If implemented correctly blogs could be a very useful resource in the classroom. The constructivism model is the instructional strategy that would fit well with using blogs in the classroom. According to the constructivism model, as a teacher, you are encouraging students to discover knowledge on their own, and engaging students in an active dialogue. Within the constructivism model the Project Based Learning approach fits the best when using a blog. The students begin with a problem and then research to develop solutions to the problem. Students could research blogs to discover a solution and then they could use their own blog to defend their own solutions.
Blogging has many benefits to students. It allows students the opportunity to be experts on a subject matter. It also helps increase the students' interest in learning. Students are able to have their ideas heard which can provide much confidence.
The Didactic approach to teaching would not be a good strategy when using blogs. This is a more direct approach to teaching. The teacher is providing all the information through direct lessons. There usually is no time to for students to discover information on their own.
In a social studies classroom there are lots of opportunities to use blogs. You could have student research and answer a weekly question. For example, why are the "Bill of Rights" so important? Why are they needed? and Without them what would happen? There are many more possibilities. But, I would love to use it as a weekly assignment, if my classes were able to have access to computers at school or at home.
Web 2.0 technologies are usually very adaptive in a social studies classroom. I am having a difficult time thinking of a Web 2.0 technology that would not usually be used in a social studies classroom. Blogging, Wiki, and RSS feeders would all great tools to use. There is so much information on the web that is just waiting to be uncovered.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I love the fact that you would use blogs to implement a weekly assignment. This is something that students would know about in advance and can freely express themselves. I always had trouble when the entire class had to present something each week because I felt I wasn't able to fully explain my topic.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that the weekly assignment is a great idea. It would be fun to see how students defend their ideas to the class. The blog gives the student ownership in their writing. In using the assignment weekly, the students will become more comfortable with the format. This should allow for some heated debates on interpretational assignments.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar idea of using my wikispace to post weekly discussions of my subject content. I just established the discussion board today and I started out with simple questions so that students would feel comfortable contributing to the board. I modeled for students how to add a comment and gave them possible sites to look at for the answers. As we move forward, I hope to have students engage in higher level questions that allow the students to express themselves and their learning. It is a daunting task, but I am looking forward to implementing this medium into my regular classroom activities.
ReplyDelete