Module 2

This module made me feel quite knowledgable because I have been using blogs personally and in my classroom for about a year now. It was interesting in this module to explore all of the new gadgets and widgets that are available. There are literally thousands so you have to be choosy or your blog can become very busy. One of my faves is the widget that allows you to play your favourite music on the blog and check out these "fish" that you feed on your blog!

I find blogs to be a great way to document the learning in your classroom, to showcase the students' work and to share it all with people all over the place. Some of my students gave relatives in Europe and the US the blog address so they could see what their grandkids, nieces, nephews etc were learning about. We added a widget that showed where our blog viewers were on a world map. The kids loved that! They really worked hard on their tasks and artwork so it would be chosen for the blog. Built in motivation!

Another teacher at my school has started up blogs for special groups in the school such as the Mini Vinnies and Wakakirri groups. She posts photos and information about the groups' progress. Together we have taught ourselves how to post videos, podcasts and slideshows on our blogs using free Web 2.0 apps. Some problems we have had to overcome were privacy issues and settings, making video files small enough to be able to upload them but it has been fantastic learning.

I'm looking forward to learning even more about blogging and using it to enhance my teaching and the classroom experience for the kids.