Wednesday, September 9, 2015

How I will use this blog in my classroom


A blog is site that can be easily created and updated from any devices or location that has internet connection (Richardson, 2010). The ease of use makes blogging a great tool for teachers and students. I will gear my blog towards the parents and families of my kindergarten students. Blogs like many other online technologies have made communication between parents and teachers more timely, efficient, productive, and satisfying (Pearson, n.d.).
The main page of my blog will be used to keep parents up to date on important information and dates of upcoming events. This is also a great place to solicit volunteers for classroom help, home-helpers and donations. I will also post a snapshot of each week’s objectives, classwork and homework in case of an absence.
I will set up different pages on my blog for the content areas that I teach as well as the special classes that my students attend. They will be for Math, Phonics, Reading, Science, History, Health, Character, Art, Psychical Education, Music and Technology. I will use these pages to share what topics or units we are discussing, provide useful materials and resources (such as links to helpful websites) and showcase student work by uploading it and through photographs. 
I feel my blog is a great way to keep parents in the loop. Since I teach on a Military Base I have students whose family are spread out across the country and even parents that are deployed. This will great place for them to see what’s going on. Parents can also leave comments on a post if they have any questions. This will be a great way to keep parents involved and keep the lines of communication open.
Valerie Hicks

References:

Pearson. (n.d.)Using technology for effective parent-teacher communication. Digital Promise. Retrieved from http://www.digitalpromise.org/blog/entry/using-technology-for-effective-parent-teacher-communication


Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2015 at 7:31 AM

    Valrie,
    This is a super way to keep communication open and running! Great thinking! There is one just a thought that it can be a challenge as well as a strength. If parents have been deployed and caregivers are not as supportive with monitoring student's progress, this can be corrected almost instantaneously as parents would be aware of the happenings. In addition, where parents are unable to keep up with the technology , students may not be as forthcoming especially with the extension learning activities to include additional links.
    Be sure that from the very beginning parents are made aware so that even if they aren't physically able to log in and check, they can use it as a means of ensuring caregivers are monitoring learners in every way.

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    Replies
    1. Mrs. Hicks MarshallSeptember 13, 2015 at 5:18 PM

      Nadine,
      You make a great point! I work very hard to make all families aware of our class blog in throughout the school year. I also encourage that they inform their extended family of our class blog, such as grandparents and aunt and uncles.
      Thanks so much for you insight!
      Valerie

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2015 at 8:05 AM

    Valerie,
    I think you have a great idea using a blog to showcase your students work. Since you teach kindergarten, it would be a great for them to begin to get their feet wet with blogs. One issue you might want to check in to before moving forward is publishing your students work, name and pictures online. Richardson talked about checking with your school's internet policies before putting thing on the web. Working on a military base, do you follow federal guidelines or are considered a public school?

    Thanks,
    Jake

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    Replies
    1. Mrs. Hicks MarshallSeptember 13, 2015 at 5:02 PM

      Jake,
      Thanks so much! This is something I have considered. My school is on a military base but is consider a part of the public school system. Parents have to fill out a release form prior to the teacher, school or county posting any work or photographs. In the past I have posted work without any names and the photographs I have posted do not show any faces of my students. Even though I have permission to do so I still want to keep my students privacy.
      Thanks so much for thinking of this!
      Valerie

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  3. Alg 2 Domain and Range Day 2September 13, 2015 at 7:32 PM

    Valerie,
    I really feel that in a kindergarten classroom your use of a blog is spot on. This is a great way to keep parents in the loop of the exciting new experiences their kids are going through. That dynamic of teaching on a base offers up another benefit to a blog for those parents away to see and communicate what is happening. It would be very important to establish this as a line of communication from the first days of school and use it often so it does not become a forgotten tool

    Jeromy

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