200 Awesome Days
This blog is from a Grade 1 & 2 split classroom based in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. The blog seems to serve the usual purpose of communicating
with families at home what is happening in the classroom and what is going on,
but also has a goal to post everyday of the school year. Some of the other
blogs I have come across and followed have had a few posts done by students,
but many students seem to post on this blog. It must be because no teacher
could keep up with daily blogging! The posts are not edited and written
completely by the children, and they are more tech-savvy than a lot of people
that I know. The students have pictures and videos incorporated into their
posts, and they also type quite a lot when explaining what they are doing on a
daily basis. This is great practice for them for their typing in later stages,
but also a great positive introduction to the world of blogging and the
internet.
Something in this blog that I did not come across in other
blogs was the personal touch that the teacher puts into it. She went on a trip
to watch a rocket launch in Florida during the school year, and writes about
this in her blog. The post about the rocket launch is a great and interesting
ending to other blog posts about space, astronauts and rockets. This is
something that they have obviously been working on in the classroom. In one
post, the teacher gives her students “weekender homework”, which is to come up
with some questions that they would ask an astronaut. She then tweets the
questions to Christopher Hadfield, who is currently in space. This is not only
an amazing way to incorporate technology into her classroom, but motivation for
students to do their homework and perhaps even discuss the things that they are
learning with their parents at home.
I feel that having a blog like this for a grade 1 & 2
classroom is an outstanding way to not only have open communication, but help
your students and children learn safe internet usage. They also learn that internet
is not only for games, but for research and communication with the world at
large. Check this blog out when you have a chance!
