Journal #1

Extreme Makeover: Updating Class Activities for the 21st Century
Shifflet, Rena & Toleda, C. (2008) Extreme makeover: updating class activities for the 21st Century. Learning and Leading in Technology. 34-35.

In our age of information, it is important that the educational system is incorporating technology in to learning. There are many new tools that educators have available to them that are free, interactive, and enhance learning. Previously, the typical day for a student regardless of grade level involved listening to instruction from a teacher and then applying their new knowledge through skill practice. This type of instruction is repetitive, boring, and often does not result in learning for students who learn more visually or who have a learning disability. Technological tools that involve social networking are available and provide unique opportunities for students to learn through collaboration and investigation. For example, with the web-based program Zoho Writer, multiple students can work together on one word document and make additions and revisions. Some other social networking tools available that could be used to enhance learning in the classroom include blogging, social book-marking, and photo sharing. Blogs encourage students to do their best work since their work will be available for all students to see. Blogs are also a great way for teachers to showcase student work or to communicate to parents of students what type of work is being done in the classroom. Social book-marking allows students to share educational websites or simply to find a common interest and build community in the classroom. All of these tools transform the traditional classroom that we are used to in to an active, engaging educational experience in which every student is involved. There are so many free tools available for use for educators and our classrooms will be improved in many ways as a result of them.

Question #1: How do you ensure that all students are receiving the same type of instruction if they do not have the resources at home?
No instruction or required lessons should ever remind students of something that they don’t have that their peers do have. Therefore, the teacher should reserve time in a computer lab or library if the resources aren’t available inside the classroom. There should be no required homework that students have to do at home that involves these technology tools because not all students will have access to the resources. Teachers should give students ample time to complete these assignments during school hours.


Blogging Right Along
Mader, Jared, & Smith, B. (2008) Blogging right along. Learning and Leading in
Technology. 36.

Blogging is an excellent technological classroom tool. Not only is it socially interactive to help build community in the classroom, it is educational as students collaborate and learn from their peers as well as their teacher. In the article “Blogging Right Along”, the authors discuss the benefits of using this great tool and how it can promote unity in the classroom and educational equity. Teachers can create a classroom blog and let students upload their work and contribute to the blog. Student participation in the blogging process is key because they are encouraged to do their best work as they know that it will eventually be shared with their peers. Teachers can monitor the blog to make sure that all of the material is appropriate and they don’t have to worry about students “messing it up” because on many of the free blogging websites, there are built-in tools for the blog creator to edit any of the material. Another benefit of a blog is providing a resource for students who need extra help or who missed a day of class. Parents also have access to their students work and when they begin to wonder “What did my child do today at school”, they will be able to log-in and find out.

Question #2: Does blogging create unhealthy competition between students?
If students are posting their work side-by-side, will this create healthy competition or anxiety for the lower-performing students? Also, if students can revise each others work, how do you ensure that all students become editors and not just have a few students who are constantly having their work edited. As a solution to this, the teacher might consider assigning an “editor” to the blog everyday who is revising work and making sure that all of the work on the blog is up to the standards.