Integrating Technology in Education Post

OK, first of all, apologies for the weird blog.. I made it a couple of years ago to store old message board posts and really didn't want to make another one just for this class. I'm not a big blogger - though I follow several - and just thought it would be silly to make a SECOND blog I never write on. Maybe when I start teaching I'll make a class blog; until then I'm not really bothered.

Anyway.. blogging can be an interesting tool in a classroom setting. I like the idea of a teacher using a blog to post a review of information covered in class - copies of classnotes, links to sites with more information - or to get a chance to write about a facet of the subject that could not be discussed in class due to time restrictions. I had considered students having blogs to post homework assignment, but thought that would be as much (if not more) work for the teacher, and it wouldn't apply to every student anyway.

I had not considered the implications a blog can have on english learning, or on general scholarly communication, until I read the readings. I really liked the Olwell article which mentioned using a blog as a way to communicate with a historian or other academic figure NOT associated with the classroom. This can be tricky; very popular blogs often get too much traffic for the original blogger to answer everyone's question - and in open blogs students always risk someone ELSE answering, possibly with bad information. Still, if it is done directly, it could prove very interesting. Also interesting was the CNN clip which demonstrated how a blog could be used to increase a student's writing ability -- in which case, the fact that it is globally accessible perhaps helps encourage the student to write better. It's an interesting idea.

Of course, blogs definitely have their drawbacks. The very fact that makes them indispensable -- their accessibility -- can also be a detriment to the safety of students, opening them up to the dangers of the internet. And even in wealthier neighborhoods, there is always the problem of student accessibility. Unless the projects are done in-class, they'd have to be for extra credit (i.e. not mandatory) - otherwise it's unfair to students without access to a computer.

Personally, I'm more excited about the role something like Facebook or Twitter (even though I don't yet Tweet) can play in a classroom than I am about blogs, but I definitely see their value.

One blog I follow (or, rather, followED - she has since moved to a private domain), which is really wonderful, is a photo-blog from a woman in WY who raised a baby coyote. She takes the most amazing photographs I've ever seen, and it's a really interesting journey she's takn. Check her out at: dailycoyote.net/

And, in keeping with this blog title, a photo of my former horse, Cloud. He was a really good boy; I sold him back in March when I no longer had the time/cash to take care of him. This is still one of my favourite ways to see the world, though..