Week Five

Online communication tools are a part of my everyday life.  I check my email, Facebook, Twitter and blogs almost daily.    After reviewing many different communication tools this week in class I have been very encouraged to put these into action when I have my own classroom.  I believe that these tools can make mine and my students’ lives easier.  By using online communication I hope to connect myself with students and I hope to give students a place to connect with each other. 

I was substitute teaching in my husband’s elementary school when a first grader told another student, “She’s on Facebook.”  I never expected that from a first grader!  The student’s older sister is a fifth grader in my husband’s class and she has her own Facebook account.  This is a perfect example of how young students are using online communication.  We as teachers need to use it with them and set guidelines for appropriate online behavior.  Later that night I received a friend request from the fifth grader.  I declined her request because my husband and I have decided not to include any of his students on our personal accounts.  Once the students are in middle or high school he will add them with caution as to whether there is any personal relationship with their family or if we know them through soccer or church. 

I would like to teach my future classroom how to use blogs to communicate online.  I believe that the good thing about blogging is that it allows students to write their complete thoughts and use sentence and paragraph structure.  With many online tools today there isn’t much thought to proofreading or grammar.  I would like to instill those traits into my student’s online publishing.  It is important for students to learn that once they hit send that comment is published and cannot be taken back. 

Many students are using computers at home without supervision.  As a teacher I believe that I have an obligation to teach my students appropriate online behavior in regards to the online tools we use in the classroom.  Hopefully these ideas will filter into their personal computer time as well. 

I will give my students topics for blogging very similar to the tasks in this class.  I believe that this gives them a jumping point to explore other ideas and to create their own posts on other subjects.  Having students read others’ blogs will also help foster communication and collaboration within my classroom.  Students can learn a lot from each other and they may be more willing to pay attention reading a blog rather than listening to it spoken in a classroom. 

I believe that the online communication tools available to us are changing the way education is taught.  I am excited for the many possibilities available to enlighten and teach my students about the online world.