I teach special education high school English in an alternative setting. My students were unable to succeed in the traditional classroom. They struggle with a variety of learning disabilities including, but not limited to ADD, ADHD, PDD, and Autism Spectrum disorders. Others battle social, emotional, and behavior disorders including bi-polar, depression, anxiety, and addiction. We provide individualized education with a safe, comfortable, relational approach to teaching and learning.
We have resources, but in many cases, do not know how and where to integrate.
Our most valuable asset is the relationships we form with our students.
How do we keep relationships strong, while incorporating technology?
I would like to get my students blogging on educational sites that will help them with research, writing, and reading skills. How do I introduce something to these students that I am not 100% comfortable with myself?
Where do I begin?
I am a firm believer in modeling for my students. I often model that I, too, have a lot to learn about the world around me.
What might the risks be of learning this process together?
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Hi Tara,
ReplyDeleteYour plate seems very full! It seems to me that any risks far outweigh the benefits. I know that my students love when I complete their assignments as they do. It gives them a feeling of "we're all in this together." I don't think there would be any problem introducing new technology even though you may not feel like an expert; what better way to model ways to work through, around, and over problems? They'll see the organization and process you use to begin a project and see it though. Your students will learn many more lessons than just how to blog!
Donna
Hello Tara,
ReplyDeleteYou emphasized how important it is to establish relationships with your group of students. That is the key to success in your classroom. I think that you could first introduce blogging to do just that. You could blog about classroom rules or management techniques and have the students contribute ideas they feel are reasonable and fair. You could use it as a discussion board or problem solving arena. Giving your students a voice to be heard may motivate them to do even more for you. Then, maybe, you could have them blogging to improve research, reading, and writing skills you want them to learn.
Kristin
You will have many challenges incorporating blogging into your classroom, I would imagine. However, your students may gain even more than typical students in a full classroom. You could possibly work with them step by step as a class or even individually.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you could use blogging as a format for journaling? This may be a way for your students to express themselves and their ways for overcoming their challenges. Other class members, as well as yourself, could comment and offer solutions.
Another idea would be to set up a classroom wiki. Your students could collaborate on a subject and work together to create a product. This may be something they could take pride in and bond over. It would be a great differentiation project. Just some suggestions...
Incorporating my students into this new and exciting process is a wonderful idea. Adolescents are so quick to say when things are "not fair." My class blog could begin as a forum for determining what is fair, what works for everyone, and what is/does not. This type of journaling could quite simply evolve into literature discussions. I would pose questions such as how fair is the life of the boy in The Grapes of Wrath, on comparison to your life?
ReplyDeleteI hope to incorporate a class wiki down the road. I think that wikis are a great "flexible grouping" activity that could bond a myriad of students in way we would have never thought possible in a traditional classroom setting!
Great ideas, thanks!