Lesson 8 Blog Assignment

Now that you have created your own blog and used it through the previous eight lessons, describe in detail how you will use your blogging skills in your classroom.


When I began this course over the summer, my intention was to explore and begin preparing for a career as a secondary education language arts instructor.  I am returning to work after five years at home with young children; before motherhood, I was the coordinator of the Writing Center at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and a freelance writer.

Things are now in flux as I have returned to Writing Center tutoring part time and enjoy it immensely.  I'm now weighing whether I should bide my time and wait for a permanent position to be available in this area, or if I should continue to prepared for teacher certification.

Either way, using the blog for this course was a valuable experience, as I can see its merit to either career.

At one time, the CGCC Writing Center published a student newsletter.  It was very informative and we had a positive response from the community, but it was also a burden in that I needed to find instructors and/or tutors willing to generate content for the article.  I also had to write my own articles, conduct research and interviews, edit, work with the graphic designer on layout and coordinate publication and distribution services.  Even though we only published the newsletter quarterly, it seemed I was always working on it :)   The newsletter was funded by a grant; when the grant expired, so did the newsletter and it's never been revived.  I still find value in that type of communication - not only did we share valuable content, but it also gave us a chance to "introduce" ourselves to students who hadn't used our services yet.  Without that, we're just a sign hanging over the door - and for many students, we are an intimidating unknown.

Using this blog for your class has stirred my muse.  I can think of many ways that a CGCC Writing Center blog could be a valuable outreach to our instructors and students.  It could be organized and structured like the newsletter, but be much more fluid in terms of production dates and content.  Instructors could include a link to the blog in their syllabus and perhaps require students to occasionally answer questions about the blog to ensure they are checking us out periodically.  If we can have a clear, focused marketing/content plan and can demonstrate our value to students, we would have a powerful content and marketing tool.  This also gives us the opportunity to differentiate ourselves in the writing and community college community - some colleges have a well-deserved corner on the market for their website content; attempting to duplicate their efforts is pointless.  But a blog is flexible, fluid, responsive and can add our voice to the education community in a way that is original.

Now, should I continue to pursue teacher certification and become a high school English/literature instructor, I can also see the value of the blog in the classroom.  One way I could use is simply to duplicate your model - invite students to reflect on the concepts they are learning and apply them to their education, future career or life.  High school students are also a fun bunch in that they usually have very strong opinions on a variety of subjects and giving them a platform via a blog would be, at the very least, interesting  :) 

I would have to think about whether this would be a class blog, where everyone can participate and see each other's entries, or a private blog between me and my student.  In some online classes I've taken, blogs have been somewhat irritating.  Some instructors require class participation via the blog and so after logging in to find 67 blog posts, I find I have to wait through dozens of "I agree!" and "So true!" type of posts by students making a superficial attempt to participate.

I'm intrigued by using a blog as a type of class project that would be created/maintained by my students but published for the community at large.  Maybe a Writing Center-type site, full of helpful articles/tips about effective writing.  I'm not sure if high schools use learning communities like the community colleges do; if so, I could see a blog being a fun way to synthesize the concepts being learned between the two classes.

So, no matter where I land in the future, I can see blogging being a valuable addition to my marketing or education approach.  The trick will be to keep the purpose focused and relevant for both me and my students.

Thanks for a great class!  I learned a lot and enjoyed being "in the classroom" again.  You're a wonderful teacher!

Shannon

Lesson 6 Blog Assignment

After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

The most important information I gained from these two chapters was to keep an open mind. At first glance, I didn’t believe either of these subjects would be relevant to my intended profession (secondary teacher, language arts) but after reviewing and thinking about the information presented, I see that’s not the case. There will be opportunities for me to incorporate the beneficial effects of music in my curriculum, whether it’s including music in the classroom environment or incorporating music in my assignments. As to math, I learned the most about questioning my assumptions about the innate abilities of my students. If pigeons can do math and chimpanzees can plan warfare, then any student in my classroom has the potential to surprise me with their hidden abilities.