1. Begin by describing student work
that you might design using blogs. Use the TPACK Model to identify each aspect
of the work. The following questions will help guide your thinking:
·
Content- What content
are you addressing? Considering the verb in the standard and Blooms Revised
Taxonomy, what is the desired level of thinking from the standards?
·
Pedagogy- What
pedagogical stance (or which learning theories or theorists) does this work
support? In other words, whose “shoulders” did you stand on?
·
Technology- What
affordances can you identify for the technology selected? Justify the match of
your pedagogical stance/strategy with the technology affordances.
2. Discuss other ways that this technology can be used in
the learning environment.
3. Identify any obstacles to using this tool. What makes
this tool worth using even these obstacles?
Objective: The
student (high school seniors) will create a blog using Blogger. The student
will illustrate a weekly post of approximately 300-500 words in response to the
weekly topic based on knowledge applied form actual situations. Posts will be
graded on areas of content, creativity, voice, use of multimedia and visual
aids, timeliness and quality of writing.
Students will have specific weekly topics to discuss their
thoughts and journey of their senior year, specifically college preparation
obstacles they face. This will allow student to become familiar with the site
and the idea of blogging. This will help to reinforce the use of proper grammar
and help student to continuously develop their writing skills.
Learning Theory: Constructivist theory is based on the idea
that each individual constructs their own meaning and understanding of new knowledge based on individual experiences
and evolved beliefs BUT what happens when the learner does not have any
experiences relating to the topic at hand. Does the learner disconnect? I
believe that student involvement is key to learning and teachers must create
learning situation where students build knowledge on their own; therefore, I am
taking a stance with progressive education.
Obstacle: My number one obstacle would be student safety.
During the introduction of the assignment, I will provide students with key
tools on how to be safe when using the Internet. This assignment could also be
an issue with students who do not have access to the Internet or a computer
outside of school. Luckily, Blogger has an application for smartphones and
student can post right from their phones. Morning and afternoon tutorial will
allow student time for posting. I strongly believe that the benefit of this
activity outweighs the risks since the tool helps to benefit the student in
multiple ways.
Additions: This form of technology can also be used to create a blog
with videos for the students. I could provide instructional videos on how to
apply for college and register for specific college entrance test. The benefits
and uses are limitless.
