log) which constitutes a new way of eliciting participation and involvement from students.
ReplyDeleteBlogs have constituted a potential and powerful source among the diverse technological alternatives introduced by educators to the teaching and learning process. For that reason, it is necessary to provide a precise description of the function and effect that blogs have in nowadays societies and even more important, the contribution it has to the educational field. According to Georgescu (2010, p. 1), “A blog is a type of website, usually maintained up to date by an individual, including texts displayed together with their authors’ names and the date and hour of their posting”. The author uses the phrase “on-line collaborative diaries” to refer to blogs and points out that they were mainly employed by users as a mean of communication, and expressing thoughts and ideas.
Although their usage was, at first, considered only as an entertainment tool, users started to apply blogs as a technique for educational purposes, since they were determine as an interesting, easy, and free resource that could be implemented in classrooms. As it is recognized by Georgescu (2010),
“Educational blogs are usually generated by the actors involved in the teaching process…[ ] Its main advantages reside in contributing to developing or improving collaborative learning and bringing people (teachers and learners) together inside and outside the classroom”. (p.2)
Incorporating such a web tool may be especially useful for those settings in which course duration is limited as in the case of this research setting. Through integrating blogs into the class, the teacher can extend the instruction beyond the school walls as blogs enable teachers and students to be together at any time and place.
As teachers we may implement blogs with the purpose of helping students improving language skills such as reading and writing. One main aspect concerning the application of blogs in classrooms is to encourage students’ creativity and self perspective when expressing ideas and communicating with classmates, as well as sharing and providing information and knowledge about certain topics. The idea is to create a blog in which students will be active participants, not only as a respond to teacher´s instruction or commands but also as a way of interacting and communicating ideas through the learning process. Students will work on activities involving reading and writing skills.
Because blogs are connected, they can boost the development of students. Authors (teacher or students) can share opinions with each other and support each other with commentary and answers to questions. Besides, blogs give students ownership over their own learning and at his or her own rhythm, allowing them to adequate their needs and inform about their own learning. Blogs have been shown to contribute to identity-formation in students. (Bortree, D.S., 2005). Also, the use of blogs helps students see their work in different subjects as interconnected and helps them organize their own learning. Working with the teacher along with the blogs, students can conduct a collective learning into a particular topic or subject matter by creating their own interpretation of the material at their own rate of understanding.
ReplyDeleteAs an example, Blogs can improve a variety of skills in addition to the particular subject under discussion. By using blogs the development of writing (usage of grammar, since every comment must be written) and research skills may improve as it became more familiar using blogs to understand information towards a topic.
Blogs represent a new idea to innovate the English learning process. It can be used as a tool for teachers to incorporate material they cannot use in class due to time or to reinforce certain topic they want students to comprehend better. “Blogs work well for students because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer.” (http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47) It is important to use the available resources we have. If the school or the library has a computer’s lab then we can implement the use of blogs to enhance the learning process. Blogs are a very attractive tool for students at any level and it is a good activity for them to work individually or as a group.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher I would use a blog as follows:
If the students have the means to access the internet at least once or twice a week, a blog could be used to ask students different tasks such as homework assignments, pronunciation exercises, listening exercises, news about the school, projects such as portfolios to check their progress via a digital archives, among others.
Share information, strategies, techniques with other teachers not only from Costa Rica, but
Ask students to create a blog where they share their ideas and thoughts in regards to the English class. In this sense, teacher can incorporate some student’s ideas in the course blog to improve and create a more inclusive atmosphere in the classroom.
Technology is everywhere; it is absolutely undeniable that our students face this reality everyday. In my opinion, the population that belongs to our classroom environment is very skillful in this field (of course there are some exceptions but they are few cases). Given the fact that teenagers have access to different technological devices and internet easily, we as teacher can not grasp old fashion strategies and keep thinking that these activities will get the students´ attention for the rest of our teaching experience. The proposal that includes blogs is a very useful tool. A blog can not cover every single need that a student may have but it definitely helps. Using gadgets and posting updated data, students could go deeply through a topic, find extra material, practice outside the classroom, post comments to develop even more the blog`s functions and usage. A blog can provide a lot of interactive material like links to get data from the web. A blog can the link to another accounts like youtube or any other web page that the owner of the blog might consider as relevant. Another advantage is that this application is there 24/7, all the info is available just after a click. A good administration of this type of applications can lead to a more significant learning to the student, besides it could be an option to the teacher to make sure that the students are achieving the objective of the educational proposal, that is by the way, the main requirement to use a blog under the circumstances that we are dealing in this teaching-learning process. There are as many gadgets as your creativity can imagine. I am sure that blogs will evolve even more, the possibilities will be more and the benefits to the education field will be priceless
ReplyDelete• I will use a blog in order to provide audiovisual material like songs, videos, high quality images, and any other material that sometimes is difficult to bring to the classroom by obvious reasons.
• I will create a blog in order to increase the students` interaction outside the class, for examples, I will assign a task to an specific group of students every week, after the assignment is posted, the ones that were not part of the homework must provide comments expressing what they think about the final version of it. These comments could be recommendations, opinions, suggestions, and any other aspect that motivates the activity.