Collaborative Blogging Part 2 HighSchool Meets Middle School

So.. the second part of the collaborative blogging between Doug and I is currently underway.  His IB Science and Honors students are now replying to the short constructed responses left by my sixth graders, giving feedback and essentially critiquing their responses... right now we have 300+ responses.

A couple of technical details.. We moved the blog over to wordpress so the new updated address is http://acms6thgrade.wordpress.com/  

We moved this over because we discovered that through blogster, you couldn't reply to individual comments directly.  At wordpress students are able to give each other feedback, replying directly to individual comments.

So for example one of my students (on the left) posted their response to the prompt and then Doug's students have replied giving them direct feedback.  In this case the followup posts were supportive and gave ideas and critical feedback directly to the sixth graders. 

Hi all. Doug here. Just wanted to give Jim and his students props for creating the blog. This is the first time that my students have had the opportunity to interact with a blog created by the middle school. I look forward to cultivating this relationship between HS and MS over the next few months!

Ready for Class Blogging?

I can't believe that two weeks of school have already passed. This year I have the largest class I've had yet with 29 third graders. I am ready to teach them how to blog. That is my goal this week. I posted a video on my blog about drought in the Philippines. Students will need to watch the video and then answer some questions about what they watched. I hope it will encourage my students to become more invested in the topic of natural disasters that we are currently studying. Has anyone else started blogging with students yet? Any suggestions about how to make it go smoothly with so many students? Visit our class blog at: http://rmtwentyone.blogspot.com/

Got a sub? No problem! Hold class online!

I recently posted an article here on my teacher blog in which I reflect on the unique ability of teachers in the 21st century to continue to hold class, even when they are out, whether at a conference, sick, or taking care of other business. Today was the second time I was able to take advantage of the technology, and I think it flowed better this time than last.

Being able to post videos and links to other sites really helped with class discussion, and it definitely not only helped with plans for the sub (which basically said "have the students log into Edmodo and get the link for the live blog, then have them log onto the blog), it also helped to ensure a continuity of instruction.

As I wrote this, I was also watching/listening to a debate on leadership as seen in William Golding's Lord of the Flies via UStream, which of course only further demonstrates my point. This particular teacher and class had people from Denver (me), Atlanta, Germany, and Brazil all watching and listening to the class, and the students did an outstanding job.

In spite of the current political climate, and the feeling (nationally) that teachers are under attack and being asked to do more with fewer resources, I still feel this is an exciting time to be in education.

Classroom Website

So it took me all year... But I'm finally ready to share my classroom website. Haha :)

It is mainly a home for my Children's Global Peace Project Blog. The only project I seem to have been consistent with this year. Anyway check it out, let me know what you think.

http://msibarra.weebly.com/

Collaborative Book Reviews

Fourth graders at Central and third graders at Alsup created book reviews, posted them on blogs and read book reviews written by other students. They left comments for each other, read comments left to them, and left comments to respond to those left for them.

This was my first collaborative Global Learners project with Kathy Hughes who teaches fourth grade at Central. We kept it relatively simple for our first project. We decided to focus on reading and student blogging.

My students were really excited about blogging! They loved using the laptops, reading book reviews, reading comments, and leaving comments for each other. They also learned a lot about blog etiquette. Students wrote interesting, thoughtful comments to each other and responded well to comments left for them. It was a good project to start with, not being too complex, and incorporating reading and writing skills. It took longer than we planned and because the third graders were not able to leave comments for the fourth graders until the blog was adjusted and it took students a long time when using the computers for the first time for a project like this.

Throughout the rest of this school year students will be completing more book reviews to be posted online. The classes can continue to read each other’s book reviews and leave each other comments. Please visit our blogs and leave us comments, or visit with your students! We'd love to get more comments about our book reviews!

Alsup Third Grade Book Groups
Central Elementary Book Reviews
Lesson Plan