weBlog

1. weBlog Land of Lakes TLLP Project

2. What is a blog? • “Blog” is a blend of the words web and log • Includes text, links and other media • Interactive • http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs • http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=367ab9eed5af82966a48

3. What is a wiki? • A wiki allows various individuals to collaborate on a single complex document • http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c04c7bfc822caf7c7459 • http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

4. TLLP:Teacher Learning & Leadership • Goals: • We want our students to embrace the use of technology for sharing ideas and establishing a creative and supportive online learning environment. • In our “TLLP area” of the blog we want to discuss and document our own learning about the interactive world of Web 2.0, and reach out to our colleagues throughout the board who might wish to join us in exchanging information and ideas, especially related to the Intermediate years: English, Math and transition from elementary to high school.

5. TLLP • Why we applied: to motivate and engage our students, and increase our own knowledge • How the application was written • Effect on the study process and the team: motivation, attitude

6. Team members • Team members: Anne Shillolo, Marilyn Smith, Davette Nixon, Lisa Paradis, Jan Schaefer, Melissa Van Kooy. • Grades 5, 6, 7, 8.

7. Team members • IT background of members ranged from: • University IT courses, teaching IT at present, trainer for Assistive Technology To… • Absolutely no background at all. None. Really.

8. TLLP overview • Our funds are primarily for release time and resource materials ($11 900) • Think: designing a graduate seminar for yourself… setting up course content, finding learning materials, reflective practice • A typical meeting

9. TLLP Focus:Learning & Leadership • Documenting how we learned and used our knowledge • Reflective practice (3 types) • Sharing with colleagues • Using knowledge/data to drive classroom practice

10. The study • The goal of the study is to see if increased writing time and use of technology will improve students’ writing and reading scores. • (Suggested in “Me Read… No Way!”)

11. The study • Guidance was provided for all aspects of project management and data collection at a two-day workshop in Toronto last spring. Two of us attended. • We can provide more details to those interested.

12. Data collection & analysis • CASI scores • Attitude surveys • Focus groups • Word counts September vs. May • Compare written and blogged samples of student work

13. Why blog in the classroom? • Constructivist tool for learning • Content becomes part of a wider body of knowledge • Searchable • Potential for a larger audience

14. More… • Expands the walls of the classroom • Archives learning • Allows for reflection and metacognition • Differentiated instruction • Gives students a voice • Greater sense of participation

15. Kelly Brown wrote on Nov. 20 • I was in Boston and Maine recently as a guest of APPLE to visit schools who are using technology as a successful tool in the classroom. In the state of Maine every student at the grade 7 and 8 level has a MAC laptop. • I was able to spend an afternoon in an inner city Boston school (grade 7 and 8). The students were mainly Hispanic and Afro-American and were struggling language learners. • On this particular date these kids were learning how to write a short opinion piece (two or three paragraphs) on a selected topic. • It started with the teacher explaining the topics (e.g. gun control) and then each student had 15-20 minutes to generate a first draft. • The student then shared the piece with an elbow partner and when they agreed it was good enough and error free they posted it to a blog (a smartboard was used to display the blog to the entire class).

16. Kelly Brown cont’d • The teacher then had the entire class stop and he selected a few blogs to assess and comment on. He was getting his kids to think about “what to look for”. • During the last part of the lesson the pairs were asked to select at least two blog posts other than their own so that they could provide peer feedback. • It was a very simple design but the kids were engaged at all times and providing peer feedback in the digital world they are comfortable in. During the entire lesson kids were talking with each other, expressing opinions and providing feedback to their peers. • It was a lesson that used “face to face” interaction and the digital world at the same time. • The threaded conversation throughout the entire class was so productive…

17. New U.S. study • From Will Richardson’s blog (http://weblogg-ed.com/) • A study from the MacArthur Foundation titled “Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project” (pdf) has just been released. • “New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is less apparent in  classroom setting. Youth respect one another’s authority online, and they are often more motivated to learn from peers than from adults. Their efforts are also largely self-directed, and  the outcome emerges through exploration, in contrast to classroom learning that is oriented toward set, predefined goals.”

18. More from U.S. study • “Social and recreational new media use as a site of learning. Contrary to adult perceptions, while hanging out online, youth are picking up basic social and technological skills they   need to fully participate in contemporary society. Erecting barriers to participation deprives teens of access to these forms of learning. Participation in the digital age means more than being able to access “serious” online information and culture. Youth could benefit from educators being more open to forms of experimentation and social exploration that are generally not characteristic of educational institutions.”

19. And one more… • “Youth using new media often learn from their peers, not teachers or adults, and notions of expertise and authority have been turned on their heads. Such learning differs fundamentally from traditional instruction and is often framed negatively by adults as a means of “peer pressure.” Yet adults can still have tremendous influence in setting “learning goals,” particularly on the interest-driven side, where adult hobbyists function as role models and more experienced peers.”

