This blog, http://uk.internationalstudent.com/blog/, is about a young man from Australia and his studies in the UK. He is an international student that traveled to the UK to go to Leeds’ college. In his blogging he talks about various experiences and happenings since he has been in the UK going to school. He writes about how the two cultures differ and how they are similar. He also writes about just different experiences that he has encountered in his first two semesters as a student.
This blog, http://www.internationalstudent.com/study-abroad/blog/, Matt a student from the U.S. talks about his studies in Barcelona where he has chosen to go to school to get his MBA. Matt talks about several different topics in his blog but most of them have to do with the things that he has seen over the last two semesters in Barcelona. He talks about being disappointed by fellow Americans’ behavior and finally getting spring break. Most of his blog is used to describe not just school but his experiences in another country as he studies abroad.
In looking at all of the international blogs, I see a trend between all of these students. A lot of these students write about there experiences in a place away from home and how the cultures are different and a lot of the time how they are similar. I read about how the students deal with the difficulty of being away from home and how they deal with the stress of school.
I really enjoy these blogs because it shows all of us how we are different and how we are the same from a lot of the world. These blogs can be educational to those of us that will never have the opportunity to study abroad in a different country. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the things that they have faced being in a different land. These blogs can be very helpful to those who are struggling as international students trying to fit in and also to those of us who are around those students to see what they are going through and be able to understand them better.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Using blogs in K-12 classrooms
In this site, http://blogs.oaisd.org/236, Bauer Elementary School in Michigan uses blogs to keep parents informed on what their third graders are learning and doing in school. It shows numerous pictures and activities that the children are involved in. The blog covers not only one class but several subjects that the kids are in. The blog keeps the parents updated on the happenings of the school and gives them a feeling of involvement in their child’s education. I really like what this school has done to keep parents informed.
In this blog, http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/, seniors from Mrs. C’s class in Alabama are required to make two blogs a week on related material from the class. The students must make a post on things that they have learned or discussed in the class that previous week. I really like this blog because it allows the teacher to see who is paying attention and who is just there. This blog is an excellent way to keep the teacher in contact with her students and keep the students updated on things that are going on in the English class. I also like the idea of having the kids make post every week to see what they learned from that week’s class. I would recommend this use of blogs to any teacher.
In my research I have found several teachers using blogs in their classroom. There are a lot more out there than I thought. I have also noticed that not all of the teachers use it for the same thing. The reason I picked the two blogs that I did is because the two teachers are using their blogs for two different reasons. I was able to see that teachers use blogs to keep parents updated on what their children are not telling them and some use them to keep in contact with their students and to see what they have learned or found interesting in their classes.
I really liked the first blog that I commented on. I remember being in elementary school and having to take home all of these notes to let my parents know what were going on in school. I also remember how mad my parents would get when they were supposed to be somewhere but they didn’t get the letter because I forgot to show them or lost it. With this blog parents can download the letters they were supposed to receive but didn’t. I really like the way that Bauer Elementary is using technology to keep everyone in the loop.
In this blog, http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/, seniors from Mrs. C’s class in Alabama are required to make two blogs a week on related material from the class. The students must make a post on things that they have learned or discussed in the class that previous week. I really like this blog because it allows the teacher to see who is paying attention and who is just there. This blog is an excellent way to keep the teacher in contact with her students and keep the students updated on things that are going on in the English class. I also like the idea of having the kids make post every week to see what they learned from that week’s class. I would recommend this use of blogs to any teacher.
In my research I have found several teachers using blogs in their classroom. There are a lot more out there than I thought. I have also noticed that not all of the teachers use it for the same thing. The reason I picked the two blogs that I did is because the two teachers are using their blogs for two different reasons. I was able to see that teachers use blogs to keep parents updated on what their children are not telling them and some use them to keep in contact with their students and to see what they have learned or found interesting in their classes.
