“America” By Allen Ginsberg is my most favorite poem. You can locate this poem in the following link:
Building a Blog Community
Richardson makes a valid point, when he states, “Today’s students, of almost any age, are far ahead of their teachers in computer literacy.” Today’s students are techno-savvy; they create MySpace accounts, facebook pages, blogs, etc. I find it interesting that the fastest growing age group for internet usage is 2- to 5- year olds. Students in primary school are learning skills that my generation didn’t have the pleasure of acquiring. I mean when I was in elementary school, I played Frogger on the internet and that was all! I wouldn’t say that I’m not competent in my computing skills, but just to acknowledge the vast gap between now and then. I think as teachers it’s our responsibility to develop curriculum that caters to today’s student.
I really like the concept of students creating blogs for class related discussions. I think blogging is a great way to build class community. Students have a chance to share their opinions and read the opinions of their classmates. Blogging in this context gives students the opportunity to help each other grow in their comprehension of literature or whatever their learning.
I think the Class Portal is a neat concept. I like how it has the potential to build a teacher/parent relationship. Parents can view their child’s improvement, check assignments, etc. This type of blog gives teachers the ability to email parents when they post updates. I’m a big fan of multitasking.
