My taking action this week was demonstrated by creating a class blog and class wiki. At first I wanted to just post information to give the students a chance to look at their vocabulary words for the week in another place instead of just on the board. Many students say that they did not see the words despite the words being on the board all week. I figured that I could post them on-line and then the students' ability to excuse away their laziness would at the very least be diminished. Hence, the blog was created. I fooled around with it some and then thought it would be neat if the students could post things on the site and wikis are much better for this so I created a wiki. I made a page for each period. I start my classes off by asking the students if they have used their vocabulary words outside of the classroom and now I can have them post their use of the words on their class page instead.
Today I had the bulk of them write down their email addresses for me so I could invite them onto the class wiki. I am excited to see how this is going to work. My class wiki can be found at www.crawfordclass.wetpaint.com
I think this is going to be one of those things that will take on a life of its own.
Ruthie
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Ruth, you have gotten off to a great start in your actions. Students love publishing their thoughts and opinions. This great love of theirs is what makes the social networking sites like Face Book and My Space intriguing to them. If individual ideas with valid evidence from reputable sources are accepted , students would become increasingly open-minded and creative with their thoughts. Like so many adults, students love sharing ideas about many things.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your classroom blog and wiki!
Shirley Larry