I really liked the first blog that I commented on. I remember being in elementary school and having to take home all of these notes to let my parents know what were going on in school. I also remember how mad my parents would get when they were supposed to be somewhere but they didn’t get the letter because I forgot to show them or lost it. With this blog parents can download the letters they were supposed to receive but didn’t. I really like the way that Bauer Elementary is using technology to keep everyone in the loop.
Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide
ACCESS is a very intriguing concept that definitely implements lots of technology into our school system. I would love to be able to use this program in my future teaching. I would like to be able to teach a class through the IVC and would also like to see lessons taught to my class through this process. I think that the internet was intended to be a teaching tool and I think that it is an excellent thing to use for that purpose. I really like the idea of using the internet for classes before you get into college especially with the short supply of teachers that we have here in the state and especially in Mobile County.
Given the opportunity I would like to be able to use the ACCESS system. I really like the fact that we can have one teacher teaching to hundreds of students in a conference type setting. My only reserve about this whole process is the loss of control in the classroom. Although that does concern me, I have enjoyed my internet classes and they give me the freedom to work at my own pace whether it is faster or slower than my fellow students. I think that if this system was implemented into more schools it would definitely help on our shortage of teachers but would also hurt the impact that a teacher-student relationship can have on the life of a student.
Given the opportunity I would like to be able to use the ACCESS system. I really like the fact that we can have one teacher teaching to hundreds of students in a conference type setting. My only reserve about this whole process is the loss of control in the classroom. Although that does concern me, I have enjoyed my internet classes and they give me the freedom to work at my own pace whether it is faster or slower than my fellow students. I think that if this system was implemented into more schools it would definitely help on our shortage of teachers but would also hurt the impact that a teacher-student relationship can have on the life of a student.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alabama Learning Exchange is an excellent source of information. There are hundreds of sites that share tons of information on different courses of study. There is access to hundreds of lesson plans and different ideas from teachers around the state. On the ALEX website, you can search for specific information or just browse through subjects which make it easy to find what you are looking for. The site has information on all subjects and a lot of the information that is encompassed in that subject. This site is a very helpful tool that can be used by all for creative ideas and ways to present a subject.
Found in this site is many different resources that are excellent for teachers in the state of Alabama. This site offers many things needed or useful to teachers such as lesson plans and creative teaching strategies. Teachers can use this site not only to help them prepare but to help them obtain new and exciting ways of teaching the same old subjects. This site also allows teacher to post their creative ideas and lesson plans for use by other teachers in need.
After researching the internet for ALEX and information that goes with it, I have decided that this can be an effective tool in my classroom. I plan to use ALEX to spice up the environment in my classroom and get the students excited about learning the subjects in school. If need be I would definitely turn to ALEX for information on a subject matter that I may not be extremely familiar with or if I needed a way to express my thoughts into a students perspective.
I would definitely like to take advantage of the information that is on this website. I would like to use this information not only to benefit my teaching but to help the students understand the subject matter better. I would also like to take advantage of the fact that I could share some of my knowledge to other teachers across the state or across the nation so that they might be able to learn from what I teach my students. I really like the search function on this site and would definitely use it to possibly find specific material on certain subject matter.
Found in this site is many different resources that are excellent for teachers in the state of Alabama. This site offers many things needed or useful to teachers such as lesson plans and creative teaching strategies. Teachers can use this site not only to help them prepare but to help them obtain new and exciting ways of teaching the same old subjects. This site also allows teacher to post their creative ideas and lesson plans for use by other teachers in need.
After researching the internet for ALEX and information that goes with it, I have decided that this can be an effective tool in my classroom. I plan to use ALEX to spice up the environment in my classroom and get the students excited about learning the subjects in school. If need be I would definitely turn to ALEX for information on a subject matter that I may not be extremely familiar with or if I needed a way to express my thoughts into a students perspective.
I would definitely like to take advantage of the information that is on this website. I would like to use this information not only to benefit my teaching but to help the students understand the subject matter better. I would also like to take advantage of the fact that I could share some of my knowledge to other teachers across the state or across the nation so that they might be able to learn from what I teach my students. I really like the search function on this site and would definitely use it to possibly find specific material on certain subject matter.
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