After hearing so much about blogs from my classmates and the classes I have taken so far, I have decided to start my own math blog/vlog for the 3rd and fourth quarter. I often get e-mails or notes from parents about clarification of a concept, or have students ask me for a quick refresher of the previous day's material. Then there are the students who are absent for a day, or even a few days who would like to keep up with the instruction. I think that a daily blog post would be a perfect solution for all of these problems.
Blogs have the unique ability to be updated quickly and frequently, by me or even by the students. I was amazed at how easy it was to get a free blog for my class (there were many options to choose from, such as Edublogs, Blogger.com, TeacherLingo, etc.) and how easy it was for me to set up. I really like the option to upload written posts, as well as video posts.
My teammate and I both teach an above grade level math class, and have decided to work on this project together. Our current plan is to write a script for students to read and then video tape them (not showing their face) demonstrating that day's learning. For example, when teaching long division we would video tape them completing and explaining a long division problem, including any "tricks" or "tips" of the day. Then we would quickly upload the video to the blog to allow all of the students and parents to view the day's recap. If we are unable to film a video one day, we figure we can either film each other, or create a regular blog post about what we learned. We are going to start with a twice a week upload instead of a daily upload until we see how it works and how many people are using it.
We have just begun to explore our options, and have the full support of our administrators, as long as we can keep it private and the parents agree to it. Now it's time to create a "permission slip" and find the perfect hosting site. I'll update you more when I get it up and running!
I also found this website with some blogging tools that I thought you might find useful :)
50 useful blogging tools for teachers
Kristen, this sounds like a great plan. I know your students and parents will enjoy being able to listen to students recording a review of a lesson and it will help to give the students a better understanding of the concepts. The thought of a daily blog for school seems a little overwhelming to me but, I think that working with a co-teacher is a great idea so you can share the responsibility. I hope it works well for you.
ReplyDeleteKristen, I think the math vlog sounds great & so helpful for students & parents at home! I don't know if this would work timing wise, but it might be beneficial to ask students to help create the script because that would get them in the habit of explaining their thinking & sometimes I find that when some of my students are having trouble understanding, it helps to have another student explain it in "child speak". Good luck!
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