I am very interested in setting up a blog to use with my students. There are several ways in which to use the blog. It is important to start out small as you familiarize yourself with how a blog works.
My first step would be to create a blog for the parents of my students. I think this tool would be a great way to establish and maintain contact with parents. I would use the blog to post class news and assignments so that parents would know what we were studying in class.
Secondly, I'd like to use the blog to allow my students to practice their Spanish writing skills. We would have "paperless" assignments where students could log on, read the assigned article, and post a response. It would be great for students that don't always like to raise their hand to participate in class, and they would have the ability to respond to their classmates posts as well without feeling any pressure. Through this activity, ACTFL communication standard 1.2 would be addressed.
My third use of a blog would be to try and connect my classroom with Spanish speaking students. It would be very beneficial and fun for the students to have a blog "penpal" that they could write and respond to. This would give students the opportunity to learn from native speakers in a comfortable environment. ACTFL comparison standards 4.1 and 4.2 would be addressed because students would be able to compare the Spanish language and culture with their own.
I'm excited to explore the different ways in which a blog will help my students to learn about the Spanish language and culture.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI really do love all of your ideas! I think a blog for parents is a really excellent way of getting parent input. Parents, especially in high school, are often disconnected from their students while in school, but using a blog allows them to discuss different topics of importance. It also helps them make connections with other parents, which I think is very important. I also really love the idea of a blog to create "penpals" for students. I think one of the best characteristics of the internet is it's ability to connect people to places and people they might not have had the chance to experience without the internet. Giving students a blog where they can meet other students and pratice their conversational skills sounds like a great way to enhance in class instruction!
-Melissa
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYour idea for the pen-pals is really a great way to get your students connected globally. It may really help dissolve the ethnocentric views that seem to pervade our country. I would really have loved to have taken part in that as a Spanish student in high school.
I also really liked that you mentioned the pressure that many students feel when they know they must speak in front of their peers. A blog is a great way to alleviate some of this pressure while still allowing them to become part of the conversation.
Nate
You outlined some very good uses of blogs and I particularly like that you are thinking of getting into blogging step by step. With any new strategy in the classroom, it's always a learning process for the teacher as well as the students to see what works well and what needs tweaking.
ReplyDeleteDr. Burgos