Teachers: Thing 3

The EduBlogger has a an interesting list of blogs to explore. It also has tools of its own that I found interesting, such as the rss Tweets. That could be great for announcements or an information source to provide like news sites. I was particularly interested in the primary grade sites because it's intriguing to see how younger kids could be included. Some interesting approaches includes Receptions--Room 25@Willunga Primary, Wojtera's Words, and Mrs. McDonald's Blog.

Blogging with students, and for supporting student learning is one way to develop 21st Century skills. Take traditional essays, opinions, and multimedia projects that occur in classrooms, and post them on a classroom blog, or a blog maintained by each student. The conversation opportunities are enormous. Feedback is considered to be one of the top ways to improve student learning ("Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback",Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock). Security can be a concern, except that many blog sites have security tools that, for example, only allow posts by registered users, or users who have been approved or screened by the blogger. Teachers might use a blog to provide information or incorporate activities and resources for students and parents.