20. The Blogosphere • Students need to know the new literacies in order to function in an information society • There were over 71 million blogs as of January 2007 • That number is expected to double within two years

21. Elementary blogs • Develop an ear for readership • Start conversations about ideas • Ask questions and reflect on answers

22. Student readiness • Each year we see more sophisticated skills • No longer have to teach basics of word processing, Smart Ideas, MS Publisher, or Internet • This evolution has happened in just three years

23. Middle school blogs • Carry on elementary school activities • Become an expert on a topic of study • Compare information from different sources • Reader responses to thoughtful questions

24. High school blogs • Carry on elementary and middle school activities • Extended study and reflection on a topic • Incorporate feedback from readers • Synthesize new information • Advance new ideas

25. Lesson 1 • In a regular classroom • The word “blog” was written at the top of the blackboard and below were two columns: Texting, IM and School. • The students volunteered characteristics of each form. For texting, they put forward a lot of the short forms, plus the comment that there was a word limit and a cost to sending a text message. For school, they said: punctuation, full forms of words, grammar, it would take longer to write, and the idea that a topic would be given by the teacher.

26. Lesson 1 cont’d • We discussed the term “blog” which most were unfamiliar with, and the derivation of the word, from web log to weblog to blog, and related it to an online journal. Then we talked about Web 1.0 where the internet was a repository of information, and Web 2.0 as being more interactive and place to create content. Most understood about this, from Facebook, etc.

27. Lesson 1 cont’d • We discussed the expectations for a school blog, the size of a regular paragraph (5 sentences), and refraining from Hi How Are U messages. • We stressed that the reason for longer posts was to make them as interesting as possible, so that readers will have something to comment on. • Then we went to the lab and wrote a response to my post related to their novel studies. In the following class they read all the posts and responded to several.

28. Student safety • All students and parents sign Acceptable Use Policy • All posts and comments are “moderated”; nothing goes online unless a teacher approves it • Sign in with first name only, or pseudonym

29. Other assignments (so far) • Post literature response and comment twice on others’ comments • Math journals • Post poems and comment on others’ work • Opinions: current events

30. Examples of teachers’ posts • Please read the following links about Young Drivers: http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/539424 or http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/539502 Do you agree or disagree with the new laws proposed? State your opinion and give reasons why. This is your chance to have your say!  Mrs. P.

31. Examples of posts • Howdy Bobcats! • Get your surfing gear on and catch the wave.  Remember our book recommendation structure?  Use this format to blog a recommendation for the book you have recently finished during independent reading time.  Don’t forget to discuss the author’s style and themes!

32. Examples of posts • I am so excited about your math and time travels to other countries!  Please share with your classmates your travel arrangements, the three most important things you learned during this project and pose any questions or problems you are still having.

33. Examples of posts • The last two stanzas of The Highwayman narrative poem are certainly open to interpretation! Both the following points of view were discussed briefly in class. Answer one of the following prompts. • a) Explain why the Highwayman is a ghost story. Are there such things as ghosts? Do you think there is any truth to ghost stories? • b) Explain why the Highwayman is a love story. Do you believe that there is such as thing as a love that is so powerful that is lasts after death? • Thank you, Mrs. Shillolo

34. Examples of posts • Casey At The Bat is a sports story in the form of a narrative poem. What can we learn from reading this type of poem? Please answer one of the following prompts. • a) What can we learn from Casey’s behaviour at various points in the story that could be a lesson for our everyday lives? • b) If you participate in organized sports such as hockey, soccer, basketball, martial arts, etc., what have you learned that applies to your everyday life? • Thank you, Mrs. Shillolo

35. Parts of the blog

36. The classroom blog process • Teacher writes a post and puts it in the appropriate category • Students read the post, click on comment, and respond. Their screen says “awaiting moderation” • Teacher logs on to “site admin” and moderates or approves comments • Now the comments can be seen by all

37. Edublogs features • 100 different design templates • User manual • Different levels of moderation

38. The “dashboard”

39. The Dashboard • Very versatile • Many different settings that can be adjusted • Very fast to write posts, and comments • Very fast to get in and moderate • Downside – no MS-style interface with formatting and spell check, etc.

40. Related activities • The “twilight” category • Lunch Bunch • School website

41. High school ideas • Students could have their own blog, or a small group blog, setting up categories and writing regularly in class or for homework • Small groups could create wikis as a culminating activity

42. The Great Gatsby wiki or blog • Various posts and comments relating to the text • Non-fiction research on the era, for example, cars, fashion, architecture, geography , advertising • A discussion of On Dover Beach (Matthew Arnold) and write their own poems

43. A Book Club wiki • Create categories for Book Club roles, for example: plot, characters, connections, conflict, map • As the roles rotate from week to week, the students post their basic information • After Book Club meetings, written responses and reflections could occur

44. Some highlights, so far • Last spring when we began planning we had a narrow focus: literature responses. Now we seem to easily see how to use the blog for a wide range of student activities. • A teacher who is not on the team asked for training to use the blog in her class. • It has been rewarding to learn that people outside our school community have read the blog and responded (central office staff, teachers from other boards)

45. TLLP category • Our observations and responses about our own learning • Recommendations • Links • Discussions

46. weBlog site • http://weblogtllp.edublogs.org

47. Essential resources • Blogs, wikis, podcasts • Will Richardson • Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA • ISBN 1-4129-2767-6 • edublogs.org website • edublogs manual