Classroomtech.org.uk

From the start of this year I have started a trial of using blogs with my two Key Stage 4 classes. The idea is to have a hub of information related to the class and the work we do.

I have set up one blog per class and am currently hosting them on my Mathsduck.co.uk website with separate blogs for my Year 10 and Year 11 higher GCSE groups.

The backbone of the blogs are regular posts about what we have covered in the lessons with examples, explanations and links to other resources. Currently I am posting these, but I hope to explore the possibility of getting the students to at least be involved in this process.

I am also posting separate posts about homework including copies of worksheets and reminders of due dates.

I hope that the blogs will be a valuable resource to both groups. Something they can use regularily as a way to remind themselves of what we have covered in lessons, catch up on work they have missed and as a useful resource for revision.

In future posts I will talk about some of the ideas I have for developing the use of the blogs and about how and why I have set them up as I have. You can follow the blog trial specifically from the ‘Class blog trial‘ category link at the top of the page.

Please have a look at the blogs and see what you think. If you want to make a comment or ask a question about the blogs, please do so here on Classroomtech.org.uk. If you want to comment for the pupils’ benefit then feel free to do so on the class blogs.

As teachers we tend to be hidden away in our own classrooms doing our own thing  a lot of the time. There are loads of great things that go on in lessons that our colleagues never get to hear about.

This is especially true in the effective use of technology in the classroom. Lots of us have tools that we use and we should be looking to share our ideas, things that have work and that haven’t, with each other. Initially this should happen with our closest colleagues in the departments we are based in, then it should extend across the whole school or college.

But even if we are sharing good practice effectively within our institution, unless we are seeking dialogue with our colleagues around the country and even in other parts of the world, then we are missing out on a wealth of knowledge and experience. The aim of this website is to do a little bit of that, to draw peoples attention to some of the tools that are out there and hopefully build some connections with people who are innovating and developing wise ways of using technology to enhance teaching and learning.

There are hundreds if not thousands of teachers around the world who now record some of their ideas on blogs and websites. This is a vast (and slightly daunting) resource that we should be trying to tap into. A good place to start is with some of the best established British teacher bloggers (or edubloggers to use the term that has sprung up to describe them). Another place to look is on the blogging site edublogs.org where you will find loads of teacher authored blogs.

Here are a few places you could look to get started (after looking round this site of course)

• Dougbelshaw.com – A history and e-learning staff tutor in the UK
• edtechroundup.com – conversations about using technology in education
• joedale.typepad.com – Integrating technology into the MFL classroom

Have you ever been frustrated when a student tells come to a lesson and tells you that they have forgotten what the homework was that you set? Wouldn’t it be good if all your students could access a record of what you set for homework from home or the library even if they have lost their homework diary or were absent when it was set?

The solution is to publish your homework tasks on the Internet so that they are always accessible. I’m not talking about lots of detail or the homework itself being online, just a note similar to what you would expect a pupil to write in their diary, but maybe more accurate. Now not every teacher has, wants or could manage a full website or blog to post homework on, but every teacher should be able to use email.

With the online tool Posterous email is the only thing you need to be able to use to create a mini website with a record of the homework tasks you set.

As it says on their website you don’t need to sign up, all you do is email post@posterous.com and an account will be set up for you and they will email you straight back with details. The email you send will be converted into a post with the subject being the title and the body being the text. If you attach a word document or similar to the email it will be attached to the post and if you attach a picture it will be added.

You can then just send an email with each homework task and it will be posted, creating a mini website that your students can look at.

Have a look at the demo site I set up at classroomtechdemo.posterous.com

and have a go at starting your own by emailing post@posterous.com