Our PLT focus on collaborative learning led me to blogging. Was it worth it? When I first started I had no preconceived ideas of how the blog I set up for my two Year 12 classes on the film Look Both Ways would develop. It soon, however, became clear that although most students felt positive towards the blog, eighteen signed up as contributors in the first few days, that they were not confident enough to post. The most common reason given was that they didn't want to put themselves out there because their entries wouldn't be as good as mine. When I asked what it would take to get them to contribute they said they would if I made it a class activity and I checked their contributions before we posted them. Therefore, the blog became entirely teacher-directed with some contributions from students either in the form of posts on themes or examples of their writing on the film. It followed and supplemented the work we did in class.
So each week I would publish several posts. At the end of the 5 week unit I surveyed both classes. 41 of the 47 students completed the survey. 23 students said they had visited the blog. Four students, my top students academically, said they had visited the blog daily. 5 visited it only once. The remaining 14 visited several times a week. Those who didn't look at the blog gave one of two reasons - they forgot or didn't have computer access at home or in their English classroom (RM55). Of the 18 who said they didn't look at the blog, 5 were able to tell me what they liked best about the blog. Hello!
After this survey I decided to put a site meter on the blog to monitor their usage in the lead-up to the exam. The site meter made it clear that the blog was being used by others outside of the school. 647 visits and 1751 page views over five week period. There were over 300 hits in the week before the exam. I now wish I had had the site meter there from the beginning.
The things BHS students liked best about the blog were: getting different ideas, views, insights and perspectives on the film; it was helpful when they were away or had misplaced their notes; good to see everyone's ideas together; loved seeing examples of student writing; broke the film down into sections they could easily study; helped with homework; it looked pretty; made them feel like a special community; links to different study guides were easy to access; the range of information; the pictures; the ability to be able to post a question and get it answered.
The only thing they didn't like about the blog was that several felt that not enough people got involved. The most common response to the question "How can I improve the blog for next year?" was to encourage more students to use it and post comments. Some said I should make it compulsory and ensure my classes are timetabled in a room with computers to ensure everyone had access and could post. Some suggested I should set up blogs for all Year 12 texts. I have set up 2 more blogs and am thinking about how to increase participation next year. It was collaborative but not collaborative enough in my opinion.
I found blogging addictive. I enjoyed it and found it to be great professional development. By posting on what I was doing in class it made me continually reflect on my classroom practice. I enjoyed the positive comments from my students and later on from students outside the school.
Was it worth it? The comments of the two students who I expect to get over 40 study scores were in themselves enough for me to think it was worth the time and effort. One said he viewed it after every class and that it was simply a "grand resource". The other said she viewed it "daily", that it was "fantastic" and that she liked "everything" about it. So with these two as my inspiration, now I am looking to expand into wikis, though I'm worried they are not pretty enough, or perhaps a website. We'll see. Thank you, Em, for starting me on this journey.
So each week I would publish several posts. At the end of the 5 week unit I surveyed both classes. 41 of the 47 students completed the survey. 23 students said they had visited the blog. Four students, my top students academically, said they had visited the blog daily. 5 visited it only once. The remaining 14 visited several times a week. Those who didn't look at the blog gave one of two reasons - they forgot or didn't have computer access at home or in their English classroom (RM55). Of the 18 who said they didn't look at the blog, 5 were able to tell me what they liked best about the blog. Hello!
After this survey I decided to put a site meter on the blog to monitor their usage in the lead-up to the exam. The site meter made it clear that the blog was being used by others outside of the school. 647 visits and 1751 page views over five week period. There were over 300 hits in the week before the exam. I now wish I had had the site meter there from the beginning.
The things BHS students liked best about the blog were: getting different ideas, views, insights and perspectives on the film; it was helpful when they were away or had misplaced their notes; good to see everyone's ideas together; loved seeing examples of student writing; broke the film down into sections they could easily study; helped with homework; it looked pretty; made them feel like a special community; links to different study guides were easy to access; the range of information; the pictures; the ability to be able to post a question and get it answered.
The only thing they didn't like about the blog was that several felt that not enough people got involved. The most common response to the question "How can I improve the blog for next year?" was to encourage more students to use it and post comments. Some said I should make it compulsory and ensure my classes are timetabled in a room with computers to ensure everyone had access and could post. Some suggested I should set up blogs for all Year 12 texts. I have set up 2 more blogs and am thinking about how to increase participation next year. It was collaborative but not collaborative enough in my opinion.
I found blogging addictive. I enjoyed it and found it to be great professional development. By posting on what I was doing in class it made me continually reflect on my classroom practice. I enjoyed the positive comments from my students and later on from students outside the school.
Was it worth it? The comments of the two students who I expect to get over 40 study scores were in themselves enough for me to think it was worth the time and effort. One said he viewed it after every class and that it was simply a "grand resource". The other said she viewed it "daily", that it was "fantastic" and that she liked "everything" about it. So with these two as my inspiration, now I am looking to expand into wikis, though I'm worried they are not pretty enough, or perhaps a website. We'll see. Thank you, Em, for starting me on this journey.
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