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My Classroom Calendar!

To see instructions on how to access the classroom calendar click here!

RSS Feeds In The Classroom

RSS feeds can be used for multiple purposes in the classroom. As a teacher we can subscribe to feeds to ensure we are continuing our education and keeping pace with recent actions within the community and/or government regarding our careers and school districts. As for students, my specialization is social studies. I can have students subscribe to feeds regarding local or even global news. This way they can see what is going on in their own community as well as what is going on in other areas of the world. With this information there are a number of lesson plans I can draft, depending on grade level. I can also have students subscribe to a feed surrounding a content area. For example, earlier in a lab I did a lesson plan on the rainforest. I could have students subscribe to a feed that discusses issues of the rainforest, the effects of destruction and where we are now in terms of conservation. This past election would have also been a great thing to have students subscribe to and keeping track of the multiple debates/primaries. As a future social studies teacher I see this as a huge resource. I believe learning is much more meaningful when the students are able to connect to it on a greater level. Using these feeds (current events) to teach the content instead of focusing on a textbook will allow this meaningful learning to evolve.

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As the years progress so does the advancement of technology. Technology has come to be a tool teachers can use in the classroom to enhance the learning of their students. Although their are many different uses of technology that can do this, the focus of this blog is blogging in the classroom.

The recent innovation of the blog has opened the door for how teachers use and teach with technology. They allow for learning through social interaction on the web.  Blogs can benefit both teachers and students as they are used in the classroom. The list below is a number of ways blogs can be incorporated into the classroom but its use is almost limitless.

 

1. A teacher can use a blog as an organizational tool.  A blog can be used to post a calendar of events, due dates or subject topics daily, weekly or monthly.  In addition, they can post absent work, keeping the student as up to date as possible with their work.  This organization can benefit the students' allowing them to know what is expected of them each week and what they can anticipate to see in the classroom each week.

2. Teachers can also work together, possibly by the grade they teach, to blog about classroom management strategies they felt worked or didn't work, upcoming events, instructional strategies on subject matter, ideas they felt enhanced their students learning, and any other classroom related information to further their learning as an educator to ensure their students are participating in meaningful learning. 

3. As a "Comment Box".  Many times there is not enough time in the day to answer or acknowledge each students questions, ideas or concerns.  Through the blog students can post any questions, ideas, or concerns and the teacher can respond accordingly.  This strengthens communication between the teachers and students as well as strengthens the teacher student relationship. 

4. A teacher can use a blog as a literature circle or a book club.  Based on the text(s) read in class one can have students respond to writing prompts or post their own ideas they have about the text and how they interpreted the text, chapter, or section they have read.  Then you can have students respond to eachother by forcing the response to extend their thinking and challenge some of the ideas the author has blogged.  If it were a book club, each student can write their role on the blog.  For example, each student will have a role similar to setting, character attitude, new vocabulary words, points of climax, summary, whatever you assign to each student.  When the text is finished students can see how their thinking was challenged, changed or stayed the same as they read the text. 

5. The writing process.  Teachers can have students post each step of the writing process in their own blog.  Then the teacher can choose one student to review and edit another's piece by responding to their blog.  Setting up another blog where each student's final product is posted and shared on the worldwide web exhibits the last stage of the writing process, publication.  Students may be more motivated knowing their piece will be published on the worldwide web. 

REMINDER: Before a blog is introduced into the classroom it is vital that students are proficient in its use and know the approriate rules and behavior set forth in a blog. 

 Click here for an example of rules one teacher created.