I have really enjoyed reading all of your comments and thoughtful reflections about blogging and the use of technology in the classroom. I think that the variety in our perspectives shows that this can be done many ways successfully and fairly for most students. I think there will never be a perfect way to intrinsically motivate all students to embrace blogging nor technology. I believe that using technology is one way to intrinsically motivate most of my students.
It is important for us to try to understand the personal lives, needs, and particular interests of all the students in our classes. Every class is different with great variation in students’ knowledge, their abilities and disabilities, as well as their very diverse backgrounds. How can I accommodate the needs and interests of 100+ students? Implementing cultural and/or historically bound science education requires teachers to think carefully and critically about the social context and relevance to student life today.
I believe that it is beneficial to seek out and utilize resources that emphasize the importance of science communication for the students’ community and society. Collaboration and communication are key to scientific investigation and I feel that a blog would be a great way to share data and conclusions from labs and experiments that my students perform. With the ability to access this information and share their own findings from anywhere that has an internet connection, students can do their “assignment” when it is more convenient for them and in a (technological) format that most would prefer…they might even “enjoy” their homework…
3 comments:
It is funny how kids can do the same assignment on paper, but somehow find it more fun on the computer. I agree that it may motivate a greater number of students.
Science seems like the perfect fit for this kind of thing since it evolves as fast as the technology seems to evolve. What a great way to get students looking at the latest work being done, and to help them really understand the scientific concepts. Good luck with your blogging!
I agree with you Scott there is no perfect way to motivate every student. Blogging can just be another avenue to explore. There is so much information out there in cyberspace I feel it is important to embrace the various technologies and use them to guide students. I saw that showed your class this year that there are great scientific sites on YouTube. I believe they were all engaged during that activity and I think that blogging can be just as successful in any classroom.
I think blogging with your students might be one way to be able to engage students as well as differentiate instruction and responses. I'd love to see you give it a try in the fall.
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