After reading Why I don’t assign homework, I came to the conclusion that blogging is about presenting ideas and getting feedback with the purpose of learning http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=133. Dan presented an idea with supporting facts, and then people weighed in on his idea and gave their suggestions on the issue. It was very interesting for me as a fellow teacher to match it up against my own theories on homework. It is something I do consider quite a bit, so it was helpful to hear from other teachers with the same quesitons. In this blog, I liked how much it made me think and consider my own practices. I’m always looking to grow as a teacher and blogging seems like the perfect forum for it. I personally do see the value in homework, but I do think teachers need to consider the assignment and weigh it to see if it’s really necessary. As a Social Studies teacher, it is essential they read and study the material at home. Most children can’t get make an ‘A’ on a history test from only paying attention in class.
I also looked atThe Cool Cat Teacher Blog http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/01/spies-like-us.html. I was able to see there are many different ways of presenting and organizing information on blogs. Her blog also seemed to be more interactive giving the viewer an opportunity to be involved in a greater way. You can subscribe to it, search the web from it, among other things. After reading and browsing through it, I wondered where she found the time to put so much into it. I don’t like being on the computer any more than I have to be, but she seems to really like spending time on it. Honestly, her blog as a little overwhelming. There was so much to look at and see, it turned me off.
I also looked at The Ripe Enironment http://yongesonne.edublogs.org/2007/06/29/the-ripe-environment/. I like the way it was organized more than the other blog. It is not as busy and I was able to focus on his thoughts. I like his idea about giving specific examples that have been used in the classroom regarding technology that work instead of just providing case studies. Those are helpful, but it’s better to read about things that actually worked with a particular group of students.
I re-visited Will Richardson’s website http://weblogg-ed.com/about/. I remember that he had very good ideas from when he came to Woodward. I really liked the way his was organized compared to “The Cool Cat” blog. I think I still have a headache from looking at her blog. I like his is organized with folders that have different purposes. His stuff is not jumbled all together on one page. I find it more user friendly and easier to read and move through.
The last blog I looked at was A Duck with a Blog http://duckdiaries.edublogs.org/2006/04/20/2nd-graders-write-about-our-missing-duck/. I like the way she utilized the blog forum for an opportunity to get her students writing and thinking creatively. I think this would be great for a language arts class. It could also work in science for hypothesizing and other assignments. I could have my social studies students respond to a critical thinking question based on facts they’ve already learned. I also thought it was cool how other schools, even one in Australia, had commented on the stories. It would definitely expand a child’s view on the global classroom.
