Our World, Our Numbers

 This is a brand new blog, but one I happened to stumble across today. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this blog is actually also connected with Mr. Avery's blog (from my first blog review!)

Our world, our numbers, is a blog that is connecting schools in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, and is designed for primary students sharing their mathematical lives. Each of these countries has different time zones, different currency, and different costs of living. Students learn about these things through interacting with each other with different medias, such as videos, slide shows and pictures.

Every four or so days, a new topic comes up that a new class is responsible for learning about and teaching to the other students/classes that are part of the project. The post that was put up today was from the grade 4 classes in Victoria, Australia, about their currency. The students created a slide presentation with pictures of their currency with interesting facts about each piece of currency. The information provided was interesting facts to help promote learning. They also created a video talking about their currency, allowing other students to experience hearing and seeing students in different countries with different accents. The video shows different products that can be purchased and the approximate price you would pay in Australia. The post ends asking the other students how the currency compares in their countries, and how much things cost where others live.

I will be following this blog to see responses of students from around the world and see what they are learning from each other - I can't wait!

Schoolhouse Consulting – Independent Thinking – Sound Ideas – Better Schools

Schoolhouse Consulting – Independent Thinking – Sound Ideas – Better Schools

For a change of pace, I started looking for blogs about education in Canada in general, rather than classroom blogs, and I came across this amazing blog. The blog has been running since 2009, so I picked out my favourite recent post to share and review with you. 

On January 14^th, Paul (the author of this blog) posted about Salman Kahn. His opening line, “Salman Khan, found of Khan Academy, is a genuine big thinker” caught my interest from the get go. Kahn is an ex hedge fund analyst who has set out to shake up and change the education system to the benefit of students – but unfortunately, many teachers don’t see it that way. The basis of Khan Academy is a series of YouTube videos that set out to “actually ‘teach’ something rather than to ‘facilitate’ interaction with others.” This goes against the “student-centered” teaching that is the bottom of the North American curriculum today, and teachers seem to generally be against using Kahn, his videos, and his teaching in their classroom. As Kahn says, “It’d piss me off too, if I had been teaching for 30 years and suddenly this ex-hedge-fund guy is hailed as the world’s teacher.” However, this brings me back to the idea of begging, borrowing, and stealing. I had not heard of Kahn before reading this blog post, but it seems that using this is frowned upon in the classroom, though Paul encourages teachers to have students watch the videos as homework to promote deeper understanding and discussion in the classroom. If this is something that can enrich student learning, why put a stop to it? This could help reinvent teaching and classrooms, and at the very least, engage those students who would rather spend time on YouTube than writing a report on something they don’t fully understand. If it can help you out as a teacher and teach your students something, than why not? This post really got me thinking, and I would love to know other people’s opinions. 

This was just one thought provoking post of many. Check this blog out here to learn new things and get you thinking about the education system in Canada. 

Look what's happening in room 102!

Look What's Happening in Room 102 - Mrs. Lynch's Classroom Blog

 Check them out here

This is a blog for a younger grade, and from a school located in Canada. The teacher in this blog is very open about the safety issues that surround posting online, which I think is a great way to teach your students to be aware of their digital footprint and what they are doing online. With the access to the internet and computers at home and at school today, it is essential that children are aware of the pros and cons of the world wide web. 

The blog contains posts from previous classroom groups, and is not just for this year. I think that’s a wonderful idea, as parents can check out before school starts what to expect in the classroom. Because this is for a grade 2 classroom, being able to read over some of the experiences students had in the previous year with children who may have some “back to school” anxiety is very helpful. On top of this, it allows Mrs. Lynch to have a recording of what she did throughout the year to remind her of what worked and what didn’t!

Not everyone is completely internet and technology savvy, and this blog is created to support people of all levels. There are several links at the top of the blog, including “how to” links explaining how to navigate the blog and leave comments. There are also different tools that are used in the classroom, which means students and parents alike can use these at home to support learning outside of the class. She also shares great apps, games and websites that she has found, which is another opportunity for new teachers to learn from those who have been in the business for a long time.

Something that stood out for me with this blog is the concentration was not solely on what the students were learning, but also on the fun things that they do in between. On February 13^th, the 100^th day of school, the students were dressed up and played lots of counting games. They even shared their 100 day projects with another group of students in Michigan through their blogs! One post was about the sticky snow they had, and what they did that day. The post finishes asking the students what they do in the snow, encouraging comments to be left and allowing students to practice their typing. A great blog for a lower level class.  

 

Learning from others...

As teachers, it's always a good idea to "beg, borrow and steal" from one another (as long as you ask!), even when it comes to blogging. Edublogging has made it possible to look into classrooms all over the country and around the world to see how things are being done elsewhere. New teachers such as myself have the chance to pick up on great ideas and tactics to use in our own classrooms. Below are a few of the blogs that I have been reading and following to give you an idea of what to expect on your blog-ventures!

Mr. Avery's Classroom Blog - A 6th Grade Class From Massachusetts Sharing With the World! 

 Read their blog here

Mr. Avery’s classroom blog is a collective effort from not only him as a teacher, but by his students as well. Posts vary between those written by him and from several different students. The posts showcase work being done in the class, and many feature questions that encourage students to leave comments and become actively involved with the posts. The teacher showcases the students work, and it seems that all the children have several chances to have their work displayed on the blog. Not only are there pictures of the students working and having fun, but their actual work is sometimes uploaded (such as drawings etc). Mr. Avery also incorporates different media, such as video and audio, to show what the kids are up to. This makes the blog engaging and fun to read. The posts are short and concise, concentrating more on sharing the examples than on a long winded explanation of what they did.

Mr. Avery’s class is in contact with other teachers and students through his blog. He has posts dedicated to the different people they have “met”, and what they have learned from each other. The posts feature slides and maps showing where the blogs are, with more questions for the students. Upon reading the comments, it is apparent that the blog involves the whole family! Not only are students leaving new information that they have found on their own time, but parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents are leaving comments as well. Talk about making learning a family affair!

I found a great idea to use in my own classroom. In December, the students were learning about similes. They each wrote two different similes on separate pieces of paper describing winter. They then crumpled up the pieces of paper and had a snowball fight with them in the gym! At the end, students picked up two snowballs and shared the similes with the class and discussed how similes can strengthen writing and help “create a story that the reader can step into.” I will be using this idea when I have the chance!

I really enjoy this blog. Mr. Avery and his students have an exciting classroom, and there are tons of great lesson ideas for teachers, even though they follow the U.S. curriculum. This is a prime example of how a blog can enrich learning in and out of the classroom. Check them out!