The idea of ‘online and offline’ co-existing communities is something that Victoria suggested I look at in my Case Study: She suggests looking at:

whether the use of co-existing online communities enhances and/or changes the offline context of my classroom;

whether it shifts the ways in which both myself and the children in the class conceptualize and operationalize curriculum;

whether I find myself changing the ways in which I teach and deliver curriculum.

I think that some of these issues can be addressed following some recent activities on the pupils’ blogs.

 Maryam posted this on her blog early in January:

“I’ve been thinking on being a book writer.Well,i dont know yet but i love reading books and i always like writing stories.I might start writing more on my wiki.My room has quite alot of books flooding everywhere.He He!Anyway i was wondering if you could give me some tips how to be a good story writer.”

I posted a comment that led me to thinking about introducing the children to different Learning Styles. The children were very keen to find their preferred style. The quiz they took can be found HERE. This led them to want to research what job they might be most suited to .. and they began to Blog about this.

I think  Ainsley  was the first to post.

“i just love reading books i dont know how i just love it. I love to write stories and read stories. when i am older i want to become a writer and write lots of things ( but i dont know yet what i am going to write hehe.I love scary books , sad books , adventure books and etc. I dont read the news paper because i find it boring and i just dont like to read it but every thing else is fun to read. maybe you should try to rite your own book and i will to. i will come back to you when i have wrote atleast 4 pages hehe”

Nina wrote a great post at home one evening. It was obvious that she had put a lot of thought into writing it, and when I noticed it on ‘google reader’ that evening, I decided that I would share it with the others the next day ………. it’s interesting that after the post had been shared, there was a spontaneous ’round of applause’ and when she got back home, she re-vamped her post by adding paragraphs and some more interesting words and phrases here and there (audience awareness?). I’ve included a bit here:

“Decisions.There is so much decisions in life there right infront of you,some are hard and some are easy(i tend to ask for advice on the hard)

Like one for example what should i have for breakfast?But the one thing that is the hardest i think is what your career should be.Well when we were young we all wanted to be heroes and heroines like firemen,Police,Vets,doctor,teachers,dancers and more.But when you get older you start to think more about this. I’m not old enough to get a job yet of course but it just makes me think.

I wanted to be a Ballet dancer when i was small but i don’t go to dancing because of my spine, therefore ballet is not a job option for me as things have changed.Well i think if i go to Uni or College i could become most of the things because i think i’m quite clever not at language though,i don’t like it.

Here are a few jobs i’d like to do and why.Well my first one is a Journalist i’d like to do this because i like to find out things and it would be interesting and i think i’m alright at writing.I’d like to get in touch with a newspaper and get better at my writing…….”

 Anna then wrote:

“Nina’s Post kind of got me thinking…There are a lot os Desicions in life.I guess we make never really think about it!Well when i’m older i really want to be something along the lines of a Journalist. (eg;Fashion magazine editor;Write:Journalist) That kinda stuff.One time i considered being a Police woman but then i though nahh…The uniformas are hideous!! No i’m joking really i think if i were a police Woman I might get hurt or something So basically this post is to say thanks to Nina For giving me a  bit of a boost and stuff like that haha xbye xxx”

Miss L is a final year Bed student in our class at the moment. She was keen to set up her own blog and added a post to join in with the ‘conversation’. A short extract is below:

“I thought I would write something about this as so many of you have. Although I have not fully entered the world of work officially I am nearly there! Fingers crossed anyway!Where to start? Well, when I was wee I always wanted to be a teacher. I used to make my little brother sit and listen to me when I pretended to teach him! I used to have to bribe him with sweets etc! However, when he got a bit older he did appreciate the help with his homework so I think we both benefitted from it!…………………..”

Bethany added this post just this weekend:

“I didn’t really know what to write a post on and everyone seems to be writing about what they want to be when they are older. It got me thinking of how many choices we actually make in life. I mean there is little ones like what will i eat for breakfast? or what will i wear tomorrow? There are also bigger choices like Will i buy the game i want that is £45? The choice that quite alot gets to me is what i want to play when i go to my friends houses. I can never seem to decide. I think a reason for that is that you are worried incase the persons house you are at does not want to play that thing and you are making it boring for them. Another choice that is hard for me is what i want to be when i am older? When i was smaller i used to want to be a ballerina or a nurse but now that has changed especially because i dont really like programs that they cut people open and things. I just personally could not do that and i cant understand how some people can do that! I also used to want to be either a vet or a teacher until i found out that being a vet can involve putting animals down.:( ! A teacher i am still considering with about a million other jobs. If you think about it there is so much out there so i will just have to go with the flow and see what life throws at me!”

Monica joined in only today:

“When i am older i would like to become a singer. I would go on the X factor. I have always been quite shy. So that would be a thing i would need to work on. I am not sure if i am a good singer or not lol. Its hard to say when your friends say you are good but then all the boys say you are rubbish. The only thing is i am not sure about going on the X factor is i might go on and make a fool of  my self if i cant sing lol. But i will give it a try in the future.

 Another job i would like to do is be a teacher. I would like to teach primary schools. Also i would need to be more confident to be able to speak in front of people. These are only two jobs i wouold like.

Bye x

Do you think i should go for the X Factor when i am older?”

So to return to Victoria’s email suggestions:

whether the use of co-existing online communities enhances and/or changes the offline context of my classroom

I have lots of thoughts on this and will devote a post to the topic 🙂 

whether it shifts the ways in which both myself and the children in the class conceptualize and operationalize curriculum;

whether I find myself changing the ways in which I teach and deliver curriculum.

Although these two issues need to be looked at very closely, it is a fact that the ‘Learning Style’ quiz idea came from reading a post on one of the children’s blogs. I’ve also arranged for an author and a journalist to visit the class because of the interest shown in these careers in the recent blog posts quoted above …………

….. and If anyone knows a famous X Factor star, I’m sure that Monica would be very happy if you could arrange a class visit 🙂