1) The search engines I used were Google, AskJeeves, and Dogpile. Many of the same blogging websites came up in all three engines such as: educational.blogs.com/, www.epals.com/schoolblogs, and www.21classes.com. These are just a few examples, but there were many others that showed up on all three, or at least two of the search engines. Dogpile had the least amount of results. While Google had 17 million results when I typed in "educational blogs," AskJeeves had about 4.8 million, and Dogpile only showed 86 results! My guess as to why this is, is that Google is probably the MAIN search engine, and it shows anything and everything that has these words in it, while the others, particularly Dogpile only came up with the major blog sites.
2)Blogs are very versatile and are currently being used for many reasons. Some people use them for creative expression. When I looked at some people's blogs, I noticed that they had posted some poems they have written or some videos they have created. Others use blogs strictly for professional and educational purposes. For teachers, blogs are an easy way to get information out to students and their families. Instead of sending things home with your students to have their parents sign, you could communicate information to parents on blogs so it is more likely that they will actually end up with the information. Not only that, but teachers can post blogs letting the parents know what exactly is going on in their child's class. Another thing a teacher could use a blog for is to organize and post a lesson plan. If they wanted to use videos, short stories, pictures, etc., they could have it all on a blog so that they could easily access it during class. Then, if you didn't complete a lesson that day, students could go on-line either at home or at a library, and access the remainder of the lesson plan. This would also be a good way to review for a test.
3) I found out that the purpose of RSS readers or aggregators is to scan and read many websites to help you find information very quickly. They instantly access news you need. They provide news-feeds so that you can find up-to-date information without having to spend a lot of time searching for something that could be useful. This is something that ANY teacher could use in ANY classroom. For me, since my subject area is English, I could have news feeds on any topic that is being covered in class, and bring in a real-life example to connect the book we are reading to the world around us. Another thing I could do in my classroom is, if we were having a lesson on censorship, I could get any up-to-the-minute information that is happening in the world of censorship. There are endless possibilities, really!
4) I think that blogging is currently having, and will continue to have a major impact on classrooms. Teachers are using technology more and more because of its convenience and accessibility. Blogs in particular are SO EASY to use. Even people who have never created blogs before (such as myself) seem to be able to pick it up very quickly. It is also a great way for students to relay information to their teachers, so turning in assignments has become much easier. There is no need to send something in an email as an attachment, which can sometimes take forever to download. Instead, all you do is hit the publish button, and your work appears for anyone to see.
5) The pros and cons are really quite simple to see. The pros would be (as I just stated) that blogging is a fairly simple thing to do. It allows people to publish their work instantaneously with just the touch of a button, and is easy for a teacher to have access to. Another pro is that it gives students a taste of technology which has become a major staple in our society. However, there are also some cons to keep in mind. Not all students will have access to a computer, so assigning blogs for them to post outside of the classroom, can result in a sticky situation. Even though there are libraries that have Internet available, transportation or other issues may be an issue. Another con is the issue of privacy. Since blogs are generally available for public viewing, anyone and everyone could be accessing your work. While problems with this could be avoided by setting privacy settings and not sharing personal information, some students (or their parents) still may not feel comfortable putting their work on the Internet.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Learning Styles
I went to http://www.teachnology.com/currenttrends/learningstyles.html in order to analyze what learning style I am. The website asked questions that were not just an analysis of what I think I am, but asked actual questions in order to figure out my learning style. What I mean by this is that instead of asking “Do you enjoy reading for fun?” or “Are you good at logic problems?” it actually asked me to DO logic problems, math problems, and linguistic problems. I felt as though it was a fairly accurate reading of my abilities, since I do not just answer “yeah, I do feel like I am good at math or good at spelling”, or, “no, I suck at logic problems.”
By taking this online assessment, I “learned” that I am linguistic, which is good since I am planning on teaching English! The results of my test said that I have a gift for expressing myself. This is something that I have always known about myself, although I know that there are times when I cannot express my ideas for the life of me (I kind of feel like that right now!). In my personal and professional relationships, I can generally explain what I mean with little effort. One part I did not agree with, however, was when it says that I can make a very persuasive argument. Rarely do I feel as though I present a very strong argument, and I don’t ever feel like I am very persuasive.
I also found out that I am a kinesthetic learner. This was more of a surprise to me, because I don’t really feel as though I need to get “hands-on” experience to understand something. But I think that the reason the test said that I am is because I am athletic and like to be active. However, I guess I do retain more information when I am having fun, such as when I act out a play instead of just reading it on my own.
A good way for me to incorporate my own learning style into my teaching would to create a very interactive classroom, where students are able to speak often as well as be active. If we are doing a unit on a play then we can read it aloud and then find a way to act it out. When I was doing my three-week practicum for T&L 317, one class I observed was finishing up an unit on Shakespeare. The class was broken down into different groups (one for each act), and were to modify the act using current-day dialect and bringing out the most important theme of that particular act. I really enjoyed watching these interpretations of the play because it was a good way for the teacher to evaluate the students on how well they understand it, as well as a good way for the students to gain stronger understanding and application. This also was something that went along well with my learning types because they were very active and manipulated the language to get their point across.
I know that not every person is the same when it comes to learning styles, and it is important to incorporate different styles into different lessons, so that I will be able to reach every student. What works best for me may not be effective for any of my students, but the likelihood is that I will reach everyone at some point or another, as long as I am switching up the lesson plans and activities.
By taking this online assessment, I “learned” that I am linguistic, which is good since I am planning on teaching English! The results of my test said that I have a gift for expressing myself. This is something that I have always known about myself, although I know that there are times when I cannot express my ideas for the life of me (I kind of feel like that right now!). In my personal and professional relationships, I can generally explain what I mean with little effort. One part I did not agree with, however, was when it says that I can make a very persuasive argument. Rarely do I feel as though I present a very strong argument, and I don’t ever feel like I am very persuasive.
I also found out that I am a kinesthetic learner. This was more of a surprise to me, because I don’t really feel as though I need to get “hands-on” experience to understand something. But I think that the reason the test said that I am is because I am athletic and like to be active. However, I guess I do retain more information when I am having fun, such as when I act out a play instead of just reading it on my own.
A good way for me to incorporate my own learning style into my teaching would to create a very interactive classroom, where students are able to speak often as well as be active. If we are doing a unit on a play then we can read it aloud and then find a way to act it out. When I was doing my three-week practicum for T&L 317, one class I observed was finishing up an unit on Shakespeare. The class was broken down into different groups (one for each act), and were to modify the act using current-day dialect and bringing out the most important theme of that particular act. I really enjoyed watching these interpretations of the play because it was a good way for the teacher to evaluate the students on how well they understand it, as well as a good way for the students to gain stronger understanding and application. This also was something that went along well with my learning types because they were very active and manipulated the language to get their point across.
I know that not every person is the same when it comes to learning styles, and it is important to incorporate different styles into different lessons, so that I will be able to reach every student. What works best for me may not be effective for any of my students, but the likelihood is that I will reach everyone at some point or another, as long as I am switching up the lesson plans and activities.
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