I'm a teacher, why blog!

A blog is a journal that is published online. But very few people keep a journal, and even fewer publish it. So what's the attraction of a blog? Well, it is not for everyone. However, teachers have one or more captive audiences with which they are in constant communication. Secondly, blogs are immediately available to anyone with an internet connection. Thirdly, they allow comments by readers. So, if teachers want to get information to their students in a form that is always available (at home) and which students can respond to, and maybe parent can have access to as well, then a blog might be useful. Add to that the fact that blogs gererally look good, can include images and video, are searchable, then maybe they are a useful communication tool.

What about students, I hear you say. Well, blogs can be restricted to a limited audience, and if students have a need to communicate with more than just their teacher, they can be very useful. They are simple to structure: are always linear, and are a long term record. They can be a major journal of learning and observations. They can be open to parents and family, so can provided an instant and appreciative audience. That is a key attribute of blogs for students. They can provide a forum and an audience for student writing and images.

Students and teachers can have multiple blogs that are written for different audiences as the need arises.

Real learning, programming with Stratch

This is an image of my first bit of programming using Scratch, and I am interested in using it as a tool to practice and learn down-to-earth curriculum skills. In this case, mid primary exploration of what the main plane figures consist of: like equilateral triangles. The glorious animated version can be seen here - 7 seconds of maths glory. Scratch is a delight to use. Very very simple and apparently powerful.

I am interested in how to use a powerful tool like this for students to learn some nice measurable curriculum skills and understandings close to the heart of any teacher. Having just heard presentations at the CEGSA conference on Scratch is strikes me (again) that we often go out of our way to suggest the most complex ways of using ICT and then are upset when teachers do not apply our wonderful ideas. Everyone seems to see programming only as a problem solving tool that students use to initiate an investigation, work on it for a long time, and hopefully come to a rewarding conclusion. While this kind of project can be very effective and beneficial, it is just about the hardest kind of learning to manage, requiring particular attitues, patience, teacher skills and student perservearance. Why not think of ways to apply powerful technologies to quite rudimentary learning, like, in this case, Year 5s learning the characteristics of standard shapes, and becoming familiar with their construction and manipulation?