Starting the week of November 19 to 23, up to 5pm, I will receive your blogs. If your draft has been checked, send it asap!! Don´t forget to add a comment to a friend´s blog!
CLASS OF 2012 FIFTH COURSE STUDENTS´ BLOGS.
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.htmlhttp://www.slideshare.net/daniMD/esl-blogs-as-cognitive-tools
http://www.famousbloggers.net/effective-education.html
WHY BLOGS ARE EFFECTIVE.
The Learner Blog
These are blogs that are either run by individual learners themselves or by small collaborative groups of learners. In ESL, learner blogs may be best suited for reading and writing classes. A common reading assignment can be followed by blog postings on the thoughts of each learner or group of learners. Furthermore, the act of constructing the blog may encourage the use of search engines and net surfing in English to find the appropriate sites to which links can be made. This will empower the learner to direct the reader to sites of choice for further reading. Individually, blogs can be used as journals for writing practice, or as free-form templates for personal expression. The idea here is that students can get writing practice, develop a sense of ownership, and get experience with the practical, legal, and ethical issues of creating a hypertext document. In addition, whatever they write can instantly be read by anyone else and, due to the comment features of the software, further exchange of ideas is promoted. Tutors can even run a mega-blog of select topics of interest gleaned from student blogs so that the broader issues are brought into focus on a single website.The Class Blog
This type of blog is the result of the collaborative effort of an entire class. The following are some possible uses:- In conversation-based classes it could be used like a free-form bulletin board for learners to post messages, images, and links related to classroom discussion topics. It could also be a space for them to post thoughts on a common theme assigned for homework.
- With intermediate and advanced learners, class blogs might also useful for facilitating project-based language learning, where learners can be given the opportunity to develop research and writing skills by being asked to create an online resource for others.
- Class blogs could also be used as a virtual space for an international classroom language exchange. In this scenario, learners from different countries would have joint access and publishing rights to the blog. The entire exchange would then be transparent to all readers and could be followed and commented on by other learners, tutors, parents and friends.
- For reading and writing classes, it might also involve the use of knowledge management software, like Userland's Manila, that allows for a great deal of threaded discussion behind the scenes. Much like a publishing group, individual learners can be given varying amounts of responsibility to publish material arising from postings on the discussion list. The results of this effort are what is seen on a website by the public at large.
ICT in Education
- © UNESCO/Ian Redmond
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can contribute to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching, teachers’ professional development and more efficient education management, governance and administration.
UNESCO takes a holistic and comprehensive approach to promoting ICT in education. Access, inclusion and quality are among the main challenges they can address. The Organization’s Intersectoral Platform for ICT in education focuses on these issues through the joint work of three of its sectors: Communication & Information, Education and Science.
Blogs are Useful in the Classrooms
The blogs provide the school children with various educational benefits. Students find the blogs to be highly motivating. This is the reason why all students enjoy working on the blogs and participating in them. A blog also provides the students with excellent opportunities for writing and reading.
Furthermore, the blogs have proved to be an effective forum for discussion and collaboration. Finally, they are regarded as a powerful tool for enabling mentoring or scaffolding learning.
How Blogs are Effective in Education
Blogs tend to provide the students with 4 basic functions:
Collaboration
They provide the students and teachers with a space for developing their writing and other skills and provide an advantage with an immediate audience. The teachers have the facility of providing the students with instructional tips that can be benefitted by the students who can practice and take full advantage. Online mentoring also becomes quite easy through blogs. The students also have the privilege of participating in the different learning activities which can enhance their skills effectively and in an interesting way.
Classroom Management
The classroom blogs tend to serve as portals and foster the learner community. They are quite easy to develop and also can be updated efficiently. They could also be used as a tool to inform the students about the requirements of the class, post handouts, homework assignments, notices and also an answer board.
Discussions
The class blog opens up plenty of opportunity for the students to discuss the various topics outside the classroom. With the help of such blogs, every student has the opportunity to share his/her views and opinions. The students also have excellent opportunities to reflect and react to each other’s blog posts. The teachers could also form a group of intellectuals for guiding the students and discussing different blog posts.
Student portfolios
The blogs tend to present, protect and organize the student’s work as a digital portfolio. The older entries can be archived too, making it easier to develop the skills and analyze the progress of the individual. The students also tend to produce better skills in writing as they realize that their efforts will be published.
Thus, education through blogs imparts much more motivation to the students and they find the digital way of learning quite intriguing compared to the boredom of classroom lectures.
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