Thing #3

I am not a big fan of blogs; well, I can’t say that exactly, I don’t blog.  I am certain students today are much more familiar with it than I am.  I reviewed the recommended sight; some of their recommendations didn’t appeal to me.  I did find some of the suggestion worth further exploration.  I think I would like to blog in my education courses to reflect on my teaching experiences.  Experiences from others would gain me insights into other possible approaches to a myriad of tasks.  It would be a quasi mentoring program.  Initially I would be the most benefited, I’m sure.  Writing something I have learned may also be beneficial to others.  My favorite reason for blogging with other teachers would be to share ideas.  I also want to keep on top of important teaching and learning issues.

Starting a class blog would make it easy to communication with parents and family.  Clarksville is a military town so extended families may not live close by.  Another good reason, unfortunately, is that we live in a world of yours, mine and others. (Divorce) Parents may not communicate well with each other, but they  would be able to access the classroom blog with ease.  Parents would learn first-hand what their child is working on.  It would assist non-custodial parents think they are more involved with their child’s education.  I have chaperoned class trips in the past; a classroom blog would allow photo posting for instant access, when my class took a trip.  The class activities could be blogged quickly; it would be as if they were all there with them.  I like the idea of building a class newsletter, using student written article and photos, but I think it would not be feasible for my class, I teach Spanish.  I would like to link my class with another class, Mexico actually; I have cousins who teach in four different Mexican states; that would be AWESOME.  I don’t think having my students set up a blog would work at this time, but a shared weblog to complete a Web Quest may be in the cards.  I don’t know how to complete the last two items, YET, but the possibility of doing them fills me with excitement and anticipation.