Blog and Ed

Alright, I guess I should get on to my actual assignment and stop fiddling around with all the little things and options that you can on blogger.

So just a little about me to start off! I'm Bethany Klassen and I am a history major here at the University of Lethbridge. I have just been able to take one big step towards my goal of becoming a teacher through gaining admittance into the Education Faculty here. Which is assumed as this is an education course! But I am still so absolutely thrilled that I am here! I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC and when I say Vancouver I actually mean Vancouver not Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, or any other GVR municipality. This has formed me into the person I am; a cultural diversity lover, beach bum, snow skiing enthusiast, adventure seeker, cat lady, empathetic humanitarian and...Well the list could go on, so I'll leave it at that! I often get asked: why on earth did you choose Lethbridge over Vancouver?! The answer is simple: the education program. I have not regretted the decision to move out here yet! I have found a new beauty here that I have never before. These include the endless starry sky on a clear night, the vast never ending quite often sunny sky, the distant Rockies on a clear morning, undisturbed champagne snow and hoar frost on a crisp winter’s day. But that is enough about me! Onto Blog and Ed!

Before I read the various articles I sat for a while after our first Ed 2508 class and thought to myself about blogging and the role it may play in education. I came up with two main points why a teacher would incorporate it into their curriculum. The first is that you have to teach it. It is required by law to be incorporated into curriculum of all subjects and not to be left to a computer science type course. It makes sense that it has become required by law to do such as it is just a reality of today's world and is an essential part our society. Today's technology is continually advancing in a fast paced world where the use of technology is forever becoming more and more relied upon. So as such educating them on technology its uses, how it works, and its dangers is a vital part of preparing students for the world beyond school with the "tools of success." I think it is also good to stay up to date and to do activities in a way that appeals to students, and that is my second point. One thing I can say for certain is that nothing is MORE appealing to boys aged 12 and beyond, than the latest gadgets in technology and "apps." Sure blogging is not the newest shiniest fad out there right now but it is something that TONS of people do. As such I do think it would be a good tool to use for assignments to get students' creative juices flowing as well as get them excited for something where they can show off all their techno-savvy skills!

Then I thought about all of the dangers, ethical, and legal issues that a teacher would have to think about when exposing students to the internet. Instead of being scared of technology and what can happen online, let’s show them and equip them with the tools to use it properly and use the internet as an aid to learning, discovery and fun. Let’s expose them to the dangers instead of just putting up firewalls. However, I want to clarify I'm not suggesting that we stop using firewalls or monitoring our students and children's internet use by any means. A teacher could also uphold ethical and legal issues around technology by holding students' work and publication with the same standards as prospective employers might. When to share and when not to share is an important lesson to learn, because there are a lot of issues with social networking due to how public the internet is and anyone can find you.

Upon doing the readings I discovered a lot of support for my initial thoughts. The article "Apply Technology Effectively" highlights the importance of using technology as a tool for both students and teachers to research, organize and communicate. Elaborates that this can be done by using various digital technologies to create a space, especially in regards to blogging, where both parties can evaluate, create, and share knowledge in a collaborative way. I absolutely loved reading "Blog Basics" it was just very neat to see how successful a blogging project could be. As well as how effective it is to give students a chance to take a lead in their own education by having them set up their own guidelines. I also really like that aspect of the activity as it has the students think on a deeper level connecting school to reality and become conscious of those realities.

I would be really excited to incorporate blogging in some way into my practicum lesson plans this semester. I have heard some really cool ways teachers have done this including a prior PSI student who set up a blog for his grade 3 class, in the Social Studies component. He wrote different profiles pretending to be people from various cultures around the world and had the students respond and reflect on his various entries. I'm quite looking forward to the various forms of technology that I will be exposed to in this class and learning/ experimenting with ways I can incorporate it into my teaching!