3.7 Communication & Collaboration
Candidates utilize digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, parents, peers, and the larger community. (PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g)
Candidates utilize digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, parents, peers, and the larger community. (PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g)
Artifact:Kidblog
Reflection:
I created my first blog for my students to blog back and forth with each other my second semester into the Master’s program here at Kennesaw State University. I did not complete this as part of a class assignment; I did this because I was curious if it could be done with first graders. I was so excited, I had no expectations as I had never done a blog before and to think of doing it with first graders seemed even a bit more daring. The blog was a hit and the children loved it. They were communicating globally. They had become digital citizens! This was so exciting for me!
This Kidblog shows mastery of Standard 3.7. It utilizes digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, peers, parents, and the larger community. My students think nothing of this opportunity because of course they do not see the world as we see it. They see the world as a much smaller place and communicating with someone across the country or across the ocean is the same to them. We had been watching the Decorah eagle cam of a nest and the eggs that had just been laid; I decided to have my students blog about it. We would be studying animals in the upcoming quarter and I thought this would be a fun activity that encouraged writing, researching, communicating, and digital citizenship. I have enjoyed being a facilitator as the children post questions for their peers on the eagle blog. On another day, I may see children on the floor with books in groups collaborating to find the correct answer to a question that had been posted earlier. The excitement they exude when they have found the answer to something is heartwarming! I just wish I could take pictures of it all and show it to the world. These children are truly being 21st Century learners.
I have learned to follow my instinct from this project. I was not doing it for a class but just for the technology experience so if it did not work out; it would not affect a grade. I knew if I was determined to get this blog set up and learn the whole dashboard system, I also knew I would do everything possible to make it be a success if I could. I learned that blogging can be fun for the children when their peers check the answers they may post to a question. So, this is a student directed activity with a peer reviewing their answers. That seemed to put a little more pressure on them to want to do their best. I did not know I would see that as well. I was hoping it would encourage the writing which it did but to inspire them to do their best each time was an additional bonus.
Creating this Kidblog for my first grade class was an awesome experience for me as well as for my students. It was a big project but it was worth this time and effort. This Kidblog impacted my whole school. As I shared this activity at a professional development session at my school, the others at school decided they also wanted to give it a try. My students and I have inspired several teachers at Timber Ridge to begin their own class blogs next year. This is very exciting to know that our school is starting to use more digital tools, becoming digital citizens, and communicating locally and globally with our parents, peers, and the larger community.
I created my first blog for my students to blog back and forth with each other my second semester into the Master’s program here at Kennesaw State University. I did not complete this as part of a class assignment; I did this because I was curious if it could be done with first graders. I was so excited, I had no expectations as I had never done a blog before and to think of doing it with first graders seemed even a bit more daring. The blog was a hit and the children loved it. They were communicating globally. They had become digital citizens! This was so exciting for me!
This Kidblog shows mastery of Standard 3.7. It utilizes digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, peers, parents, and the larger community. My students think nothing of this opportunity because of course they do not see the world as we see it. They see the world as a much smaller place and communicating with someone across the country or across the ocean is the same to them. We had been watching the Decorah eagle cam of a nest and the eggs that had just been laid; I decided to have my students blog about it. We would be studying animals in the upcoming quarter and I thought this would be a fun activity that encouraged writing, researching, communicating, and digital citizenship. I have enjoyed being a facilitator as the children post questions for their peers on the eagle blog. On another day, I may see children on the floor with books in groups collaborating to find the correct answer to a question that had been posted earlier. The excitement they exude when they have found the answer to something is heartwarming! I just wish I could take pictures of it all and show it to the world. These children are truly being 21st Century learners.
I have learned to follow my instinct from this project. I was not doing it for a class but just for the technology experience so if it did not work out; it would not affect a grade. I knew if I was determined to get this blog set up and learn the whole dashboard system, I also knew I would do everything possible to make it be a success if I could. I learned that blogging can be fun for the children when their peers check the answers they may post to a question. So, this is a student directed activity with a peer reviewing their answers. That seemed to put a little more pressure on them to want to do their best. I did not know I would see that as well. I was hoping it would encourage the writing which it did but to inspire them to do their best each time was an additional bonus.
Creating this Kidblog for my first grade class was an awesome experience for me as well as for my students. It was a big project but it was worth this time and effort. This Kidblog impacted my whole school. As I shared this activity at a professional development session at my school, the others at school decided they also wanted to give it a try. My students and I have inspired several teachers at Timber Ridge to begin their own class blogs next year. This is very exciting to know that our school is starting to use more digital tools, becoming digital citizens, and communicating locally and globally with our parents, peers, and the larger community.