Quadblogging (Week #2)
Quadblogging...
Here's my padlet for this assignment:
https://padlet.com/cgutekanst/myxionwq7qf6
Of course I've heard of blogging and participated in this activity with my students. However, I'd never heard of quadblogging. I would definitely like to try this program, even though it wasn't easy for Nicole to find other classes through the program (props to Nicole for being persistent! When we want to try something new, persistence is important!). When I last blogged with a class, our audience was within my school, and it was not too successful, because my students saw the other bloggers all the time. We didn't have a whole lot of new information to share, plus we were blogging about assignments and other topics that weren't very controversial and perhaps not that interesting to my students.
However, I liked the topics that these third grade students were sharing about: books and movie reviews. I can see how I can work in writing arguments with evidence into this topic. Argument is huge in high school and the more students have a variety of ways to practice and think about it, the more they will improve. The following link makes a good case for the importance of teaching how to write an argument:
https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/03/12/argument-writing-is-priority/
We use to call it persuasive writing, but I agree with Ryan McCarty, it's better to teach argument. The evidence is all-important in argument writing, and this is an area where my students have issues. Organization, grammar, even voice - these areas are usually not too challenging for my students. But coming up with enough well-thought-out examples and reasoning to support their argument can be tough. Posting reviews of movies and books they enjoyed and responding to others' posts can help to hone students' argument skills.
Plus quadblogging gives an authentic audience, something I have struggled with in the past as an English teacher. Whenever my students know we are sharing work with others outside of our immediate circle, I believe they go the extra mile. Here are some other ways to share student writing:
https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/writing-for-authentic-audiences
In terms of active learning, blogging can be a wonderful opportunity. Writing reviews and sharing them with others is a very social activity. According to the Mozilla Foundation Draft Framework and Rubric Document (October 2015), quadblogging encourages certain skills/knowledge of active learning: use of collaboration technology, communication, and creativity. Students display critical thinking in reviews of their books and movies, and can use various technologies (video, google slides, powtoons, etc.) to convey their ideas to others effectively. I agree with Tim Elmore (author of Generation IY Our Last Chance to Save Our Future, 2010) when he states that this generation loves to share their opinions and express themselves. Blogging is a great activity to allow students to do this. There are other topics students can blog about as well, that will help them connect information to their lives. On their blogs students can use the visuals and metaphors they love. Blogging is a way for students to "do the real thing", an activity that can resonate beyond the classroom.
Hi Carol,
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing about Nicole. How lousy of Quadblog not to respond in any way whatsoever. Good thing Nicole wasn't about to let go because it sounds like the project was quite successful. It it totally compelling when students write for a "real" audience. Back in the day, before we could get near instant replies from blog comments and email, my students always took their writing far more seriously when we were mailing letters to congress, aldermen, businesses, etc.
Quadblog reminds me of something my sister participates in. She makes beaded jewelry and is a bit of a ludite. So it was a huge surprise to me that she started her own blog and opened a store on Etsy. Anyway, there is a huge beading community out there and they do what they call blog hops on a regular basis. They all commit to making a certain amount of jewelry in a particular theme -- like "blue" or "glass bead" or "river stones" or some such. Or they send each other a packet of beads and they all have to make jewelry from that packet. Then post what they've made on their blogs and reflections on the process. Then they hop blog to blog and give each other feedback. It's really cool for them and has created quite a community of artists. So I'm wondering what the classroom equivalent of this could be. Quadblogging comes pretty close. It'd be cool to have kids set up blogs and then send "packets" of themes, terms, or ideas that they have to incorporate into their writing. Then hop, read, and give feedback.
I'm thinking about your comments regarding high schoolers' challenges with argument and evidence. To McCarty's point, finding a real world application that tech makes possible gets me thinking about something like Yelp. The best reviews site the specifics of a customer's experience and does so in an even handed, often humorous, way that spares the drama. Maybe this could be a way in for kids who have difficulty with citing relevant examples. As a yelper myself, I also greatly appreciate replies from owners and comments from other yelpers. So the writing is authentic and has multiple, real audiences. For that matter, the bad yelps that just grind an ax or don't use specific evidence would make good non-examples for kids to analyze and evaluate. "How many stars would you give this review? Why?"
