Instructional Strategies

While we use and learn more about blogs and other Web2.0 technology, it is clear that to use these tools a different approach is needed. Regarding the pedagogy discussed in this class, I think a blog, to varying degrees, can use all three. An instructional approach would have the teacher giving information, showing links, and assigning activities on websites. A student's role would be to read my posts, complete tasks and use the blog for questions. Students could also help to answer other students' questions, too, but those responses would have to be monitored or checked on frequently to make sure no misinformation spreads.

Using a constructivist or an idea based approach would require more preparation and imagination by the teacher. For long term projects, a blog would be really good for students to bounce ideas off of each other and ask questions. It would be great for students who may not like to speak up in class or approach the teacher to get their ideas out or get their question asked. It also lends itself for kids that work at different paces or for ones that have missed time in school. At any time they can go to the blog and see everything that has been discussed.

Using blogs for a math classroom can be a little more cumbersome, especially in geometry, because of the drawing that goes on. Drawings would either have to be created or linked to and that could slow the flow of a post. Having to describe which part of the shape you are talking about instead of just pointing presents some problems, but with good links, or by inserting proper pictures, this can still be accomplished.

I think having a link to a wiki could help. A project might be that the class writes a chapter of the book using a wiki. A blog post could be started and the students could discuss what to put into the wiki and then a link takes them there to do their work. This way the discussion is there to see and so is the current state of the project.

- Dave