Tuesday, January 19, 2010
1st day
Today was the first day of the second semester. Today I had five new classes. Today I was giddy thinking about using the netbooks with these students. Today we talked about them and I noticed the glimmer of interest in the student's eyes. Not all of them, but some. On Friday we are heading to the Media Center to create student blogs. Should be exciting.
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I really enjoyed the time I spent with you and your class last Friday, David. Since my background is elementary, this was a big change for me. Interestingly, I felt immediately comfortable.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I watched for was engagement. Without a job, the students were engaged in the process of creating their own blog. I'm not really that surprised; the trickier part is keeping them engaged. One of the most important things you can do to maintain that interest is to give them great latitude with their blog. Have you thought about whether or not they can write posts that have nothing to do with your class? If you want them to truly value the medium, they need to feel ownership over their blog.
The other thing to consider, over time, is encouraging them to develop a network of people who follow their blog. It is this authentic audience that will provide the greatest motivation.
I look forward to watching your work.
The second paragraph should read, "Without a doubt, the students..." Oops.
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