BP8_RILS Publication

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Stephanie Waldner

Overview:
This scenario will introduce students to the world of blogging using Blogger. By taking a piece of known literature and completing a few activities, students will have an opportunity to share their feelings and connection about coming back to school on a webpage that can be accessed by family and friends; giving students a voice that they might not have had before.

Target Audience:
My audience will be a new class of second graders and Belle Terre Elementary in Palm Coast, FL.

Materials:
-computer with Internet access
-use class Gmail account
-Waldner’s Wallabies Reading Corner blog http://walabeereadingcorner.blogspot.com/

Objectives:

At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to discuss an assigned topic on a blog site.

At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to write their answers to a comprehension question using a keyboard.

At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to support their answers with evidence from a story.

At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to compare typing an answer versus writing an answer.

Procedures:
1. Write blog on the board and ask students for what they think they know about this word. Write their ideas down in a bubble map.
2. Show students examples of student blogs on the school board. Visit http://thetillistribune.blogspot.com/
3. Adjust bubble map to new ideas using a different color.
4. Have students sit on the floor and read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn to them.
5. Complete the predictability game to introduce students to their favorite candy. (This game was played each day to get to know classmates with a different what we are trying to know.)
6. Explain that we are going to log into Wallabee Reading Corner. This will be the blog that they will respond to our weekly stories.
7. Walk students through getting to Wallabee Reading Corner. Have them click on Safari, and type in the address box: http://walabeereadingcorner.blogspot.com/
8. Identify the parts of the blog (archive, followers, posts).
9. Have students join the site by clicking on the button on the right side of the screen.
10. Show them where to click on the pencil to comment on the post. Allow them time to answer the question.
11. Identify how to post the comment by clicking on profile, and typing in the mystery message.

Web 2.0 tool: Blogger & Gmail
In order for this scenario to be completed, students must work with both Gmail and Blogger.
-Gmail (http://www.google.com) is a free email account run through the Google applications. To begin the school, students will use the class Gmail account (wallabee381@gmail.com) to gain access to Blogger. As the school year progresses and the students are more comfortable with using the laptops and Blogger, parents and students will create a personal Gmail account.

-Blogger (www.blogger.com) is a Web 2.0 tool that easily creates blogs with very few steps. This tool allows students, parents, and teachers share and discuss ideas across the Internet.

Social Learning:
Students will interact with each other during the prediction game to get to know their classmates. Students will pair up to discuss and share their answers to the prompt, which will be written on the board before they go to their blog.

Make Connections:
Students will pull from their prior knowledge about the end of summer and what it means to start a new school year with a new teacher. They will also recognize the hardships it can mean for students to go back to school. By sharing their thoughts on a public blog, family member from all over will be able to read and even comment on their thoughts and feelings.

Create/Produce:
To begin with, students will produce a well thought out response to a literary question on a blog site. In a couple months, students will create their own blog sites using blogger to share their learning experiences in their classroom.





Assessment:

	Effective	Satisfactory	Needs Improvement
Response	Students clearly answer the prompt providing at least two connections to the book.	Students provide an answer to the prompt providing at one connection to the book	Students provide an answer but there are no connections to the book.
Grammar	There are few to no spelling or grammatical errors	There are several spelling or grammatical errors, but it does not affect the understanding.	There are many errors and the answer is not understood.

Reflection:
1. Students will reflect on their blogging experience in a anonymous poll done by check box voting. Their choices will be checking a happy face or sad face and write a brief why.
2. The teacher will look over the outcome of the poll and compare to his/her own experiences during the activity and project. The teacher will have a discussion with students about the pros and cons of blogging. From this the teacher can adjust the assignment before beginning the individual blogs.





My personal reflections after the plan was completed:

The next day we reviewed our blogging experience and I asked the students to draw a smiling, straight or sad face for how they felt during the activity. I also asked that they write a sentence or a few words to explain why. Most of my students had smiley faces and comments vaired from “it made writing fun” to “I like being on a computer.” I did have one sad face that said it was too hard and a straight face that said it was okay.

I think that the hardest part of this experience was that it was done at the beginning of the school year, on the third day. Students are still adjusting to returning to school! We also ran out of time for typing.  We were going on 45 minutes when it was time to go to PE.  My students did enjoy it and I know that as the year progresses they will only improve with their computer skills.