Blogs will allow students to have open communication to collaborate in meaningful class discussions. Especially with COVID, students are not physically present in a classroom. Therefore, Blogs, along with other platforms, are essential for learning even more so than ever!
I teach sixth grade English. I am really excited for this year because my students are advanced with the technology platform we are using from our district. I am excited because they can try new things despite some of those technical difficulties that have occurred. For instance, yesterday, the platform crashed. Despite that happening, students were still able to logon throughout the day, and I noticed by morning, most students submitted their work. I feel that with whatever is going on in the world right now, students and teachers have to be mindful that they cannot control everything. If teachers promote positivity, students will be motivated and excited to learn because they see their teacher cares.
Being the collaborator and learner, I feel is essential. Educators dedicate time to collaborate colleagues and students to improve practice, and discover and dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems (ISTE, 2016). Being a learner, I feel is difficult. Many teachers are stuck in their own ways, afraid to change their routines and way of teaching. I am open to creating specific goals that could be shared with my colleagues.
References:
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2016). Standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students
I totally agree that communication and collaboration are now more important than ever. In my district, we have made the decision to remain 100% virtual at least for this semester. There is every possibility that we may be completely virtual for the entire school year. While I am thankful for the opportunity to continue teaching in a safe environment, there are definitely drawbacks. Many students are desperate for human interaction, so technology and blogging can help fill that need for communication, while still teaching students 21st century skills.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it is important as teachers to promote positivity, especially this year. I believe that students absolutely feed off of their teachers energies. I have many colleagues who have hostile attitudes towards technology and virtual learning, and they have reported their students this year are not engaged and their negative behaviors are out of control. However, I feel I have made it clear to my students that I am optimistic about this school year, and my students are extremely engaged compared to my colleagues. I even have one student who is failing every class except for mine, and is extremely disrespectful and disruptive in nearly every class other than mine. While it is clearly not ideal that they are in this situation, I think it really demonstrates how a positive outlook and relationship can impact a child's motivation for a class.