Jamie+Vandenburgh-Resources

Source #1

 * Blogging to Improve Instruction in Differentiated** **Science Classrooms on [|Proquest Education Journals]**

As I become more familiar with the workings of a blog the more I like the idea of integrating one into my Science class. This article outlines the MANY possibilities associated with using a classroom Blog. The “a-ha” moment for me in this article was the discussion about vodcasts and podcasts being used to deliver differentiated instruction. The thought of adding vodcasts and podcasts to blog hadn’t quite crossed my mind yet as I am still learning the ins and outs of a working blog. The article outlined how to set up a blog, free resources for blogging and offered many helpful hints. A sidebar at the end of the piece explains that, “Blogs expand instructional time by providing teachers with a user-friendly online format to reinforce strategies and introduce new topics.”


 * Source # 2 ** [|Five Don'ts of Classroom Blogging]

In Julie Sturgeon’s article Five Don’ts of Classroom Blogging she highlights a few things to stay away from in classroom blogging. First she states “don’t dive in,” make sure you set up boundaries and guidelines for students. They need to be clear and have consequences if broken. Next, “don’t confusing blogging with social networking,” blog questions need to be thought provoking. Student’s should use the blog as a means to help each other and discuss content. Another “don’t” is to be aware of freebies. The author cites a CEO of a website company in the hopes of steering readers away from websites. However, through this class I have discovered there are many free websites that offer more than costly websites. The author could have sited more sources or fully investigated other free blogs to compare the features they offer with those of pay for websites.

Source #3 Blogging in the 21st Century Classroom on [|edutopia]
In this article Michelle Lampinen highlights her success using a blogging atmosphere in her classroom. She describes many student’s reactions both good and bad. Although this article did not lead me to an ‘a-ha’ it did however solidify a concern I have regarding Science Blogging. Although I plan on allowing my students to freely blog (using Kidblog-where teachers have to approve posts) I plan on assigning questions related to daily labs and provoke some deeper thinking and sharing. In the article Lampinen explains that her students struggled with the class related response and preferred the more open response questions. I’m afraid that assigning a writing assignment on blog will end up being the same as on paper. The same students will complete it and the ones who usually don’t wont. The key will be finding the balance between freedom to explore with open ended questions and still be related to the defined topic. Although Lampinen teaches English she acknowledges the need for writing in other subject areas stating, “ Encouraging students to blog about topics from other classes helps them see connections among subjects and realize that writing is a worthwhile skill in any field.”