Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts ... by Will Richardson
Post # 2
"Public writing demands discretion,
especially in an educational setting." Will Richardson's mantra resonated
with me because my greatest fear is that one of my students might write
something inappropriate or divulge personal identifiers in a blog that I host
and it will somehow get published before I have the chance to stop it. The rest
of the chapter goes on to explain how you can set up blogs that only allow
access to registered members and edit posts before they are published. I can
see all kinds of opportunities for teachable moments.
I like the way Richardson gives you a
step-by-step process on how to set up a blog. HIs advice is to start small,
initially using it as a way to post homework assignments and relevant subject
links. I have decided to begin by
posting with Glogster to generate interest in a culminating project for a
Biology unit on population called Limiting Factors. The blog will
have exemplars and explore my students’ ability to research and collaborate on
a presentation. The blog will give students needed information on the project
but will also serve to inspire students to explore and study the topic of
limiting factors at a deeper level.
My next step is to acquaint students with
the Glogster program. I am going to create a project on the structure and
function of the organelles of a cell. Students will be given the choice to work
with a partner or on their own to create a one-page blog post about the
organelle of their choice and its relationship to the other organelles in a
cell. I will teach a short lesson on how to get started and then set them loose
to explore. After they have finished their first cell blogs, I will divide them
into small groups to share and make suggestions on their projects before they
present their blogs to the class.
Richardson suggests that the next step is to familiarize your students with the style and etiquette of what I call “responsive blogging” by reading
blogs that are related to the class subject, being careful to guide them toward
blogs that are "safe". I have started to put together a list of blogs
by other science teachers for my students to explore for this purpose. Once they get used to the style of post and
response, I will begin posting questions on the blog but will have all posts
sent to me before I post on the blog for the whole class to see.
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