Blog Assignment

The first blog I found that I thought was interesting was Ms. Murphy’s Second and Third Grade Classroom blog. On the blog, Ms. Murphy posts homework assignments, upcoming events, and other important things that are relevant to her class. I found it especially interesting that she had put up pictures of the students. I felt like that would be a great way to involve the students because most children love seeing themselves working in the classroom. She also used it as a way to boast about students who had done outstanding work or won certain awards or competitions. Furthermore, it allowed parents to see what the homework assignments were for that day or even to hear about their child’s accomplishments.

The second blog I found that I really enjoyed was Mr. Kranzo’s Earth Science Classroom blog. Similar to Ms. Murphy, Mr. Kranzo posted the homework assignments on his homepage in order to allow students and parents to look at homework assignments. In his “About” page he tells about how he’ll also post extra credit assignments online for the students to do in their spare time. I thought the best aspect of his blog though was the “Links” page. On this page he has links to multiple resources that his students can utilize in their learning of Earth Science. This could be especially helpful for students if they had to do research for a project or he could also use it as a way to assign homework (he provided a link to an Interactive Rock Cycle that could be a great teaching tool).

After reviewing several blogs that were used in the classroom I have come up with numerous ways of utilizing a blog at the elementary level:
1) Keeping track of homework assignments (especially for students who are sick or absent for any reason)
2) Informing parents of students’ good work or behavior
3) Sharing pictures of what the class has been doing (As a scrap-booker, I know that these photos might be useful for parents to keep)
4) Using it as a tool to publish students’ writing and/or drawings
5) In the older elementary grades it could possibly be used as a place to have a discussion about topics that the class finds important or interesting
6) I’m not sure if this is possible yet, but potentially in the future making grades available to parents to view at any time in order to keep track of how their child is doing in school
7) Making links available to students that have interactive learning opportunities, or making links available to parents and colleagues for any tips on teaching or parenting that I find might be helpful for them