Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Let's all Take a Page
Russell Street School has it going on in all the right places! Now I know this may sound like something from a fanboy, or somebody who's followed Russell Street School closely, which is neither the case. When I initially looked at the school's staff and student blogs, I was quite impressed with the amount of information they have been adding.
What really caught my eye first hand is was the amount of colorful cheerful images of the students who are deeply engaged in their learning experiences. When we look at RS, Russel Street, we can find how the administrators, staff, and parents value the experiences that the students who attend go through. The extra time that the teachers and administrator put into the blog clearly show just how much they value student learning. What really caught my eye was how this enabled them to communicate not just for the district but for the public. This moves well beyond ways of communication through email and phone. This gives the public first hand of what is occurring in the classroom. Moving beyond communication, with the amount of documentation that the teachers put in, gives them the abilities to showcase their artifacts through a portfolio, which gives the teachers a way to track the year's projects, and reflect at the end of the year.
What really impressed me was the amount of the interaction that the student participated in. The one thing that really impressed me was how their blogs were attached to student portfolios. What a way for parents to see student growth at the end of the year! I know that there are different ways in which we educators want our students to capture student learning, and want students to reflect on their learning. This was a great way in which the students captured their learning as it happened, allowing details not be lost in the absence of not doing it right away.
All in all, I think we can all take a page from RS. The way they were able to capture student learning and communicate with the public is something we all should strive for in terms of blogging. The extra hours and documentations help create an environment in which students, administrators, staff, and parents can all be proud of.
What really caught my eye first hand is was the amount of colorful cheerful images of the students who are deeply engaged in their learning experiences. When we look at RS, Russel Street, we can find how the administrators, staff, and parents value the experiences that the students who attend go through. The extra time that the teachers and administrator put into the blog clearly show just how much they value student learning. What really caught my eye was how this enabled them to communicate not just for the district but for the public. This moves well beyond ways of communication through email and phone. This gives the public first hand of what is occurring in the classroom. Moving beyond communication, with the amount of documentation that the teachers put in, gives them the abilities to showcase their artifacts through a portfolio, which gives the teachers a way to track the year's projects, and reflect at the end of the year.
What really impressed me was the amount of the interaction that the student participated in. The one thing that really impressed me was how their blogs were attached to student portfolios. What a way for parents to see student growth at the end of the year! I know that there are different ways in which we educators want our students to capture student learning, and want students to reflect on their learning. This was a great way in which the students captured their learning as it happened, allowing details not be lost in the absence of not doing it right away.
All in all, I think we can all take a page from RS. The way they were able to capture student learning and communicate with the public is something we all should strive for in terms of blogging. The extra hours and documentations help create an environment in which students, administrators, staff, and parents can all be proud of.
Impression of the Russell Street School
I had a rush of reactions while exploring the various blogs at the Russell Street School. I was extremely impressed and couldn't help but self-reflect on my own situation and the plans I have for the upcoming year.
My first thoughts were about the importance of communication with the public. I am personally creating a blog with that goal in mind. It is extremely importance to showcase the amazing things that happen in our classrooms, especially when it comes to garnering support from our communities. Many of the posts from my classmates expressed very positive feedback after viewing the blogs and that is regardless of test scores and academic achievements. We can all tell that something wonderful is going on there because it is quite evident through the blogging. I would guess that many of have similar scenarios in our schools that go unseen by the public so they only focus on what they CAN see. We have the power to present ourselves in a positive light and blogging provides an excellent vehicle for that.
I also was struck by the importance of school-wide participation and how that is clearly a large part of what makes this project so successful. It's almost like a check for the teachers who can ask themselves "what am I doing today that is blog-worthy?". I have a feeling that many teachers have stepped up their game and been inspired by the work of their colleagues. How many of us can say we know much about what happens in all the other classrooms in our building? Something like this could lead to wonderful opportunities for teachers to work together and have students work together across multiple content areas.
In that same vein, I bet this has a similar effect on students and their attitudes toward doing quality work. It must be very empowering to be able to blog and share the fruits of their labor with those outside the classroom. I know for my EdTech courses there is a level of seriousness and quality that I am driven to achieve knowing that my work is often made public through my learning log.
