Blogs

Blogging has been an interesting experience for me. I never thought that learning about blogs and how to post them would ever do me any good in the educational field. After learning about blogs in my EDM-310 class, I have posted many of them and so have my classmates. I have recently viewed the blog posts of one of my classmates. After comparing our experiences with blogs, I have found that blogs in a classroom have advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of blogging in the classroom are those that really help everyone involved with education. Teachers use their classroom blog pages to post communications to parents and students. These communications can be picture and report postings that keep them up-to-date on what's going on in the classroom. Teachers post about upcoming events or past school events as announcements along with pictures to draw interest of parents to come along as chaperones. The class can also communicate with other classrooms in different areas of the world.

Teachers use their blog pages as educational tools as well. They post weekly homework assignments for students and parents to view. Students can also find an extra study guide that can be used to study for an exam. Teachers also post test preparation activities that students can use as practice. They also post links to extra resources that students can use for help in a specific subject area that the class is working on.

The disadvantage to blogging in the classroom is simple. It's the Internet itself. Everyone knows how hard it is to maintain appropriate web pages that they have designed. Basically, teachers have to take the time to thoroughly screen any content they plan to add to their blog page. Otherwise they can end up with information that is far from what they intended to add as educational content.

Duke University Center for Documentary Studies

Duke University's Center for documentary studies has audio podcasts that pertain to African-American history, how our world is changing, and tragedies that our world has faced. Some of the podcasters talk about how many African-Americans aren't recognized in our historical references but did great things for our country. They talk about what the South meant for people who were Black, White, or Black and White. There is talk of myths about the Black Panthers. It is also recognized that they served justice for all races, not just Blacks. There were other podcasts that brought to my attention that there are some cultures slowly fading away because of influences from other parts of the world. The "911" podcast was the podcast that touched me as well. It brings forth the reactions that people have toward the tragedy and also how many people began to appreciate who they are as Americans.

EDM 310 Podcasts

The night that the podcasts were recorded we were all nervous. This is mostly because some of us didn't know what to expect. This was the first podcast recording for some of us. I am excited to say that we came through our new experience successfully and now it is time to evaluate our accomplishments.

The podcasts that I listened to had variations. Some of the podcasts that I heard sounded as if students were reading from scripts. There were others that sounded like real conversations. The scripted variations were very informative in the area of interest that the future teachers were talking about. The conversational variations were informative and interesting as well.

I think that the conversational podcasts were great, but some of them could have been more informative. Some of the scripted podcasts were mixed with real conversations, but these can also use an adjustment. The adjustment that can be made is to read from the script to make it sound as if it is a real conversation.

Mathematics Podcasts

The "Mathematics with Technology" and "Thinking Mathematically" podcasts are excellent ways to communicate the importance of technology and how to engage students in a math lesson. In the "Mathematics with Technology" podcast Ms. Judy Chandler, a technology integration specialist, informs that technology helps to enhance learning and keeps students engaged. She also mentioned that technology can also be used as tools for many things such as manipulative experience, visual representation, immediate feedback, etc. Ms. Chandler also says that a learning activity can be composed of several lessons from a math book. This can give the teacher more instructional time. The "Thinking Mathematically" podcast was informative as well. Ms. Chandler tells of the importance of asking students questions in order to keep them engaged in the math lesson, help them use critical thinking skills, and extend their learning.

The "Mathematics with Technology" podcast is a very good use to me as a teacher. It helps me to understand how I can use technology in my classroom. I can give my students added instruction, more experience with the lesson, and different ways to show that they have learned the subject material. I can also use technology to keep my students focused on the lesson as well.

The "Thinking Mathematically" podcast is also useful to me as a teacher. This podcast will help me promote thinking skills that will help my students learn by asking them various content related questions. I can ask questions that can lead a pathway to better understanding and successful learning. I can also ask questions that can start class discussions. This can also help students develop social skills while they are learning mathematics.