Professional learning session, coming soon

Blogs can have many versions – choose what best suits desired learning outcome - journal, forums, chats

What is a blog?- it is a is website, usually maintained

by an individual with regular entries of commentary, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. It may be private or public and may or may not invite comments and feedback

Reflecting about Blogs and Journals

1. This presentation will not cover this book

Material from this book will be referred to in the Professional Learning session

The Professional Learning session will cover the various options in moodle, and which and where you would use these and why you might use another option like edublogs

2. This slideshow will not cover how to use blogs safely or their many uses in the classroom

This slideshow will consider

3. The role of action/creation and reflection in learning and blogs

This slideshow will consider

4. Some practicalities of blogging

3. The role of action/creation and reflection in learning

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/John_Dewey_lib.jpg

“Reflective thinking is always more or less troublesome because it involves overcoming the inertia that inclines one to accept suggestions at their face value; it involves willingness to endure a condition of mental unrest and disturbance. Reflective thinking, in short, means judgment suspended during further inquiry; and suspense is likely to be somewhat painful. … To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on systematic and protracted inquiry—these are the essentials of thinking. ”

John Dewey 1910

Coined terms such as active learning, hands on learning and experiential learning

John Dewey said that action and reflection are two sides of the same coin.

So, reflective thinking is an essential part of constructivist and critical and higher order thinking.

Without reflection there is no thinking, and knowledge is the raw material for thinking. Feedback should inform every stage of learning. The paradigm that assessment should be an integral part of learning underpins the Understanding By Design model.

So, how do we get students to act/create and reflect in ways that maximise learning?

John Dewey

Gordon, C., Scan - Raising Active Voices in School Libraries: authentic learning, information processing and guided inquiry part 2, the role of reflection, Vol. 28, No. 4, Nov 2009 pp27-33

Carol Gordon from Rutgers University –presenting at the Somerset Literature Festival, Jupiters Casino, 2010

March 15, Ways of Knowing: Reading and Literature as Aesthetic Experience March 16 Guided Inquiry in Digital Worlds

http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/conflib/programme/

Scan - Raising Active Voices in School Libraries: authentic learning, information processing and guided inquiry part 2, the role of reflection, Vol. 28, No. 4, Nov 2009 pp27-33

Carol suggests that Journals or blogs can be instruments of creation/action and reflection that offer snapshots of cognitive, affective and behavioural indicators that signal students’ needs that might otherwise be lost in the learning process

Journals and blogs may focus on product or process

Carol suggests using questions and writing prompts to create focus and challenge

Reflection in inquiry learning is a key form of intervention to help students make the information to knowledge connection and will support critical thinking and growth of metacognition if tasks are stuctured and focused

One of the problems is that reflective writing can be trivial and merely a recount or descriptive

http://www.edutopia.org/files/existing/images/graphics/fea_collabage_walls_newskillsstat.jpgBLOGS can promote many learning outcomes

Skills students need to succeed in the new age

Year of Creativity

Habits of Mind – Creativity, Imagining,

Innovation Listening with empathy and

listening

4. Practicalities of bloggging.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2228/2534494559_88722c6f74_b.jpg http://willrichardson.wikispaces.com/page/pdf/home

http://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-will-richardson

Blog by eleven-year-old community volunteer Laura Stockman about service projects

Where does she got her ideas for her good work? "I ask my readers.”

See the Clustrmap on Laura‘s blog

She has a network of connections, people from almost every continent and country, who share their own stories of service or volunteer to assist Stockman in her work. She's sharing and learning and collaborating in ways that were unheard of just a few years ago

http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com

Blogs – Easy Uploading Demonstration

http://readingpower.edublogs.org/

http://edublogs.org/wp-login.php

Blogs in Moodle

Show Italy trip blog in moodle

Reading http://persnicketysnark.blogspot.com/2009/09/bbaw-

persnickety-snark-blog.html

http://lisahillschoolstuff.wordpress.com

Travel          http://champagnetravelonabeerbudget.com/     http://www.tripbase.com/awards/budget/

Further Reading http

://www.slideshare.net/rrodgers/constructivism-and-educational-technology

http://www.questiaschool.com/read/109676406

Later perusal

Professional Learning session will briefly refer to the theory, but spend most of the time showing

how to use the journal and blog formats in moodle and

how to start an edublogs page

In class – blogs in Year 11 English Communications

Example of use in class