Lastly, I am starting to see the power of blogging from an archival perspective as well. Think of being able to look back over years of work and see how teaching and products have progressed. I look forward to being able to do this myself and I think it's another excellent motivator to keep pushing the envelope by evolving projects and trying new things. I wouldn't want to look back and see that I've been using the same old materials and assignments and getting the same results!
My first thoughts were about the importance of communication with the public. I am personally creating a blog with that goal in mind. It is extremely importance to showcase the amazing things that happen in our classrooms, especially when it comes to garnering support from our communities. Many of the posts from my classmates expressed very positive feedback after viewing the blogs and that is regardless of test scores and academic achievements. We can all tell that something wonderful is going on there because it is quite evident through the blogging. I would guess that many of have similar scenarios in our schools that go unseen by the public so they only focus on what they CAN see. We have the power to present ourselves in a positive light and blogging provides an excellent vehicle for that.
I also was struck by the importance of school-wide participation and how that is clearly a large part of what makes this project so successful. It's almost like a check for the teachers who can ask themselves "what am I doing today that is blog-worthy?". I have a feeling that many teachers have stepped up their game and been inspired by the work of their colleagues. How many of us can say we know much about what happens in all the other classrooms in our building? Something like this could lead to wonderful opportunities for teachers to work together and have students work together across multiple content areas.
In that same vein, I bet this has a similar effect on students and their attitudes toward doing quality work. It must be very empowering to be able to blog and share the fruits of their labor with those outside the classroom. I know for my EdTech courses there is a level of seriousness and quality that I am driven to achieve knowing that my work is often made public through my learning log.
Lastly, I am starting to see the power of blogging from an archival perspective as well. Think of being able to look back over years of work and see how teaching and products have progressed. I look forward to being able to do this myself and I think it's another excellent motivator to keep pushing the envelope by evolving projects and trying new things. I wouldn't want to look back and see that I've been using the same old materials and assignments and getting the same results!
Russell Street Bloggers
After taking a cruise through the Russell Street School blog and website, I am blown away. I could have been on that site for hours. It is so amazing to me that kids are blogging at such a young age. It is something I am still getting used to but is something these kids are so used to. After thinking about what was going on at this school for a little while, I came up with a few main thoughts:
- I am jealous my school is not at this level: I tried blogging with the students in my classroom and was not very successful at it. No other teacher in my school has probably considered blogging with their students. Yet here is this school, the entire school, blogging about life in the classroom and what happens during their school day. HOW COOL! I wish I could get a blog going in my classroom, let alone in my entire school!
- Student involvement and engagement: each class in this school has their own blog, which means that every kids in the school has the opportunity to participate in blogging. Right there, kids are getting experience with a 21st century skill and are becoming comfortable publishing their writing, as well as posting it online.
- Parent involvement and communication: Involvement and communication with parents seems as though it would be outstanding. Parents can go to one place and see what is happening in every room in the school. They can get posts about what their kids did that day or view a reminder about an upcoming event. Parents could comment on posts and interact with their kids if they chose.
- Ownership: Although posts by kids are riddled with spelling errors, as they grow older, they will take ownership of their writing and want it to be error free because they know the world can view it. This will help with intrinsic motivation to learn spelling, grammar and organization of writing. Kids are learning so many skills through this process.
Overall, I think what this school has accomplished is amazing and I think that other schools look to as an example. I think there are some negatives or concerns with blogging, some of which are put on display here, but that is an entirely new topic. For now, I say this school has done a fantastic job!
Digging deeper with Blogs - Looking into Russell Street School
It is clear that Russell Street school is at the forefront of technology being used in classroom practices. Their about page discusses how elearning is a part of their “key features.” Further the school encourages the use of elearning to better connect the community and the families of the students. My first thoughts were how do they manage informing parents and making sure students, especially in the younger grades, are using technology appropriately and safely. But then I came across their elearning page which shared a plethora of documents that provide info cyber safety and help for parents. This helped me to see all of the ground work this school clearly has in place for all digital work done by teachers and students.
As I looked through the blogs shared on this site, I could see how positive and powerful blogs like this could be. There was a vast array of blogs for each class. Some that were written by the teachers, some that shared images of students working, some that shared student work, and some that included student comments. I found the blogs with student work and images of students working to be the most powerful. I can see that blogs like these would excite parents and the community and help gather support for promoting technology in the school.
