Response to "What a Concept!"

Royer and Royer's article "What a Concept!" was quite intriguing. I was unaware of the idea of handheld computers for use in the classroom and I really like it. They would be a wonderful tool for getting students engaged in the lesson and understanding the concept being addressed.

I have used concept maps with just pencil and paper. Like the article, I have found them to be a great tool for determining students background knowledge about a subject as a formative assessment. They are also useful for summative assessments as well because students can classify information and provide examples. I also think they provide differentiated assessing since they are open-ended and students can add various amounts of information.

Concept maps work great in all subjects. They can be used to provide character analysis, determine characteristics of a state or region in social studies, or determine the biotic and abiotic elements of an ecosystem. Since they have subconcepts attached, students can provide specific examples in order to support there thoughts and ideas.

I have a couple of students with fine motor skills and concept mapping would be a great tool for them. Neither one of them enjoy writing because it is so laborious for them, so using the computer to share their thoughts would be well-received. It would also provide easier to read study guides than their notes.

By teaching the students in elementary school how to create concept maps, they could continue to develop this skill as they continue their education. They could return to their original maps and add more information about a topic or additional examples they encounter. I am definitely interested in learning more about using computer-based concept-mapping in my classroom instruction. My brain is already busy trying to determine ways to incorporate it into each subject.

Response to Blog On

After reading Poling's article, "Blog On: Building Communication and Collaboration among Staff and Students", I am excited about starting a classroom blog for my students. I use the Reader's Workshop model in my classroom, so my students respond to their reading in a Reader's Notebook. They write me a letter about what they have read and the connections they made while reading, "fix-up" strategies used, predictions, and unanswered questions about the text. In return, I write a response to the student about their letter and ask additional questions and comment on their ideas and thoughts. As much as I enjoy having this connection with each student, having a class blog would improve the learning taking place because students could comment on each other's writing and have a broader audience.
In the text, the author provides examples of students commenting on each other's posts and sharing their ideas for using "fix-up" strategies. I think those conversations would provide invaluable feedback for the students. They could see how other students process information and text and a variety of strategies work. I also think the use of blogs with Reader's Workshop would provide more excitement as the author suggested. My students love to use the computer and I think this would provide a wonderful authentic writing opportunity for students. I foresee students being more excited about responding to their text and sharing ideas with each other-just as I am more excited about responding to this article in a blog format than as a one-pager.
One area in which I see parental resistance to the blogging idea is because of safety. I like how the author's students used initials for this reason. Even though I would encourage my students to use initials while blogging, I am curious about the wariness of parents. By providing the parents with information about the benefits of blogging, such as this article, and my intention of protecting the identity of the students, hopefully I can convince parents that blogging is a wonderful addition to our classroom.