Blogging with students

[Linda Picceri]

I am teaching a 6th grade information fluency class this semester. My objective in blogging with students was to introduce them to Web 2.0 technology and give them the opportunity and experience of communicating globally. Initially we brainstormed topics of interest. From quite an extensive list which included the burning subject of shopping, they decided on year round school. They engaged in the research process to find information both in support and in opposition to the concept of going to school year round. Finally we posted our findings on the blog. I invite all of you and your students to view our initial post and please leave a comment. I think, at least I hope, it will be a very powerful learning experience when they see that people outside of this building can actually read and react to what they have to say.

You can access the blog at: http://www.sixthgradespeaks.blogspot.com

Cheers

[Diane Cordell]

Linda,
It looks like your 6th grade blog is off and running! If we EVER get student e-mail accounts in our district, I would love to implement a similar project. Will your class continue to interject their own comments, as responses roll in?
Diane

[Linda Picceri]

Hi Diane,
I am meeting with the students today and will share the comments with them. I think they are going to be blown away by the repsonses and also by the fact that comments have come from all over the country and the world. I think the next step will be to have them compile data based on people's comments and then we will post our findings. This is going to be quick project since we only have about 3 1/2 weeks of school left. I hope that my little experiment will inspire classroom teachers to try this sort of thing next year.
Linda