7 Stupid Mistakes

At The Teacher's Desk

I immediately was drawn to this post by a male teacher. He addresses the issues with having co-ed students taught (generally) by one sex. The statistics that he posts are alarming. We as educators are missing something. In a profession dominated by men and run by women, we are doing our male students a great disservice. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to do to fix it. I am a female. I will be teaching these boys. I don't know what causes the grossly disproportionate statistics, but I will continue to hunt for the answers to it.
I plan to incorporate the use of blogs in my classroom when I graduate. This next post caught my eye for that reason. It is tips to get your blog noticed. This is advice that anyone can take and use, not just educators. I think that this teacher hit the nail on the head with his advice. You have do things to get noticed, make people want to check out what is new, comment on other blogs, and support other educators that are tech savvy.

Michael Wesch

This video was enlightening. He spoke on the difference in our world over the past few decades. There are two types of conversations that are being had. There is the one way conversation that takes place through much of our media. We, the general public, listen to newscasters, radio personalities, and read articles written in journals and newspapers. There is also a two way conversation that takes place. Conversations in which both sides speak instead of only one person speaking. These conversations take place over the internet all the time. People read or get information and then talk about in their blogs. Others then read the reflections and make comments on that. This exchange of ideas is more acurate in the online world.
As a student I feel that these one way "conversations" are phasing out. With the amount of people that are now internet literate and know how to transfer ideas between others, people are becoming more involved with their world. My generation has a attitude that exemplifies "I am the most important person in the world!" Our narcissism is what drives much of today's entertainment. (think reality tv.)

Why is blogging important for students?

This video is only one reason kids' work should be posted online. It is amazing that these kids were just sitting in choir one day and their teacher happened to video something for them and post it to a blog, and now these students are getting an opportunity to perform on stage with one of America's legends.
Students should have an opportunity to express themselves on a daiily basis. If their only outlet is through writing, then they should be allowed to publish those writings. Not everyone has access to a printing press, and the next best way to publish your thoughts is to post them online and allow the world access to them. By having writings posted to a blog, students get a better understanding of their writing can effect others all across the globe. They can also grasp the concept of being "safe" online.
Comments 4 Kids is a great example of this. I was assigned to comment on a particular students blog. He and I have commented back and forth several times. Now he understands that his writings are accessible to all kinds of people and that he should put effort into his work. He should take the time to edit his writing and check for misspellings and improper grammar usage.
I also have had friends in this class that have had "famous" people post on their own blogs. Ashley Lambert wrote a response to something she'd read online and the moderator of the first blog wrote back to Ashley via comment. They were able to express their opinions and thoughts with each other.
I also feel that learning can take place through the exchange of ideas across the seas, not just across the room. If a student takes the time to comment on something that is stated by someone in another town, time-zone, or country, they are able to learn from and possible teach someone else.