Teacher Process

  1. The teacher begins by initiating a discussion centered around the age old question "What did you learn in school today?" Discussion will center around students taking charge of their own learning by blogging about it on student blogs.
  2. The process of blogging will be explained with a  visual "surf-through" and class conversations of some components of blogging and the skills to be developed through blogging about learning:

               Read
                Question (Blooms Taxonomy
                Think
                Write
                Collaborate
                Reflect
                Comment
                Links

  3. Students will browse through a student created “Blook on Blogs”. http://www2.gsu.edu/~coeapd/abc/ In the blook, students brainstormed words that came to their minds after a year of blogging. They then added idioms to the list, wrote a brief story using all the vocabulary and added their own delightful illustrations.  After reading the blook, students will mindmap what they learned on Inspiration or Gliffy. They will then meet in three groups and create a map of their ideas to share will the whole group. The teacher will post these maps on the  class blog.
  4. After the students have taken a tour of student and class blogs, the teacher will oversee the “Think Pair Share” . Students think about the important things they learned individually, with a partner, and then by sharing to the whole class. The final sharing will be posted on the class blog by the teacher.
  5. Teacher will show the students how to comment on the class blog.
  6. Teacher will provide each student their own blog.
  7. Teacher oversees first postings – introduction, thoughts on what they have learned so far about blogging, items learned in class. The teacher can gage when the class is ready for step 5 where the postings will be focused on “how to blog to learn” in the classroom.
  8. Student will comment on a peer’s blog using one of the comment starters provided in step 5.
  9. The teacher will guide the students through the “Objectives and Guidelines for Safe and Responsible Blogging” wiki. http://elemblogpolicy.pbwiki.com/

The 6 Trait Writing in Blogging rubric  was originally created in Rubistar.  I will adapt the rubric in the following way:

 As we focus on the individual traits in class, students will self-evaluate the individual trait on a blog post or in class. They will also peer evaluate. The teacher will evaluate and confer with the student so they can discuss the posts.  Sometimes these evaluations will be on a post of their choice, sometimes it may be a teacher assigned post. This evaluation is in a test-drive mode. The purpose of this evaluation is not for grades, but for development of self-evaluation skills that will help them improve their literacies. These blog spaces are meant to be  spaces where learning is  honored and  to see  what  might be created.  There  has to be freedom to  develop without it being  tested in  the current  lock-step mode.

Another aspect of evaluation will be developed as the year progresses through questioning, responses, and continued development of self-evaluation that promotes quality work.  There will be many opportunites for reflection.

I believe students will learn to succeed in more demanding assignments in which they have ownership and freedom to take risks with their writing. I want to create an environment in which they want their writing to improve for their own sake to be able to communicate with others and have conversations that are meaningful to them. I do not want evaluation of blogs to become a lock step process around what we educators want. I want the students to be part of the evaluation team. That way we can develop ways to evaluate this world in ways that it will not become another meaningless test or assessment. We need lots of time yet to observe these environments and do our part to make them relevant to the students. There are so many possiblilities that can be developed. We don't want to shut those possibilities down.


That will conclude the WebQuest but blogging will continue throughout the school year. The webquest will be referred to as needed but students and teachers will continue to blog thoughout the year. They will also continue to contribute to the class wiki on blogging . The six traits of writing instruction will be taught throughout the year by the teacher and students will blog about what they lean. Blooms Taxonomy questioning will also be a main component for teachers and students. Students and teachers will be blogging to learn!