Mardi Gras Holiday

What did I do for Mardi Gras??? As little as possible! I didn't have to work that Tuesday, so I had the whole day all to myself. I read a little for a class, but thats the only responsible thing I did. I just hung out at my house the whole day and relaxed, it was great!

First and Second Grade Blog

Here's a picture of their pajama day.
Mrs. Cassidy's 1st and 2nd grade

I am actually very impressed with this blog. First of all, this blog is for first and second graders. That is pretty early to be computer literate. No, the students didn't write long blogs, just a sentence or two at a time, but the point is that they were blogging. Mrs. Cassidy also had some links to other class blogs, one in North Carolina and another in New Zealand so that her students could interact with students elsewhere. I also thought that this blog was a good tool for the parents. There were pictures of some of their class activities and special events. In fact, today was the 100th day of school and they celebrated with cookies shaped like the number 100. This blog is great for introducing young students to technology and incorporating the parents.

Fifth Grade Book Blog

Mrs. Fine's Book Blog

This fifth grade class is a great example of how a blog could be used in the classroom. Mrs. Fine requires her students to blog every week about the books they have been reading and to tell about the story and even recommend it to another student. Additionally, they are to comment on their classmates posts, so they can all get to know one another and their tastes as well as getting familiar with different books that they could all enjoy.

Blogging Potential

This has been my very first experience with blogging, and I was surprised that it was as easy as it is. When I was in high school, the curriculum never called for much technology other than keyboarding skills. However, I have noticed from younger students that a lot of things are changing. I think that computer skills and blogging could be an efficient tool in learning.
I am studying to become a high school English teacher, and I think I would enjoy incorporating blogging into my lesson plans. I am taking a literature class now that is requiring us to comment of stories and poems that we are reading in class. I think that I could use the same principles. English is much more than grammar, and responding to literature as well as writing could be a central theme to blog use.
Of course, the students would have to be monitored during blogging to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, online predators are getting very clever, and the students protection would have to be utmost. The Internet is not a completely dangerous place though, and I think that it could be used for good.