Journal #1- Do Web 2.0 Right ( Nets 1, 4 & 5)

Light, D. (2011). Do web 2.0 right. Learning and Leading, 38(5), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-february-march-2011.aspx

Summary: "Do web 2.0 Right" discusses the challenges that teachers have had with bringing blogs into the classroom and why some lessons were unsuccessful.  Daniel Light also talks about how teachers have overcome these challenges and the benefits of bringing blogs into the classroom for not only the teacher but also the student.  Light Breaks up the success for Web 2.0 into three elements; daily practice, focus on audience and appropriate behavior.

The first successful element that Light discuses is Daily Practice.  Teachers used blogs in the classroom in two different ways; individual blogs and classroom blogs.  The individuate blogs were used as communication between the teacher and student which eliminated students fears about having their peers critique their individual work.  Classroom blogs on the other hand were shared so students could comment and respond to the teachers prompts as well as other students.This type generates discussions among students about what they are learning.

The next element that Light discusses is  the Focus on Audience.  Audience is important to consider when a teacher creates activities for the students to participate in. Every student and classroom is different from one another and when planning activities a teacher should think about how it will benifeit this particular group the most.

The last element that Light talks about is Appropriate behavior.  Having students interact in other ways than face to face runs the risk of having students bully each other or make rude comments to each other over the net. Its important for a teacher to monitor comments and make sure that students are giving one another appropriate feedback.

Question-1 In what ways do you think its affective to bring blogs into the classroom?

I think that technology 2.0 is a great tool to bring into the classroom if it is done the right way.  I think that there are many things to consider when making lesson plans and creating activities for your students.  The elements that Light mentions are important to consider when integrating the technology.  I think that by bringing blogs into the classroom it can advance the learning of not only the students but the teacher.  It is a way that teachers can get feed back from their students and get them to interact in other ways that just face to face. 

Question 2- How will you incorporate blogs into the daily activities of the classroom?

I would like to incorporate this technology into my classroom by having a combination of individual and classroom blogs.  I think that classroom blogs are beneficial in that students can get ideas from each other and interact with each other inside and outside of the classroom.  I also think that Individual ones are important so that the teacher can get feedback on the classroom without students feeling the pressures of their peers being able to look at their personal opinions.