Thing #3... Using blogs as fun learning tools for students

   And the blogger returns  It appears this can be addictive, or it is just me writing that strange, semi-comical novel I never got around to.  
Which is about where I left off, saying Hay! No, hey! What a great project this would be for my students!
    My children often tell me they just draw a blank when it comes to writing prompts. We all remember that back to school prompt we all had, year after year, write about what you did last Summer. Wouldn't it be so much more fun to get creative with that prompt, allow each student to set up a blog and throw in some crazy pictures if you have them...

Like this poor kid who could say, I did nothing this summer because I had to go to my Dad's lousy pizza place every day. I ate lots of pizza. I got bored. It was 525 degrees next to that oven. If I wanted to go someplace that was that hot I would have traveled to Venus or something, or Australia, even. I got sick of pizza. I fought with my brother and my mean sisters. I colored and the stupid radio played the same 6 songs over and over, all day. Don't make me eat pizza or I will puke!      -Olivia N.

    As a teacher, you can set up a classroom blog, and allow each of your students to report classroom news from their own perspective. Kids could get creative. Sometimes we really don't know what to write. Wouldn't it be fun to see how much they could  stretch their imaginations by allowing them to make the news up, rather than reporting the dull truth?


   A new student joined our class this week. Her name is Fiona but she likes to be called FiFi. Her breath smells like fish. She doesn't talk much, but sometimes she growls. We are not sure where she comes from, but it must be a foreign country or something... Katmandu? She doesn't seem interested in learning anything so we're not sure why she's here. She showed up on Tuesday. I  don't know if she's staying.       -Arielle

Then there is the concept of the school newspaper, which, back in the day, was published just like a real newspaper and available for all to peruse. What do Journalism students do these days?

Can anybody tell me what has become of this? Have schools decided that no news is good news?

   Why not blog it, in true newspaper form?

 Blogs in the classroom can have so many applications. Teachers can use them as newsletters, or places for their students to find their assignments. I will likely use one or more blogs in my classroom.

Fun, fun, fun!

Fosters learning, learning, and more learning :)

     

               

#2 Thingy Dingy...my experience in making this thing

    Here I go again, and its past my bedtime! Blogging to the whole world is new to me. I have read a few, but never created my own. Of course I have Facebooked to the select few for many years now. You know, the usually bragging about my kids, my life, the multitudes of animals I have amassed.  But this is different-- potentially many, many more stalkers. Well, I''ll deal.
     The name of my blog intends to show where I'm reporting from; my little chunk of the world which is probably much different from that of most of the students in my class. I have several kids. I have owned a pizzeria. I have audited taxes for the IRS. I have 2 pet goats. I just found my 1/2 brother. I have been out of college since 1994. I have lived!
    The setup was easy enough my cat could do it. Really, look out, you may see a blog from one of my cats. Hopefully they don't try to hack this one.

 TOO LATE!!!!!!

 My avatar does not not resemble me. She is a younger version of me, but much blonder. She has had several extra shots of expresso in her coffee, hence enlarging her head which is ready to blow. 

WATCH OUT! AND DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

Avatar me loves coffee and New York (my home for many years), just like me. That shirt was well worth the two free Doppleme coins I had to spend...so glad I took the time to search through the wardrobe, too. Her jeans are hideous, but they are a shout out to my mom who would love them. This I know because they resemble my K-4 wardrobe, before I gathered the sense to say oh #$%* no! 

     I think that giving students the opportunity to set up a blog in the Language Arts classroom would be a fun activity versus having them record a daily entry into a paper journal. Since so many kids lives revolve around social media it would be something they would look forward to doing. I do find this blogging thing quite easy, kind of like that stream of conscious writing exercise we all are made to do in junior high. I think the biggest problem I will encounter in this project is figuring out when to shut up!

Thing #1...Lifelong leaning habits

   I believe the hardest habit of lifelong learning is to accept and embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Many of us avoid challenges, allowing them to alter our life paths. Easier is only that, easier; it does not cultivate growth.  Perhaps the best way to deal with challenges in life is to step back, casually assess them, take a deep breath, then plunge forward. We cannot let fear or anxiety overwhelm us, we must take into account what we will gain. When unexpected problems arise, we must deal with them and learn from them.

     The easiest habit for invoking lifelong learning is to set goals. Even as young children, we set goals for what we want to be when we grow up. The most important thing to understand about goal setting is that goals may be short term, long term, or constantly evolving--nothing has to be set in stone! 

     Overall, lifelong learning should be about personal enrichment. Don't lose sight of the fact that you have more to gain than a letter grade. Soak up as much as you can in any learning setting you find yourself in. You may change direction many times, but Oh!The Places You'll Go!

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