Appendix E

Caption:  

  1. This is an article that I wrote for my district’s web page in order to introduce the concept of blogging to my peers and to the community.
  2. It shows my commitment to using technology to collaborate with peers and parents.
  3. The Standards addressed in this appendix include: CTTC A, CTTC B, and NETS Standard 5

 

I make every effort in my teaching practice to offer my students all of the resources that are available to them.  What I have discovered recently is that e-Learning is a powerful means for developing critical thinking skills, peer collaboration, and guiding students toward becoming reflective learners.  According to Distance Education Report; e-Learning, Blogs and threaded discussions often have three goals in mind that “accentuate constructivist teaching” (2004):

1.      to introduce [sic] students to a tool they may use in the classes they will take in the future

2.      to help students develop a sense of themselves as creators of knowledge; and

3.      to connect students to a network of peers.

“Class discussions are enhanced through threaded discussions. In a learning situation the primary goal of any discussion is to promote thinking. Web-based discussion tools provide many ways to increase discussion between class members and faculty. Researchers have found that adding threaded discussion areas to a course increases student motivation and participation in class discussions.

Students can respond at their own pace, they are not intimidated by the immediacy of a classroom real time discussion, and they have access to instructor and peer comments (and in some cases, expert's comments)” (Peters, 2000).

This concept has been proven true with my students.  In contrast to a classroom discussion; electronic discussions allow time for students to think about their original posts and responses prior to others viewing.  They can look back at their post before submitting and decide to change a thought or idea in order to clarify their position. Moreover, by allowing multiple classes to share ideas and to see each others’ work; threaded discussions provide modeling and different points-of-view for my students to consider as they develop their own interpretations of a text or topic.

As eighth grade students; this is the first time (for many of them) to use electronic communication in an academic setting.  Many of them are familiar with blogging and IM, but our class electronic discussions require them to present their ideas in a more formal venue.  We have just begun this aspect of e-Learning recently with a threaded discussion on Edgar Allen Poe’s unreliable narrators.  I have been impressed with the sophisticated levels of analysis and evaluation I have seen thus far in our discussion; and I look forward to continued blogging, and electronic discussions to stimulate my students’ creative and critical minds.

 

 

Blogs, Threaded Discussions Accentuate Constructivist Teaching. (2004). Distance Education

       Report, Retrieved Friday, January 05, 2007 from the Academic Search Premier database.

 

Peters, K.M. (2000). Creative use of threaded discussion areas. Retrieved January 5, 2007,

       from BlackBoard Web site: http://www.webct.com/OTL/ViewContent?contentID=898084