Many students are already familiar with computers by the time they enter middle school. I dare say that many students are familiar (and very comfortable) with the internet by middle school. Students are active internet users, creating accounts with MySpace, Facebook, AIM (instant messenger) and the like.

I believe that I can put blogs to good use in my future Biology class. Below are some ways I plan on incorporating blogs.

• Question Forum: students can post questions and answer questions posted by their peers. This allows students the opportunity to work out an explanation on their own for biology concepts. When students are able to explain concepts (the how, when, where, why, what) demonstrate greater aptitude and mastery over the subject.
• Display Student Work: I can post extra credit reports that my students put together. From here, they can share the information with their parents and friends. Anyone who comes to the blog will be able to read the student's report and provide feedback. This can be an exciting and fun way to encourage students to learn on their own outside of class.
• Provide Additional Resources: I can post links to websites that will help the students along in their learning process. There are many websites created specifically for helping students with biology. These websites include games, activities, practice quizzes and tests.
  
• Assign Post Topics: I can assign topics for students to post on as homework. Students can use whatever resources are available to them to find information on the topics. Since they are posting on a blog, they are already online which means they have infinite resources at their fingertips. Requiring students to cite sources and be grammatically correct links other areas of school to science.

These are just a couple of ways I envision blogs becoming useful in my future classroom.
I am indeed very excited to try these elements out in a classroom and see the real-life pros and cons.

TAKE RISKS!!! TEACHING & TECHNOLOGY

Using Blogs in the Classroom

The Age of Technology is upon us. Whether we choose to tap into this valuable resource or not is completely up to our own personal discretion.

I believe that there lies many open doors for technology to be better harnessed in a classroom setting. Students of all ages are becoming more and more acquainted with the latest forms of technology. Just take a look at cell phones, they are being found everywhere!

One particular technological resource that teachers should definitely take advantage of is the internet. The internet provides many avenues for teachers that will help students continue their learning outside of the traditional classroom. Some of these internet resources include blogs, wikis, and free websites. I plan on teaching high school biology. I can foresee amazing opportunities to enhance learning in my classroom with resources like these.

Stay tuned for further posts examining the endless
benefits of combining

TEACHING & TECHNOLOGY

in the classroom!