Communication+and+Collaboration+through+Blogging


 * Communication and Collaboration through Blogging: **


 * __ Description: __** Blog is a shorthand name for weblog. Blogs are becoming more and more popular everyday. My task was to create a blog that I would be able to actually use in my classroom. After participating in a blog and realizing how useful something like this could be in a classroom, I created a blog myself. My blog is called Insights into Data and it is relates to my unit on graphing. There are so many uses for blogs in the classroom. You can use a blog as a way to communicate with parents and students about important dates and or reminders about upcoming assignments. You could also use blogs as a way for students to summarize about a particular lesson or assignment. For this activity I did just that. I created a blog that my students will use to reflect and summarize their final project for our Insights into Data Unit.


 * __ Process for Determining and Developing Blog: __** I decided to make my blog a place where students can reflect on the lessons or activities that have been completed in class. I will post a discussion topic and then it is my student’s responsibility to make sure that they reply to the posts to receive credit. I know there are some students who may not have access to a computer at home so when I require a response those students will have the first opportunity to use the computers in the back of my classroom. To create this blog I used Blogger. Blogger is a website that is extremely user friendly and really has a lot to offer to allow you to make your blog unique to your needs and wants. In order to create a blog using blogger the only thing you need is a gmail account. Once you have a gmail account the process is quite easy. First you have to name your blog and select a template for your blog. You will also have to input some information about you, the creator of the blog. Now is the fun part. You are now able to add all different kinds of gadgets to your blog to really reflect what it is exactly that pertains to your unit or lesson.


 * __ Reflection: __** I never really knew what a blog was before completing this activity. I had always heard of it and heard people talk about how they used them in their classrooms but I just always thought it wasn’t for me and would not work well in my classroom. After completing this activity and seeing all the different uses that a blog can have in a classroom I really think that I could implement the use of blogs in my classroom. I can see how the use of blogs can open the doors of communication in the classroom so much. I think that for some students who may not be able to speak in front of the class may be more likely to participate in a blog if given the opportunity. I think that a blog could also allow for classroom discussions to go to a whole new level as well. Many times in class we have to end a discussion because we are really limited on time but the possibilities are endless when discussing online. Not only could a blog be used to discuss class activities or lessons but it would be a great way to speak communicate with parents and students about upcoming due dates, projects or assignments. I really liked how the program that we used, “Blogger” was so user friendly and allowed me to add features such as a poll, video clips, and slideshows of pictures. It really allowed me to connect with the activity or lesson at hand.


 * __ Link to Blog: __**

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