1) HAPPILY BLOGGING @ BELMORE SOUTH
# 1: Blogging is a simple and easy way to enable student learning. It provides a different medium in which teachers can allow students to extend their skills, with a technological resource that has become more relevant to their everyday surroundings, 'blogging is quite simple to set up, easy to control, amd it fits in beautifully with all key learning areas (KLAs) in your room' (p.1)
# 2: For teachers, blogging is a resource that can be used in a variety of different ways for a variety of different things, 'blogs can take many different forms and perform many different functions according to individual and personal needs' (p. 1) For example, class news, discussions, parent information, displays of artwork and posting of assignments.
# 3: Blogs can also serve as a new way of presenting a Quality Teaching environment. In the classroom setting blogs can be controlled buy student and overseen by the teacher so that they meet the needs of the class, 'after viewing a variety of class and individual blogs, a negotiated set of guidelines can be formulated for the class' (p. 2)
Pericles, K. (2008). Happily blogging @ Belmore South. SCAN, 27(2), 4-6 http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/
2) LITERACY INSTRUCTION WITH DIGITAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGIES
# 1: Teachers need to be aware of the amount of time students actually have to use resources such as the internet in order to use them effectively. Highlighted in this reading was the fact that while 95% of student classrooms in the United States have access to the internet, 'the average of US students use of computers in school was 12 minutes per week' (p.1). Teacher need to be aware of the fact that while the technology maybe available they really need to create the opportunities to use internet so that students can maximise their opportunities to use what is available to them.
# 2: Positive uses of IM messaging. While IM is seen to be to many as an antisocial activity that has become essential to the teenager of todays' daily life, teachers can use IM messaging to their advantage. Enabling the use of IM activities among the classroom can provide ways in which students can take a new approach to group work, 'students use instant messaging (IM) to pair share during the reading of the story' (p.4).
# 3: Student Techies. Students who are quite technological excelled can be used by teachers as class techies. Barone (2008), highlights how this can give students the opportunity to take control of the class by assisting other students in teaching them their skills. This allows the teacher to take a step back and allow a more student directed approach to activities thus allowing another way in which students can be responsible for their own learning.
Barone, D., & Wright, T.E. (2008). Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. The Reading Teacher, 62(4). 292-302
