We are trying out ‘TeacherTube” to show our videos. The video has been on our blog before, but it’s worth a ‘re-run’ :))
What do you think?
It will appear on here – it might take a moment!!
Download:A Movie Trial – Powered by TeacherTube.com
Download:A Movie Trial – Powered by TeacherTube.com
Hi Mrs V its Rachael the blog is really good i hope we win the phone it would be really good i hope we win bye.
Dear Mrs V,
The Teacher Tube seems to work well and it helps when the students are good actors too! It did not take too long to load actually and flowed pretty well.
I have some questions about educational blogging and hope I am posting to the right place?
I am a teacher in Adelaide and am also doing a Masters at Flinders University. My assignment is a review on educational blogs and I have chosen your site to focus on-because I am so impressed with it!
I am visiting Al Upton and the Mini Legends on Wednesday for this assignment (it is due that night but I may ask for an extention!) I will do some voice recordings to include in my poscast.
I hope you can see my interview questions and possibly answer them.
Here they are:
Questions about Blogging
For the teacher:
1) Were you skilled in web design before you started the blog?
2) Did it take a long time to set it up?
3) Did you meet any opposition to putting student work into a blog?
4) Obviously many student outcomes are met through educational blogging. Can you give an example of a pleasant surprise that happened as a result of educational blogging?
5) What do you hope for the future of blogging in education?
For the students:
1) Do you find blogging hard work?
2) What kinds of things have you learnt from blogging?
3) Do your parents enjoy having a look at your blog?
4) Do you have a favourite blog that you visit from another school?
Thank you and sorry to take up so much room!
Regards,
Kate T
Thank you for your comment, Kate. I’ll post some answers as soon as I can – later today, hopefully. I’ll get the pupils to answer their section, too.
Hello Kate,
Here are my answers
No. 1 – No, quite the opposite. Apart from taking part in an ‘online’ Charter Teacher course and the regular ‘google’ search, I knew nothing. I’d heard of a ‘blog’ and when I visited SETT last September, I signed up for the ‘To Blog Or Not To Blog’ talk. It ‘caught my imagination’.
2. No. A google search led me to ‘Blogger’. It was straight forward. We now use ‘Edublogs’ and ‘Edubuzz’. and some wikis. I used a wiki at first to give the pupils a ‘voice’. We’ve learned a lot from reading other blogs.
3. No, quite the opposite. The pupils, the parents, the staff and other ‘educators’ have been very supportive from the start. The only frustration has been the dreaded ‘access denied’ message at school!
4. It has really motivated the pupils. They tend to come up with a lot of ideas about using the blogs in innovative ways. We’ve met so many friends from around the globe. We’d never have had that opportunity without blogging. A big surprise is in the way it’s changed my teaching. It’s much less text book led. I’ll look for other ways of teaching so that the pupils’ work can be displayed. The pupils are very aware of their global audience (that shows in the way they write in their individual blogs). They also self assess their writing now ‘through the eyes of a ‘geovisitor’ – great!)
5. There is a ‘digital divide’ between most teachers’ use of ICTs and pupils’ use. They’re already communicating with each other using MSN, My Space, etc. and using lots of other things like mobile phones in ways most adults don’t. This is a way of teaching, learning and assessing that captures their interest… it just takes some subtle adjustments to what we do already. They’re not positioned in front of a computer all day. They’re getting about their learning and all ‘learning styles’ are still catered for. The actual ‘blogging’ is only a small part of the process … but a very important part:)
I hope this helps. I’ll ask some pupils to comment on their questions after lunch!
5.
1. No I don’t find it hard I find it very good fun.
2. I have learned how to type faster and how to put pictures on and alot more things that will help me do well in the future.
3. Yes they like to see all the things I do and what I am learning its a way they can see what I do all year.
4. I visit P7 Allstars alot of the time they are a school in Australia I like to see what they do.
Hope this answers your questions
from Danni