One neat thing about blogging is that you can do it from anywhere. Today I'm in Phoenix. Yesterday, I discussed the possibility of creating a blog or a wiki to work on developing areas of focus for next year. I strongly believe that when teachers talk about education, great things can happen for kids. My thinking was to use a blog or wiki for the teachers to exchange ideas over the summer and begin a dialogue that can continue through the year. The goal would be finding ways to improve instruction / build interest etc.
When I described blogs and wikis, the teachers involved in the discussion liked the idea of building as wiki and using it to identify key concepts and way that these could be approached. I think that it would be a great for them to do this. I'll work on helping them set one up, and then just turn them loose.
Steve
5 comments:
I like the idea of using wikis and blogs to have teachers discuss things over the summer. As you mentioned (and proved) it does not matter where you are to do this. So many times teachers will say I'm not coming in during the summer but I feel many would take part in this type of activity. The flexibility of being able to post when ever the mood strikes is a huge benefit.
I'm hoping that we can use Wikis to bridge the time / place barrier. It is a great format. My hope is that they will take part.
I agree that blogging over the summer will benefit teachers and students. I feel that blogging could easily bite huge chunks of time out of a person's life. As we become more expert at blogging, I expect to use them to communicate and share information with people for various reasons. Hopefully, the administrators will realize that blogging is time consuming and could be a good source of information sharing for teachers in common planning groups and collaborations... earning professional development points.
I tried to get this idea started last year because you could search the blog and find things that were posted last month or last year. If you joined later that others you could still see what had been discussed.
It is a great way to hook the teachers without them feeling pressure. They will have fun "playing" and then find the value of bringing it into their classrooms.
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