MEDT 3401 Blog 1

http://kdgroom102.blogspot.com/
I viewed Mrs. Blakely and her Kindergarten class's blog. The use of blogging in the manner in which this teacher utilized it is brilliant. Mrs Blakely used teacher tube and blogging to document trips, activities, and class assignments that were accomplished. Each blog consists of a synopsis of what the class learned and did that day and a video via teacher tube capturing significant outings and moments throughout that day. This blog page can be beneficial for anyone surrounding the well being of a any student within the class's education. Everyone from the principal, to fellow teachers, to fellow students, to the parents can access this blog and instantly become updated on the happenings inside Mrs. Blakely's classroom. Additionally, features including blogs the class enjoys, a mini meet and greet of the teacher with contact information and a photo, and a calender of upcoming events are also enclosed for viewers.
As of two days ago this blog is still being updated as well as viewed by others, and I am guessing the blog will continue to be used until the end of the school year. I am so glad that i viewed this blog because it is a wonderful method of including parents and other education professionals into the everyday situations and lesson plans the students participate in. I would definitely use this concept of blogging into my own classroom. It is a innovative, modern, and easy way to document and interact with those interested in the student's academic development.

Blog Post #1 -- 9th-12th Grades English--Ms. Huff

I reviewed 9th-12th Grades English--Ms. Huff, http://class.huffenglish.com/

This is a wonder organized blog. The blog is for students, but parents can visit the blog to find out about lesson plans, test dates, and assignment due dates. The purpose of this blog is to help students review class lessons, give students a calendar/syllabus, and review lessons if absent. It is a great way for Ms. Huff’s students to keep up with the work and the lessons. This blog is up-to-date and is currently being used by Ms. Huff and her class. This is a wonderful tool to help students who are disorganized or forgetful. I would like to incorporate some of the ideals of this blog into my own teaching blog. Ms. Huff spends a lot of time updating the information! This blog is so in the classroom; no more excuses or arguments from students about I did not know or I thought it was due next week, etc. The high school students are responsible for the information on the blog just like we are responsible for the information on WebCt.

Blog Post #1 -- Kindergarten Blog

I reviewed Kindergarten Blog, http://kdgroom102.blogspot.com/

There were videos on writing numerals. She broke them down in small numeric groups: 1-5 and 6-9. The audience for this blog is the students. This is a great way to help students learn how to write numbers. She also has a rhyme to go with each number to help remember the numbers. This is a great resource for the students, because they can practice and learn on their own if the teacher is busy assisting other students. I believe this blog is still being used. It is a very helpful blog for her students and all students learning to recognize and write numbers. This would be wonderful lesson/blog for my special education students who need additional help.

Another video I reviewed Ms. Forsberg’s gym class; the students were rock climbing. The audience for this blog is both students and parents: the parents can see their children actually rock climbing and the students can be reminded of this fun activity. I like this exercise because not all learning comes from books. Rock climbing is a great way to have children work together, build confidence and help teach students healthy habits. This entry was added to the blog on Friday October 24, 2008, so the blog is still being used. It is great to use this blog to show students what their peers can achieve and hopefully giving other students the confidence to try something new, even if the height of the wall is scary.

MEDT3401 Blog Post 1

I reviewed the Kindergarten Tales blog. I really loved it. I liked that the colors were bright and grabbed your attention and that she had posted videos. The rock climbing video was pretty neat. I thought it was cool that the students had a rock climbing wall in their school gym. I think the blog was used to highlight interesting things that were learned by the kindergarteners. I think the audience of the blog is parents and fellow teachers because they can see what the students learned and how to teach the same lessons. I think that the purpose of the blog is to show parents and teachers what the students can learn and how they can learn it. There is even an example of teaching how to write numerals and it says follow along at home so the blog is interactive with students as well. I think the blog is useful in and out of the classroom. The last poting was on October 24, 2008 so it is definately still in use.

I also reviewed the 9-12th grade english blog by Mrs. Huff. I really liked that she had book covers on her blog as a background. I think the target audience of this blog is for students and parents because it tells about assignments completed in class and things that have been graded and will show up on progress reports that are sent home to parents. I think that this is a good way for students and parents to stay on top of assignments in the English class. The purpose of the blog is to inform students and parents of what has been going on in the classroom. I think the blog is mostly useful out of the classroom because it is updated at the end of the day and it was last updated on October 24, 2008 so it is currently in use.

Medt Discussion - Mrs. Huff's and 9th and 9th Grade Math

I chose to view Mrs. Huff's English Class in her Blogs she has it set up like a wekkly update for her students. She outlines characters that they are reading about in Literature as well as what common mistakes people made on research papers (like not putting their header in the right place. She also puts up technology links to help them while doing papers for her class as well as assignments in class. She updates students who missed class in an attempt to keep them in the loop and i think that;s a great idea almost like high school web ct.
The second blog that i looked at was 7th and 8th grade math, this blog hasn't been used since June 30th 2006 but when it was being used it was helpful it has the assignments for each daily class split up into grades as well as current event, for instance there is a farewell passage to all the seniors because they had a graduation exercise that day, it's clearly targeted towards the students beacuse there are alot of surveys that were done in class that are posted on the blog so that the students knew that they had imput in the way the class was run. I like this idea and i think that it was a great way to comminicate with their students.

I also chose to look at a first grade class from Canada. These blogs are being used in the classroom to capture the students hard at work. The audience that looks at the blog is most likely the parents of the students. They can use this in order to keep up with their children and the progress they are making in the classroom. The purpose is to show parents what their children are learning in order for them to keep up with where they are in school. This blog is up to date and appears to be used a lot. I think this is a great way for the teacher to showcase her students and all that they are learning. I also think that there should be a place for children to communicate with others also and talk about what they personally have been doing in the classroom.

I reviewed Mrs. Gilbert's 3rd Grade Blog, and Blogmeister, which is a blog for first graders.

I shall first discuss Mrs. Gilbert's blog. The blog's last posting is from June of 2008, and it is a way for the students (the main audience) to keep in touch while they are on summer vacation. The blog's purpose is for students to learn how to blog, and to keep up with various third grade announcements. There are a list of fun learning activities for the student to do on the right side of the blog. (check out the Adaptation: Build A Beast, located under all the student names on the right.) It appears this blog is not currently being used, though last year it was started in October of 2007. It could be the teacher has not introduced her current class to blogging yet, or perhaps she has a separate blog for her new class. This tool is very limited to this specific class, and its potential dies as the students enter a new classroom as they are no longer her third grade class.

Blogmeister is currently used for K-2 graders. This is the teacher's third year maintaining this blog, and it is filled with great pictures of the students and their assignments. Teacher assignments are located on the left. The main audience is likely the teacher, the students, and possibly the parents of the students. Apart from describing and showing pictures of activities done that day, it does not appear the blog is used in concert with the classroom, though I am sure the students are getting a kick out of seeing their pictures on the internet.

Blog Post #1

I chose to look at Mrs. Gilberts third grade blog post. The post was used in the classroom through interaction with other students via the web. The students were also able to use this as a resource in order to see what books would be used for this year’s battle of the books. The audience that the teacher is trying to reach is her third grade students. The blog seems to serve as a way for the teacher to inform the students about what is going on and also to communicate with them when they are not in school. The blog seems to be used for announcements instead of a device to be used from day to day, and has not been updated since this summer. I think this tool is very inventive and is a good way to communicate with others. This tool has the potential to be used out of the classroom if the teacher regularly gives the students an assignment to do while at home. I think it can be beneficial to the teacher as well as the students.