Students are making Web 2.0 grow wild!

50% of all blogs on the Internet are authored by teenagers
96% of all students engage in social networking
57% of teenagers create online content
50% of 9 to 17 year olds visit websites they see on TV - even as they continue to watch
76% of teens favor user-generated video clips and content - the most of any online content

Sources:
Grunwald Associates study, March 2008
Pew Internet & American Life Project, November 2005
Study from the Cable & Telecommunications, Association for Marketing, February 2008


Preferring the Web to Watching TV
-For children ages 10 to 14 who use the Internet, the computer is a bigger draw than the TV set,
according to a study recently released by DoubleClick Performics
- 83 percent of Internet users in that age bracket spent an hour or more online a day,
but only 68 percent devoted that much time to television.
- While 72 percent of the children online belonged to a social networking site (usually MySpace),
60 percent of them said they rarely or never read blogs.

MINDLIN, A., The New York Times, Preferring the Web Over Watching TV, August, 2008

Students in Technology Based Classrooms

There are a lot of people who believe that a traditional classroom which does not focus on technology is the best way for students to learn.  In my opinion, when educators show resistance to the use of technology in classroom settings, the resistance is generally based on fear and lack of knowledge and understanding. Technology adds so much value and so many benefits to learning experiences.  I feel as though technology enhances learning for students of all ages, backgrounds, intellectual capabilities.

In the book entitled Supporting Learning with Technology, author Joy Egbert states that:

·         Students can learn faster in computer-based instructional contexts.

·         Students attitudes toward their classes are more positive when they include computer-based instruction.

·         Children with special needs can achieve more in technology-rich environments.

·         Students of all ages and levels can achieve more across the curriculum in technology-rich environments. (Egbert, 2009, pg 13)

The Department of Education conducted a study that compared course material taught online versus traditional classrooms from 1996 to 2008.  The study examined students in K-12 as well as in adult learning environments.  The study showed that “students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile. The study concluded “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” (Berger, 2009)

I do not think that technology should or even could replace teachers or classrooms; however, technology is becoming more and more significant in our lives.  There aren’t many occupations where technology does not play a vital role. Therefore, teachers should use technology not only as a means to enhance learning, but also as a way to help students become acclimated to its use and prepare students for the outside world.

Egbert, J. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: Essentials of classroom practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Berger, N. (2009, August 19). Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom. New York Times. Retrieved January 19^th, 2011, from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/study-finds-that-online-education-beats-the-classroom/

Google Reader for Android!

I am new to blogging and RSS feeds, so I was excited to find out that there is a Google Reader application for Androids!  This will make it even easier to stay up to date on everyones blogs.  Simply go to the marketplace on your Android and search for Google Reader.  If you are not using Google Reader as your RSS viewer, there are plenty of other readers available including Wordpress, Pulse News Reader, BuzzBox News RSS and lots of others.

The Google Reader app allows you to search and subscribe right from your phone!  It synchs your preferences and supports multiple accounts.  In your settings you can turn on volume key navigation, which enables you to use your phone's volume buttons to navigate through your blogs.  When you are viewing a blog that you find interesting you have the ability to share the blog on through Facebook, Twitter, email, or a text message simply by pulling up the menu and selecting send.  And of course the Google Reader app has all of the basic features like editing folders, starring, liking, sharing, and unread counts.

So if you have an Android or Smart Phone, check out your marketplace and select a reader that's right for you!

Blogging as an Educational Tool

I have never have been a fan of blogging because I felt as though it was a waste of time. I didn't really think there was any purpose to blogging besides people going online and sharing their thoughts about random topics. I would have never even considered that blogging could be a beneficial education tool.
I was reading an article entitled "Blogs in Education" by Scott Huette and he included a list of educational uses for blogging that I thought were very interesting and I would like to share them.

You might like to create a reflective, journal type blog to…

• reflect on your teaching experiences.
• keep a log of teacher-training experiences.
• write a description of a specific teaching unit.
• describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn’t work.
• provide some teaching tips for other teachers.
• write about something you learned from another teacher.
• explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes.
• share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom.
• provide some how-to’s on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class.
• explore important teaching and learning issues.


You might like to start a class blog to…

• post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework assignments and other pertinent class information.
• post assignments based on literature readings and have students respond on their own weblogs, creating a kind of portfolio of their work.
• communicate with parents if you are teaching elementary school students.
• post prompts for writing.
• provide examples of classwork, vocabulary activities, or grammar games.
• provide online readings for your students to read and react to.
• gather and organize Internet resources for a specific course, providing links to appropriate sites and annotating the links as to what is relevant about them.
• post photos and comment on class activities.
• invite student comments or postings on issues in order to give them a writing voice.
• publish examples of good student writing done in class.
• show case student art, poetry, and creative stories.
• create a dynamic teaching site, posting not only class-related information, but also activities, discussion topics, links to additional information about topics they are studying in class, and readings to inspire learning.
• create a literature circle.
• create an online book club.
• make use of the commenting feature to have students publish messages on topics being used to develop language skills.
• ask students to create their own individual course blogs, where they can post their own ideas, reactions and written work.
• post tasks to carry out project-based learning tasks with students.
• build a class newsletter, using student-written articles and photos they take.
• link your class with another class somewhere else in the world

After going over this list of educational uses I realized the value of blogging in education and I now would use it in my own teaching and I would highly recommend that other instructors utilize the tool as well.

2011! The Best Is Yet To Come!

I am so excited about going back to school!  It is time to refocus my life and accomplish some goals.