Still, the Quadblog format seems quite powerful. The David Mitchell video from the Quadblog site is totally compelling. It has the potential to hit all the web literacy and active learning elements. And what an amazing experience for kids to get real, fast feedback from peers around the world!
Carol,
ReplyDeleteYou mention that you have used blogging with your students in the past. Can you explain more about your experience with that? Was it successful? How did you manage and teach students about blogging etiquette?
I agree that this generation definitely likes to post and share their thoughts on everything as opposed to discussing them. I have third grade students that talk about having snapchats and instagram accounts already. What social implications do you think social media and blogging have on young students?
I have not tried blogging with my students yet, but my district has a platform in which I can create discussion boards for students to post on. I have utilized that a few times so far this year and the students seem to enjoy participating in that.
Danielle
Hi Danielle, I was such a newbie when it came to blogging with my students, I made so many mistakes. But it was ok, because not only did I learn, but my students learned too. I tried it 2 years ago with one class, wanted to start slow, and my TA and I had lesson plans from a really good program, now I can't think of them, I'll have to look for their name. Maybe Common Sense Media? Anyways so we had discussions and took surveys about social media etiquette. We role played both best-case and worst-case scenarios to prepare. But we were blogging with another class in the school, so the students saw each other all the time, and didn't have that much to share when we blogged. Also we blogged about things that I would say now were not interesting or controversial for my students to really get invested in. We blogged about our assignments, assessments, etc., but I didn't love our curriculum, neither did they! So the topics were dull. I think we were blogging because it was a cool thing to do. It wasn't well-thought-out. I would definitely blog with another school and even in another country, that would be ideal.
DeleteIsn't it amazing that third graders use instagram and snapchat? Do they have phones? My son was in junior high before I gave him a phone...Anyways I would be very careful trying to think through all the implications for social media for my students at a young age, especially using all the privacy settings, etc. Discussion boards sound like a good idea, especially to begin. Good luck! I am still not perfect at it, nor are my classes, but we like it, do the best we can.
Carol G.
I can see how blogging with those in your building would be much more of a challenge. The beauty of social media is now it does become easier to connect with others around the world. Soon you'll be asked to participate in a Twitter chat- maybe that can be a jumping off point to find some other classes to blog with!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of quadblogging but it seems like a really cool way to reach out to other around the world! I agree that I liked that they kept the topics that were interesting to students. I believe this probably helped make the blog more a success because the students are taking about things that interest them and it must have been cool getting the perspective of other around the world! This is much more enjoyable rather than just making a blog about assignments or class work that the students are really only doing it for points. I was looking at the survey from the students and it was mostly positive and I have a feeling if you were to have surveyed your blog with your students it might not have gone the same way based on what you wrote. What do you think you could do to make the curriculum more interesting to blog about? I am trying to think about math and it being universal I think it would be interested to do something like this with teachers around the the world to get ideas of how they teach different topics and what topics different schools are at around the world.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of quadblogging but it seems like a really cool way to reach out to other around the world! I agree that I liked that they kept the topics that were interesting to students. I believe this probably helped make the blog more a success because the students are taking about things that interest them and it must have been cool getting the perspective of other around the world! This is much more enjoyable rather than just making a blog about assignments or class work that the students are really only doing it for points. I was looking at the survey from the students and it was mostly positive and I have a feeling if you were to have surveyed your blog with your students it might not have gone the same way based on what you wrote. What do you think you could do to make the curriculum more interesting to blog about? I am trying to think about math and it being universal I think it would be interested to do something like this with teachers around the the world to get ideas of how they teach different topics and what topics different schools are at around the world.
ReplyDelete