Skip to main content

Using Blogger in the Classroom



A New Blog

Well, this is my new blog for EDU 585, and creating it was pretty easy and straightforward. I have had another blog for many years, but it has been a while since I created one. I picked the simple template, but had to change the color. I think as time goes on I will make improvements to the layout, but I will keep it simple for now.

Blogger in the Classroom

I have never used Blogger for school or for teaching, but it seems like it would be a very useful tool in the classroom. For younger students who might not be capable of blogging, I would use the blog for a communication tool. A teacher could show parents what the class is working on, host an e-newsletter, or provide information on homework. Instructions for interactive homework assignments can be given, which increases the quality and likelihood of completion of the assignment. The blog could be used to teach parents how to support learning at home. For example, to support literacy at home, the teacher could post videos demonstrating how to read to children, or give some ideas of good children's literature and questions parents can ask their child while they are reading.

For students who are capable of blogging in upper-elementary, middle and high school, students can post drafts of work, and other students can read and post comments.  Since teaching a topic supports deeper learning, students could teach others a topic they have researched or learned, and other students can ask questions. The blog could be used as a digital portfolio to show work throughout the school year. Students could do book recommendations, or have debates online.

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. Blogger is a great free resource, and with a little creativity, the possibilities are endless.

Photo sources

Blog pixabay.com
Student with computer by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Going Beyond Presentations with Prezi Next

This week, in order to extend my learning on Going Beyond Presentations , I decided to do something completely different from Google Slides. Instead, I created a Prezi presentation. Apparently, Prezi has been updated and is now called Prezi Next . I have minimal experience with the classic version of Prezi, so learning the new version was basically starting over. Thankfully, Youtube is always there for me when I learn something new. I found this video to be very helpful. Incidentally, the video was from the Technology for Teachers and Students Youtube channel, which looks like it may be a good channel to subscribe to for future reference. The video pointed out that you can sign up for a free student account with Prezi that gives you more options than the regular free account does. Overall, I found creating the Prezi to be easier than in the past with the classic version. The main difficulty I had was with editing subtopics. I could never figure out how to get to the zoomed in subtop...
4 comments
Read more

Nearpod

Nearpod is a tool for teachers to create presentations that can be shared with students in live class mode, or at student self-pace. I thought the learning curve on this was very easy, and I created a presentation pretty quickly. Nearpod Silver edition is free, and Nearpod Gold costs $12 per month. Among other differences, with Silver you can have a class of up to 30 and cannot do student self-paced mode. I created a presentation about perimeter and area of squares and rectangles. Here it is: To start a presentation, just click on Create your own lesson: Next, choose from Add Content, Add Web Content or Add Activity. There are many different options for content and activities to add. I started by adding a video. You simply insert the share address of the youtube video under Add Web Content. Next, I added an interactive simulation from content. It is an area builder game. This slide is a collaborate slide. In live mode, the students' answers are posted ...
6 comments
Read more