Creating Individual Blogs vs. Co-Authoring One Blog

I am trying to decide if I should create sixty blogs for my students to use or have them co-author one blog. I guess I need to consider the pros and cons of each.

Pros of each student having their own blogs:
1. Students get to change themes to reflect their personality.
2. Students can add widgets to their blog they choose.
3. Students feel pride when their cluster map shows people visiting.
4. Students can continue to use their blog after they move to 6th grade.

Cons of each student having their own blogs:
1. Set up time is huge.
2. I have to spend time checking students blogs to make sure the widgets are
appropriate.
3. Some students never change anything on their blogs.
4. Most of last years students have not posted on their blogs since my last assignment.
5. The way I have our blog aggregator set up, when a student changes a post the changes do not get updated on the aggregated blog.

Pros of having a co-authored blog:
1. Set up time is much smaller.
2. When a student modifies a post, it automatically updates the aggregated blog.
3. I don't need to spend time showing students how to change things or how to keep
their blog safe.

Unknowns of a co-authored blog.
1. Don't know how many people can be creating new posts on the blog at one time.

I think I will try to set up the co-authored blog and see how it works. The time saving by itself makes it very appealing. I can always show students that want to create their own blog how to do it without having to spend important instruction time on it.

Why I Stream Video

Ever since I started streaming video of my classroom at NoelTigers.com using Ustream people have asked me why. It really started as a lark. I was in another teacher's room helping her with a tech problem when I saw a internet cam sitting in her drawer. I asked her what she was using it for and she told me that she had it because of a satellite class that was going to be held in her room that had not panned out. I asked her if I could borrow it and she told me I could have it. I skipped back to me room wondering how I could use my new toy.

After I got it up and running, which took considerable effort because I didn't have any software to install so I had to find some streaming software to use, I showed my class that I could stream video. At the time it was simply something new and interesting to share with my class.

After hearing about two streaming services on a Leo Laporte podcast I decided to check them out. I looked at Ustream.tv and Stickam.com. I thought they both looked really complicated, but finally chose Ustream because it seemed a little easier to figure out. (I think it still is easier, although Stickam has some compelling tools that you can use too.)

After messing around with Ustream I discovered I could record video. Now I can see a reason to use the webcam, I can record stuff we do in class for the blog. I really like the idea of digital records for my students. Unfortunately, I discovered a big problem. The web cam did not have a built in microphone. So, I can record video, but I can't record audio. Once again I ran into a roadblock.

A few weeks passed and I put making video's out of my mind. Soon I received a digital camera that could take video (lousy video) that I could use so I now had no reason to use the web cam.

I don't really know what really made me think of doing the live stream all the time, It may have had something to do with watching videos of Steve Spangler doing science experiments. Surely watching Chris Pirillo taking skype calls on his net show was part of it. I know some of the seeds were planted when I read Friedman's The World is Flat and I realized my students needed to think more globally.

Finally, a real reason to stream from my classroom started to form. I wanted to share my classroom with people outside of my school. I wanted my students to show what they were doing to anyone that wanted to see. I wanted a connection to form between my students and the world.

The obvious people coming to watch were parents. Unfortunately, most of my students' parents don't have access to computers on the internet. My video stream to this day is still more likely to be seen by someone outside of the United States thanby a parent of one of my students. That is the reality I face.

The natural extension to this is: What does streaming mean for my class? It is a constant reminder that our world does not end at our city limits. It is the means by which my students come to realize our world is literally an internet connection away. It is my way of showing my students they can more than what my town can offer.

Everything Old is New Again (The Rap on Schoolhouse Rock!)

I pulled out my Schoolhouse Rock! dvd last week in class when I was trying to remediate my class in subjects and predicates. I showed then "The Tale of Mr. Morton" which focuses on subjects and predicates. After going through the video a couple times through which I would stop and point out the subject, Mr. Morton, and the predicate, walked up stairs, my students responded with "Oh" and "I get it!"

The next day I gave them a rather simple assessment of subjects and predicates and all but two failed miserably. Obviously they didn't "get it".

I think music and video are wonderful teaching tools. They can really emphasize points and help with memorization. (We use "The Preamble" to help our students memorize the Preamble to the Constitution which they recite as part of their public speaking requirements.) Unfortunately, they are not necessarily the best tool when it comes to application of material in new situations. I remember watching the Schoolhouse Rock! videos when I was a child, but I can't ever remember using them to help me remember anything in grammar, or any other subject. Is it because I failed to make the connection between Saturday cartoons and Monday learning, or is it that it is simply not a natural thing for kids to make those connections?

Whichever the case is, I now realize that if I want them to apply things they learned, they have to learn the material by applying it. Basic knowledge is important, without it we would not be able to learn new things, but critical thinking comes from application, not memorization. Schoolhouse Rock! and other forms of media have their place in the classroom, but they shouldn't be used as the bridge to travel from basic knowledge to application.

Joplin Globe All-Area Academic Team

Last Thursday I had the honor of attending Joplin Globe's All-Area Academic Team Honor Banquet in Joplin. The night was replete with teachers and students explaining how their relationships helped the students succeed. It was especially wonderful for me to be there because my daughter, Teal, was one of the students selected. Here is a link to the Joplin Globe article.

Mad Skillz

Macy went to Honduras and took some pictures while on a mission trip. I made an animoto video for her and then we created a voicethread. I am pleased that I can take something I have learned for use in my class and to help a student create something online.



I particularly like voicethread because it can be so personal and so shareable at the same time.

Reflections on My Student's Blogs Part 2

I have been having my students use their blogs to write fiction stories that coincide with the reading stories from our text. I have been very pleased with some; discouraged by others. I am afraid that once the newness wears off, the joy of writing on the blog will diminish. I have no reason to change this opinion, but I do know that one of my students actually seems to embrace writing on the web. Not only is his volume continuing to increase, but his quality gets better as well.

I keep telling myself, I only have to reach one. Maybe it is him.

Visual Learning

The faculty of our school have been going over the book Classroom Instruction that Works. When I read the chapter on nonlinguistic representation I thought that this would be something I would need to make an emphasis in my classroom. Basically, nonlinguistic representation means using graphic organizers, physical models, pictures, etc. when lecturing or note taking.

I assumed that this style of teaching would really impact the boys in my classroom. I assumed that the girls in my class would be more verbal learners and the boys more tactile or visual.

I decided that I would do a learning styles survey of my students to determine what their learning styles were. I had them take the Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire created for North Carolina State's incoming freshman. I had to explain several of the questions to my fifth graders so it took a couple periods to get each class through.

I was really surprised by one of the results that I got back. More than 80% of my students identified themselves in the visual learning style category. (I realize that this is just one test and that the students have to be willing to be honest and think critically before answering the questions, but this is still an overwhelming majority.)

Now I have to ask myself, what do I do with this information? I know that these students have a need that I need to address. I have come up with a few things I can do to help them. I can use more visuals (duh!). I can use colors with my words to separate different topics or ideas. I can create visuals that complement what I say or what they read. I can encourage them to create their own notes using graphic organizers instead of just formal notes.