Time To Pass It On

Having touched on the whole spectrum of Web 2.0 services as we worked through this course, there are almost too many worthwhile ideas to share at my school. Still, narrowing the focus as I work with teachers helps ensure the success of a project and keeps everyone from feeling overwhelmed.

First Web 2.0 Tool, Blogging - At our last staff meeting, I was given time to present on some useful Web services. I gave a demo of Voice Thread and the 21 Classes blogging site. Both were well received, and there was some good discussion afterwards. I am finding that to really get things happening, I need to work intensely with one Grade Group at a time on a particular topic and give lots of support. Staff meeting inspiration fades quickly when the teacher walks back to the classroom and sees that stack of marking on their desk.

Fortunately, our Grade 5 students are spending the final 2 months of their science classes doing a Wetlands Unit. The teachers and I are reworking the unit into more of an inquiry experience. This will happen within a 2 month time frame. It is a perfect opportunity to tap into student blogging as a tool for shaping questions, reflecting and perhaps sharing their findings.

Some of our Div. 2 students have already experimented with blogging when working on larger projects. It proved to be very effective. The students could easily add and edit entries from school or home, then present the whole package to their classmates. To really develop student blogging effectively, I need to help teachers manage a set of blogs and give some control to outside access.

I have begun to set up a student blogging area on the 21 Classes site. It seems to fit the bill very nicely. There is some good discussion of its suitability here and here. I am beginning to understand how the security and editing tools work. It’s a pretty layered service, and I have gotten confused at times. Some of the features are more easily accessed using Firefox instead of Safari. Overall, things are a bit clearer now, and as I log in as a student, I can see how it will present to them. I have imagined being the teacher as well. It seems that if a teacher logs in once a day and reviews the student activity, they should be able to stay on top of the student activity. There are some great features for the teacher to communicate with the class or a particular group.

At this point, I will begin working closely with the teachers to explain how to moderate student entries and comments. This year, I will lead in the teaching on the blogging technicalities, but look to the teachers to develop clear expectations for the actual writing. As students gain confidence and wish to post photos or other documents, I will be available.

The Grade 5 teachers are a strong group, technically savvy and very creative. They also have the confidence to let students run with an idea, which has fostered some great inquiry experiences in the past. I hope that the use of student blogging will integrate well with the unit. Any successes then might overflow to other staff members as they plan for the next school year.

Next Tool, Voice Thread – Our Div. 1 teachers were very intrigued with the Voice Thread examples. I hope to do a short project with one of the Grade 2 classes where each student might have a chance to share some of their writing in the spirit of the Tall Tales Voice Thread. The timing of this isn’t clear yet.

posted by John Lobe @ 7:12 PM