Ning

Below is the address of my new ning!

http://mckinney-rewa.ning.com/

I could use this with students to answer discussion questions rather than handing out paper copies. Another way I could use this site is to have them discuss themes or symbols in the plot. Students could also post questions about the text and anticipate conclusions.

Where I would use blogging

Utilizing blogging is a great professional development tool. As we witnessed at the David Worlick conference, there are numerous blogs utilized by professionals to share their learning. If these blogs were read even once a month, then we, as teachers, could learn from others' success and stumbles. Previously, my colleagues from college utilized Blackboard to discuss throughout our first year of teaching. We shared trials and tribulations. I found this very helpful.

Students in my class actually stated they were not interested in blogging. On the second day of school, I had them list one or two types of technology they would like to access throughout the year. However, I think students could benefit from blogging about any of their reading. They could pose questions to each other regarding the reading or answer my questions on-line rather than a on a sheet of paper.