I started using the blog tool available on our blackboard site last year with my second graders. I would post prompts like "What is your favorite winter activity." or "what are your plans for the weekend." The second graders loved it, but often only replied in short phrases or one sentnce. When I moved to fifth grade I created similar prompts and the fifth graders responded with more detailed answers. They also started treating it like I chat room. I would hear comments like "I'll be on the blog at 6, meet me there". Then I would see posts like "hello..where is everyone." After a class discussion the fifth graders understood the purpose for the blog. As this year as gone on the students have been asking for their own blogs where they have more freedom to post their ideas. I made an account with Edublogs and was all set to introduce it in the computer lab. Then I had a conversation with my SBTS and said technically those sites are not permitted in my school district. Apparently anything that requires a username and password are not allowed. Since I'm already breaking that rule with spelling city, I thought that it would be best not to add another. So that left me with the blog tool on blackboard. I played around with the tool and discovered that you can create individual blogs that serve as private journals. Only the student and the instructor can view what is written. While this is not ideal for a blog, I thought this would be perfect for reading response journals. So next week instead of writing in their composition books, the students will be posting to their blog. This not only saves paper but it saves me from lugging 24 composition books home each night.
I still would love for the kids to have a blog where other students can comment on. Apparently our blackboard is being updated over the summer with new features and becoming mobile friendly. Maybe they will improve the blog tool.
That is really interesting that you aren't allowed to use a site that required a login and password. In Loudoun, I don't really know the specific guidelines (since I've never needed to know them) but two fourth grade teachers in my school have class blogs that the students log onto and are password secure. I can get more information about exactly how they did it (even though it's a different county) and maybe that can help with your situation. Let me know if you are interested!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely interested! My students are enjoying the blog tool on our blackboard site, but I'm always looking for new things :)
DeleteI share your frustrations with this particular FCPS policy. What I find interesting though is that the phrase "Can you just e-mail that to me?" is echoed up and down high school hallways as a way for students to turn in assignments that have been completed on the computer. As somebody who has experienced students finding ways to delete one another's work in the Blackboard Digital Dropbox, I don't trust this part of Blackboard, and don't ever mention use of it to my students. Because I'd like to use Blogs next year with my honors students, I'm ready to challenge my SBTS to find a more fitting Blog system, unless somebody else has a suggestion!
ReplyDeleteI often wondered about the Digital Dropbox feature! I can't believe someone would go in and delete another's work. The blog tool on blackboard is not that great. I've set up my reading response blogs to act like personal journals. I enjoy that feature because that means I don't have to bring home 24 reading journals. I don't know if this feature will be useful to you or not.
DeleteI understand your frustration. Your idea of students putting their reading logs on a blog would be so helpful to me as I hate to handwrite back to them - there is no copy and paste option if you need to say the same thing many times. A major drawback to Blackboard, at least in Arlington, is that the login is their student ID number and the password is their 6 digit birthday. It is unfortunate that students would tamper with each other's material by "hacking" but it is the way it is. When it comes to my used of various technology tools, especially Web 2.0 options, I find myself following the it is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. I know this is not ideal and might come to bite me in the end, but my hope is that of I get reprimanded for it they will be able to see how successful the tool is and how my the students are engaged in their interaction with it. Another option would be to ask for a specific exception to pilot an idea with your small group and collect qualitative and quantitative data to show the validity of the tool. Just a few thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI love the expression better to beg for forgiveness then ask for permission :) I'm doing that right now with Spelling City. Our blackboard usernames are student ID's and their password is fifth. I've never experienced students logging in on another account.
DeleteI have found that the version of blackboard we have at GMU has a blog feature but it is really nothing more than a discussion forum- like environment. There is the possibility though for private conversation and journaling which is definitely something really powerful to use with students. If the activity is well designed, there can be wonderful mentoring relationships built.
ReplyDeleteWe have similiar features on our blackboard account. I'm currently using the private conversation feature as a way to talk about their reading. I'm loving it! I find that it is much easier to type to 24 kids while sitting with my laptop then to lug 24 journals back and forth with me!
Delete