blogging

Ending with Evaluating

/ lymanmar / 2 Comments

Website Evaluation

The major ideas shared within the resources of this week’s module were actually pretty familiar to me. As an eighth grade Language Arts teacher, evaluating online sources is something that I work on each year with my students. While some of the information in this week’s resources was a little bit more in-depth than I go with my students, the same message was there.

When going over website evaluation with my students, I work my school’s library media specialist to introduce the specific categories of evaluation to focus on. And, while those categories can vary somewhat from source to source or librarian to librarian, providing students with specific areas to look at helps them to be critical of what they read.

Ultimately, the resources in this week’s module did not make me think differently about web searches or use of online information. But, this module did confirm the importance of exposing my students to website evaluation. The fact that website evaluation is a concept explored and further developed in a graduate level college course confirms its significance. It’s definitely something students should be exposed to early on in their academic careers and should continue to develop and use in the years following.

Additional Resources

If I were to add to this collection of website evaluation resources, I would want to create an evaluation tool/form that could be used by students. Putting together all the most important information from the current resources into one place would give students one central reference for all of this useful information. This one central reference would also be formatted in a way that students could use and organize their own website evaluation notes.

While introducing website evaluation to my students, I have used a variety of different tools to help them organize their website evaluation notes but have yet to find/create a tool that is efficient yet user friendly. Having a tool that is easy to use but also thorough will encourage students to evaluate the websites they use.

Final Thoughts

Handwritten "Hello, Goodbye"
“Hello, Goodbye.” by OFU is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Over the past seven weeks of this course, I was most impacted by the content in our fourth module about the basics of a web page and coding. This information was really totally new to me but has stuck with me the most. Digital accessibility is also a concept that was completely unfamiliar to me. Both of these topics built off some basic understanding I had and took my knowledge and understanding to the next level.

If I were to take this course again, I would want the section about coding to be expanded upon. Coding is such an important yet complex topic. I think it warrants more time because it is the foundation needed for all of the other topics studied. Without coding, we would be unable to study all of the other topics.

In the future, I can really see putting a number of the skills developed during this course to use. When it comes to digital accessibility and mobility, I have already began to rethink my classroom web page and what I can do to make it more accessible for all its potential users on a variety of different devices. My understanding of blogging and website evaluation has been enhanced, and my use within my classroom can now be elevated. And, my exposure to coding has shown me that it’s not such a scary topic at all and has given me the opportunity to build upon my newfound understanding.

Overall, I really enjoyed this course and studying the wide variety of topics that we did. Being exposed to new experiences and applications in addition to simply new information definitely helped to create a lasting impact.

To Blog or Not to Blog

/ lymanmar / 3 Comments

A blog.

It seems like everyone has one these days. A blog to share one’s favorite recipes and kitchen adventures. A blog about being a mom. A blog to discuss the newest fashion trends. The list goes on…

But, can a blog really be a resource for an educator aside from a space to promote his/her Teachers Pay Teachers account? Definitely.

As a current middle school Language Arts teacher with a desire to use the most current technology to give my students engaging and authentic learning experiences, a blog might be my most valuable professional development experience yet. Starting a blog gives me the opportunity to develop a professional learning community that spans beyond the walls of my school and perimeter of my school district. This platform will allow me to interact with fellow educators near and far to exchange best practices and new ideas on a more in-depth scale than other forms of social media–Twitter, Instagram, etc.

In order to really take advantage of the full potential of a blog and form those digital connections, I’ll need to develop a plan to produce engaging content. While there’s no exact science to this, it might be best to focus each of my posts on

  • specific aspects of the English Language Arts content area
  • newly discovered tools/resources (ELA specific or general to ed tech)
  • ways to integrate technology into specific content areas
  • solutions to the problems or situations of my followers

That last one assumes I have some followers after they read my engaging content. Fingers crossed!

The idea of others reading my thoughts via a blog does make me feel a little uncomfortable. An academic type piece of writing, no problem! But, a blog is more open-ended and creative, and I wouldn’t say that’s one of my strengths. I like having a specific format to follow and particular elements to incorporate into my writing. So, blogging will definitely push me out of my comfort zone a bit.

But, I have to admit, I really do enjoy commenting on the thoughts of others and engaging with the content others share. I’m a pretty loyal follower of a number of educators via Instagram and Twitter, and I love being able to participate in a professional digital dialogue about our field. Truthfully, I have found some the best ideas for lessons, classroom management, and overall teaching practice just by taking ten minutes of my day to do some scrolling, read, and think creatively about what I see.

I could see myself mentioning a couple different blogs in future posts of mine. I might reflect on the implementation in my own classroom of one of Miss G’s unique first day of school activities. Or, I might refer to some of Alice Keeler’s tips for using Google Apps for Education most efficiently in the classroom after some trial and error of my own. I also would hope I would develop digital relationships with other bloggers who focus their content on English Language Arts, ed tech, or, ideally, a combination of the two, and mention their work as well.

The possibilities are definitely endless, and I am looking forward to seeing how this blog will help me grow as an educator.