Doing some online activities could also be beneficial for students (ie homework, quizzes/tests, movies, etc.). One area of concern would be ensuring if all students have access to a computers after school hours.
One thing that I am not too on is the virtual world thing; I just do not care for that sort of thing. I will explore it some more. I am not a person who enjoys that style, even with video games; I hate the interacting/role playing games. What were some of your thoughts about Second Life??
I also really like the idea of using class blogs or websites for posting notes or homework for students. The idea of a question blog is also great, although it will add more 'after school' work for teachers - if it is going to help students get more involved in school then I'm all for it.
ReplyDeleteI am not huge on video games either, so I don't believe that Second Life would really be up my alley.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that keeping a classroom blog or discussion board would be super helpful for students to help with homework, quizzes/tests etc.
I feel that student access to computers may be a problem after school hours but depending where you are, it shouldn't be a problem. Most students also have access to a smart device, which if used competently, could be a very beneficial tool for communication and blogging.
I have seen a class blog used in one of my placements. It worked really well. The students appreciate the opportunity to participate in homework that isn't the usual "take your books home and finish these questions for next class." Blogging is something simple that the students can do while they are chatting with their friends on Facebook. This will take some work from the teacher to keep the topics interesting and moving along.
ReplyDeleteTotally with you on the Second Life idea. No idea how I would use this. Seems like it would be more about play then work.
Thanks for the posts; it will be interesting to see what happens in terms of social media in our carriers.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to setting up some wikis in my classes. Something like that will definitely be an interesting way for students to participate outside of school and for parents to keep udated. Even moodle, with all the hang ups it has does prove to be a good resource. Not only does it save paper, but you don't need to haul all the information around and you can access it wherever you have a computer and internet connection. It makes setting up a class and the expectations for that class easier. It's a great advantage to instruction and organization.
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