Below is a post from a student of mine. It shows many of my hopes and fears when I jumped into blogging with my classes...
iPod touchNovember 6, 2011 @ 3:00 PM 2 Comments
I am blogging from my IPod touch. Yay. I am so happy that I can do this. To: Chris. U need to blog to us still and skype us. Good bye chris. When u leave the class will be boring. No more purple bacteria.*
Plus side - engagement, enthusiasm, easy to use, plenty of teacher control of content/publishing, using it at home (on an ipod!), authenticity - They have (for the most part) gone crazy in a good way. The kids really got a kick out of an email we got from an Irish teacher saying how much he enjoyed our blogs.
The Negatives- spotty connections with the school computers, repeating "Make sure you have typed in the address correctly." five thousand times!, quality of posts and comments, the atrocious use of conventions of the English language, time committed to reading and responding to each post.
I have learned a lot and it has caused me to think, which can be very hard on a veteran teacher.
Some things I am mulling over and I welcome your thoughts:
Am I stifling creativity by requiring good grammar?
Will I stunt them by strictly defining what should be written?
How should I handle comments on posts?
How should I handle the posts they do "for fun"?
One "internet expert" said that posts should not be graded. IDK...
My latest thought is to assign some posts that are akin to paper and pencil reading assignments and some posts that are open ended writing assignments. Also I would allow fun and social and creative posts just because they are kids and have so much to express.
I feel like the "Too Heavy" guy
Leave a comment - the kids will love it and probably write back!
* Chris, who moved last week, is the king of random comments - "purple bacteria" was one of his best.
Hahaha! I love the youtube video! I'm with you, I would tend to lean more towards the too heavy guy! I definitely think that the kids should be held accountable for spelling, grammar, etc. In the future, using "U" for you won't cut it when they are working in the corporate world. Yes, this is a "fun" assignment for the students, but it is still a school assignment! We shouldn't compromise our standards for the kids in order to have them feel like they're having fun! Just my opinion!
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts on your questions:
ReplyDelete"Am I stifling creativity by requiring good grammar?"
I don’t know who synonymized poor grammar with creativity, but when I find this person, please anticipate an exchange of HEATED words! If the misconception follows a movement of abstraction in poetry, Dadaism or the Beats, perhaps, I must remind that to abstract is to begin with a clear image and alter with intention. THIS, dear friends, is creativity. If a writer wants to forgo grammar with intention, he must first encompass the capability to write with good grammar.
"Will I stunt them by strictly defining what should be written?"
I suppose I would need more information on this. Are you disallowing all extraneous post dimensions? No digression at all? Then, maybe your reins are a little too tight. If, however, you have a list of topics which must be touched upon within the post, then I think you are still within realism for a group of middle-high school students.
"One "internet expert" said that posts should not be graded. IDK..."
If there were no Internet, and you still needed to assign writing assignments, from journal entries to essays, would you grade them? I fear the “don’t grade Internet assignments” idea is a sweeping hand fearing digital control from “the Man!” This may become as much a nuisance as the poor grammar=creativity fallacy. …
Well, when it comes to writing blog postings, I say because we are in school and it is important to learn communication skills for their future, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you requiring them to use proper grammar. I say, too bad, we are in school and those are the rules!! That is how I approach anything written in my class. As far as commenting, check out the grammar girls podcast about what makes a good comment. Grammar Girl As far as fun posts vs. school posts, as long as the kids understand that when they are doing something assigned from you for a lesson, they will be graded, and then on their own time, they are allowed to post for fun, as long as they are following the digital citizenship guidelines you all set forth at the beginning of the introduction to online learning. They all should have signed a contract or something outlining what it means to be a good digital citizen in your class.
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