In addition, the blogs gave the students voice. Students work was shared through the blogs, as well as, students were able to comment on the posts. I think it is a prime example of how this school has adopted student centered learning, as well as, promoting 21st century skills for their students, even at as early as the elementary ages. I’m encouraged by the Russel Street School’s use of blogs and other technologies. And can see how they could benefit an entire community. This would be huge in continuing student use of blogs/educational technologies outside of the classrooms. I also loved that the site shares that the school still uses construction paper and scissors and that “where technologies provide no additional benefits they will not be used.” Very Interesting!
Food for Thought
Katy Cooper, Summer 2016 EdTech 537 student
Walking through the Russell Street School website, blogs and
Google Site definitely challenges some of my thinking about the potential
benefits of blogging in the classroom. Here are some of my thoughts:
I recognize that the blogging platform has bolstered
communication in so many ways. I first notice that between student and teacher,
there is a record of interaction and assessment. That can be powerful in
reminding students what they did well or what they might need to focus on for
future work that is dealing with the same skill. It also can extend the
conversation beyond/outside of the classroom. This definitely ups the potential
growth opportunities. I can only imagine that this also increases the
communication between teachers and parents, with many skills and activities
documented and on display, one would think there are fewer misunderstandings
between the two. I would also like to think this allows parents to interact
with their child differently than if they don’t know what is going on in their
classroom during the week. The descriptions, images, and videos of activities
and learning provide ample material for parents to continue the conversations
at home. Coming from the middle school level, where many parents claim their
students are mute at home and share nothing, I can see how this would be a
great way to counteract that tendency.
I can imagine that the extra time the teacher puts in to
maintaining the blog is worth the benefits it provides. Beyond communication, I
can see this type of documentation being an amazing asset when it comes to the
new form of teacher evaluations (at least in Washington State). The new
evaluation often requires a portfolio of evidence to supplement the
administrators observations. What a wonderful resource to access at the end of
the year, rather than trying to figure out how you can go back and show your work
throughout the year.
I also noticed that many classes have student blogs attached
that work as a student portfolio. There are other ways to achieve a similar
idea (an electronic portfolio), but I like that thoughts and products are
documented as they happen, and might be less likely to be erased or lost. Also,
being able to articulate the activity you did and the skill you practiced
sounds like a great way to reinforce learning and build skills for life after
high school. That is real-world application for even these young students to be
practicing on a regular basis.
I do wonder if any of the parents have an issue with
pictures of their student being placed on the internet, seemingly in a very
public manner. As a parent that might make me nervous, though, a quick
adjustment with privacy settings would probably calm my worries.
Russell Street School (My Impression)
What an interesting glimpse into the school experience of these lucky little Kiwis. I have three nephews who live in New Zealand and went through the school system, so I was particularly interested in this virtual trip.
Like many of you, I was immediately struck by the cheerful looking students deeply engaged in a variety of learning experiences. The administrators, teachers, and parents of RS obviously value authenticity, creativity, and self-expression and go out of their way to instill these traits in the students.
I found the students' blogs quite endearing. Although they probably don't realize it, these students are learning to become comfortable with writing--something that strikes fear into many a grown-up heart. Their posts may be filled with grammatical and spelling errors, but these students are learning at a young age that their words, and those of their friends, are important and worthy of being shared. As a parent, I know that I would so appreciate these peeks into my children's school days both from their own and their teachers' perspectives.
What an interesting glimpse into the school experience of these lucky little Kiwis. I have three nephews who live in New Zealand and went through the school system, so I was particularly interested in this virtual trip.
Like many of you, I was immediately struck by the cheerful looking students deeply engaged in a variety of learning experiences. The administrators, teachers, and parents of RS obviously value authenticity, creativity, and self-expression and go out of their way to instill these traits in the students.
I found the students' blogs quite endearing. Although they probably don't realize it, these students are learning to become comfortable with writing--something that strikes fear into many a grown-up heart. Their posts may be filled with grammatical and spelling errors, but these students are learning at a young age that their words, and those of their friends, are important and worthy of being shared. As a parent, I know that I would so appreciate these peeks into my children's school days both from their own and their teachers' perspectives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)