C4T #1

Following the Intrepid Teacher's blog for two weeks was quite enjoyable. During the first week, her most recent blog post was in September, and she hadn't posted since! During the second week, she actually made a new post, her first in almost six months! She is an avid user of technology in the classroom, and enjoys blogging and having her students maintain blogs.

In the Intrepid Teacher's blog post in September, she wrote about how she felt that technology had been wearing her down. For her, technology had been feeling stale and unimaginative. She used it for so long, and now she wants someone else to learn the different types of technology. She switched to using paper and pencil and she writes more often now as well. She said that it was fun to always be on the cutting edge, but only for so long.

In my comment, I agreed with her! Technology has it's place, but it shouldn't be the most important aspect of our lives. It takes away from open, direct communication. I will use technology in my classroom, but not as the only teaching tool.

When she posted again in February, she had just returned from a two day workshop in Japan, feeling refreshed and eager to use technology! The workshop she facilitated was called "Beyond Blogging". It was so neat to see how she took that break from technology, yet was able to come back stronger than ever, with many new ideas for the classroom. A few of her ideas were fairly simple, but contain a lot of importance. First off, choice matters! Let students enjoy writing and blogging about their favorite things. Secondly, an audience matters! Students should be aware of the community they are writing to. Third, diverse tools should be used! There is a wide array of tools online that students can use to add creativity to their posts. Fourth, students have to be open and willing to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and opinions- in front of the teacher! Last, students need time to complete their blogging, even if this time is extra from time allotted in school.

The Intrepid Teacher is a huge fan of blogging. She sees it as a way to assess student growth and progress. She loves looking for new tools outside of the regular learning curriculum. She recognizes that it is important to make learning fun for everyone, but also to add an individualized spin on it.

In my comment, I agreed with her and her five points. My favorite point was allowing students to choose their own content. It is so important for students to have the chance to freely express themselves and be creative. When students give us an insight into their lives, I believe that we, as educators, can be more successful.

I have enjoyed her blog posts, her opinions, and her thoughts.