Reflecting

This week is a chance for you to reflect on the blogging experience.  What did you like about creating a blog?  Didn't like?  How could you see yourself using a blog in your future as a teacher?  How can you see having students create blogs?  Any other reflections about the blogging experience or this class?

The blogging assignment has been a good experience.  There was a time, when I was far less busy, that I blogged regularly.  It made me sad when I needed to cut it out for the purpose of family, school, and all the other things that happen in life.  I like blogging because it let you write and express yourself in your own way, with no one telling you what and how to write.  That being said, I can see the value of the blogging experience for ALL students, but especially those who struggle with the conventions of writing and grammar.  The practice of writing will improve upon their skills and give them the experience of writing. 

I do not know if I would have the students create a blog like the class had me, and my classmates do, but I think that I would adapt the idea to independent journal writing about broad and personable topics that the students would find easy to write on.  Having a notebook dedicated to journaling and not a blog would make sure that each student could participate in the assignment, and not limit it to those who had internet access.  Both methods accomplish the goal of writing and access to writing and can allow the students to find personal satisfaction in a job well done.

This class has been helpful on a personal level.  My 2st grade daughter struggles to read and through the strategies discussed in class, I have been able to help her improve her reading skills.  She is reading better and is more confident because she has learned “tricks” to breakdown words that she thought were too hard just three months ago.