Planning for the Future

The last few years I have been engrossed in academic study. While I have learned and discovered strategies to use, I really haven't put all of them into practice. I have been in information overload. With graduation approaching, I will finally have the time to digest the information, and put it into practice. I plan on rereading the Richardson book from the multimedia class. Two things I want to work on incorporating are blogs and wikis.

My students write in their journals everyday. I would like them to have publish some of their work. My plan is still in the initial stages. The basic framework is that students will choose one of their journals, polish it, and use it as a blog. All of this would need to be done by the fourth week of the six weeks. The last two weeks of the six weeks students would need to comment on a classmates blog. I have concerns I need to work through. I will probably need to go to the computer lab for the students to complete their assignments, since they show very little initiative. I also need to devise a system so that every student has someone comment on their blog post. I could have students choose a name. It seems very basic and there should be a better way. Also, too many of my students have long held animosity towards each other. The classroom is a big enough battle zone, I don't need it carrying over to the internet.

The other thing I would like to try is a Wiki for vocabulary. Students need to be held accountable to each other for helping make connections to vocabulary words. My interactive reviews did not go as well as I hoped, so I need someway for students to achieve success. There are 30 vocabulary units in our workbook. We cover two lessons at a time for a total of 15 quizzes. Tentatively, my plan is to assign each class two units to create a wiki for. I would create the first one and everyone would contribute to the last two. I need to practice with using Wikis to grow comfortable including them in class.

I want to my class to use more technology and prepare my students for how their college classes will operate. Blogs and Wikis will help. I know I will need to create a brochure or handout to give students who transfer into my class. One concern I have is that when students move in they already feel lost. Getting them caught up to speed may be a difficult job.