Week 3-Readings

      This weeks articles, Teaching With Authors' Blogs and How Technology Is Changing School, were very interesting.  Both articles focused on blogging.  They explained the importance of blogging focusing on students who are not in school, or as a means to post discussions and reflections of course work in a forum manner.  At the high school level, students who are unable to attend school can use the blog to keep up with work to finish their high school degree.  Non-traditional forms of education can be expressed through blogging.  The importance of 21st century learning is expressed as a way to offer more options to learning and grow intellectually while utilizing technology.  E-Books are explored and viewed as the new age of textbooks.  I began to think about how I would feel about all my textbooks being only online.  I like to highlight a lot in my books so I think it would be difficult.  I have had courses before where my books have been online or I have accessed my book through my Kindle rather than buying it is was very hard for me to get used to it.  I think for college students this may be very beneficial, however for elementary and secondary students it may not always be appropriate.  I have used stories online with my first graders however, I think it is also important for students to hold and manage a book in their hands so I do not think E-Books should only be used.  I am a strong supporter of using both, having a balance.  In my classroom, I use blogging to communicate with parents and show off what students are working on.  This article made me consider posting more work assignments that students can access if they miss school, like spelling lists, so that they have access to work at home if they are on vacation or sick.  In the article, Teaching With Authors' Blogs, authors explain how they use use blogs to teach connections, collaboration, and creativity.  This article was more like an informational article on what blogs can be used for. I enjoyed how this article showed how blogging can connect to literacy, particularly with young children with children's books, and how blogs can be created to be very creative by using videos and podcasts.  These articles gave me any ideas on what I can incorporate into my blog to make it more interesting.