Wikiphany

On the eve on what could possibly be another snowday (I hope not!) it occured to me how I feel as if I have less homework this semester for class. After looking at the calendar I realized that there isn't less work this semester all all, it's just different. It's updating my blog and editing different wikis. I've never really associated any of these tasks with work because usually these are activities I do in my free time. Perhaps students will think the same, and instead of struggling to get students to complete work maybe I'll be surprised how often the update!

Wikis

I see the benefit in using Wikis, and by doing a little on-line searching I found some more. My favorite that I found was the daily news updates. I would really like if they would stop announcing things at the beginning and end of each day during my class. I have to quiet students down, and they never listen to what is being said. I like how staff members are accounted for by initaling that they read the notes as well. Perhaps this kind of change will result in less meetings too! Perfect!

wat u talking bout

Maybe when I said grammar wasn't as important it's because I haven't seen a blog in a school environment. Perhaps if the teacher were to stress the importance of it, then students might do it. I just know that when students send me e-mail or post anything on-line it is horrible. It almost seems as if the internet has given them the okay to be lazy. I do not agree with this, but I see it creepy into classwork all the time. The abbreviations used for texts or while on-line chatting seem to find their ways into my classroom. I just think it would be hard to instill in them the importance of sounded educated on-line. I think they get it when they write a paper (most of them do anyway) but on-line is a whole new beast.

Ah, the art of blogging. I never really thought of it as anything more than entertainment. If someone had an interesting blog then I would occasionally check back when I was bored. I feel as if it is something that students can easily pick up since most of them probably have their own blogs, or post notes on facebook. I'm not sure how I would be able to monitor 120 different blogs if I set them up in my classroom, and I feel at the middle school level they would need to be checked often. Would I let them use a pen name, so no one would know who they are talking to? Granted, they will probably tell their friends their names, but that way students who are less popular would feel free to post since people might not know who's blog it is. Also, they might be picked on less often this way? I'm not sure with blogging the pros out weight the cons. If you are looking for a new media for students to express themselves, this is it, but for some reason the rules of grammar and spelling do not usually apply to blogging.