This week will begin my 3rd Graders' first experience with Blackboard and blogging. I'm not crazy about the layout of Blackboard when using it with such a young age group, but it's good practice for them. We always talk about how we need to prepare these kids for the real world. Well, Blackboard is a good start because when a buddy of mine saw my computer logged onto Blackboard during a visit, he said, "hey, you guys use Blackboard, so do we. I looks a little different but pretty much the same." He's an accountant for a big company, so that's proof that some teachers are training kids for the business world.
My students are going to create a very basic blog. I did one as an example. I talked about who I am and all of my favorite things. I'll have them use mine as a model for their own. They'll just introduce themselves then talk about the things they love. I figure this will allow for a pretty good level of replies from their classmates and dialogue. I'm not sure what kind of topics I'll do in the future; I guess I'll play that by ear unless anyone has suggestions. Teaching them how to log into Blackboard and going over the basic layout of the blog section will take up a good bit of time since it's their first time, so I think on this first day, I'll just have them reply to my blog. I figure by the time they're all on the right section, there will only be about 15 or 20 minutes left in the class. This will allow for some replies. It will also show them the importance of substance to their blog if they're going to generate any comments from their classmates. Wish me luck, this will be a first for most of the 3rd graders in Baltimore I think.
No comments:
Post a Comment