The blogging project was effective in that I recognize the challenges of using a blog as a course assignment. It's one thing to hear, "Oh, use blogs in your classroom!" but another to experience, "Write a blog consistently and think about how you can use it in your own classrooms." It's been fun clicking through my bookmarks folder of classmates' blogs and seeing what other people are doing and thinking. It really sort of became a digital ice breaker because I found out that some of my classmates like the same tv shows that I do, and it really made me more aware of who is in my class. Of course, this all depends on the atmosphere of the classroom. I felt safe there and I feel safe here, in my blog.
I will continue to use this blog as a receptacle for my education thoughts, and I'm glad that I had an opportunity to create a blog in a structured environment.
I am glad that you made it through. As a teacher, I learn more about my students as individuals than ever before because classroom time doesn't always allow that to happen. Good work pushing through!
ReplyDeleteI never even considered blogging to be a digital icebreaker, but you are absolutely right! This informal environment allowed us all to open up and as a result I feel we truly got to know each other better. This has totally inspired me to use it that way in my classroom. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the digital ice breaker comment! I feel like i got to learn so much about our class by reading everyone's blogs. I am not an overly social person, so I don't think that I would've felt the same if we hadn't done this. I probably wouldn't know the names of half the people in our class without this.
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