My Blogging Experience

I'm a Blogger!

These are three words that I thought I would never type because I usually shy away from experimenting with technology.  I use technology in my classroom because I know it's a beneficial teaching and learning tool but I'm not the type of person who gets excited about technology integration.  However, through following and writing blogs and through the hands-on use of many different types of technology during the past six weeks, I have learned so much that I now find myself excited about technology. 

2 Additional Blogs That I've Been Following

Edutech for Teachers This blog is written and maintained by a teacher and technology coach in Pennsylvania.  The fact that it is written by a teacher is one of the main reasons why I chose to follow this blog.  I think that teachers can learn so much from each other.  Who better to take advice from than someone who is walking in your shoes?  The author shares sensible resources that teachers can actually use in their classrooms.  For example, the author shares educational apps, educational websites, and insights into how to incorporate technology into the classroom (Forshey, n.d.).  Check this blog out at http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/.

Smart Classroom Management: Simply Effective Tips and Strategies This site offers basic advice to teachers about how to effectively manage a classroom.  It also discusses useful practices that teachers can do to make their lives in and out of the classroom the best that they can be (Linsin, n.d.).  When browsing through potential blogs to follow, this blog caught my attention right away when I read the post titled, The Most Common Speaking Mistakes Teachers Make Part 2.  I read a few sentences and found the information to be beneficial to my current situation in my classroom.  I am teaching a class whose overall behavior is sometimes a challenge for me; therefore, I have been examining how I manage my students.  Other topics that I have found to be helpful include: dealing with students who argue about going to time-out, dealing with students who are not motivated to learn, and how a teacher's general interactions with students effect the atmosphere of the classroom (Linsin, 2013b).  I love this blog because every topic seemed to hit home with me.  Sometimes I felt like the author had me in mind when he wrote the posts.  I plan to continue to follow this blog even after this class ends.  Check this blog out at
http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/.

My Favorite Blog
Out of the 2 additional blogs that I have been following, my favorite is Smart Classroom Management because of the practical information that I receive.  I am able to apply what I learn from this blog into my life as a teacher. 

Out of all of the blogs that I have been following, my favorite blog has to be Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day because of the shear amount of valuable information that Larry Ferlazzo shares.  Through this blog, I have been exposed to many new concepts in technology and in teaching.  The author's personality comes through in his posts and I can tell that he "walks the walk; not just talks the talk."  He is also very knowledgeable about the many subjects that he writes about.  He shares a wide variety of educational resources such as apps, websites, lessons plans, etc. that are helpful to classroom teachers.  I particularly like the fact that he shares educational resources for holidays and current topics.  For example, he has provided links for Easter, Earth Day, Arbor Day, and Mother's Day.  These links provide teachers with a ton of resources for enriching their lesson plans (Ferlazzo, n.d.).  I think the thing I enjoy most about his blog posts are the quotes and statements that he shares about current worldly topics and educational topics.  These interesting quotes break up the monotony for me while I read his posts and those of others.

My Favorite Blog Post
I have read many posts that have provided me with beneficial resources and advice.  Therefore, it is hard for me to choose just one as my favorite.  The post that has proved most beneficial to me is titled How to Handle Sleepy, Unprepared, and Unmotivated Students from the blog, Smart Classroom Management.  This post addressed how to effectively motivate those students who regularly come to school not prepared for the day, those who are tired and those who have no inner motivation to accomplish the tasks at hand.  This post intrigued me because every year I have a least one student who doesn't complete their homework, doesn't participate in whole-group instruction, doesn't complete work on time, doesn't make and keep eye contact while I'm teaching and who often puts his head on his desk throughout the day.  The suggestions that are offered to motivate these kinds of students are simple and doable.  They make sense.  When I read the post, a particular child came to mind.  I decided to try out one of the suggestions with him.  The suggestion was to meet the child at the door and give him/her a task right away.  This gives the child an opportunity to wake up and get his/her brain working before the day starts (Linsin, 2013a).  I now have this particular child go to the office and check my mailbox and go to the lunchroom and fill my cup up with ice.  I know this sounds simple but it has seemed to help motivate him to start his work once he arrives in the classroom and it makes him feel special.  It's the little things!

References

Ferlazzo, L. (n.d.). In Larry Ferlazzo's websites of the day. Retrieved from
            http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/
 
Forshey, J. (n.d.). In Edutech for teachers: Cool tools for the 21st century classroom. Retrieved from
             http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/
 
Linsin, M. (2013a, April 20). How to handle sleepy, unprepared, and unmotivated students. In
             Smart Classroom Management: Simply Effective Tips and Strategies [Web blog].
             Retrieved from http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2013/04/20/how-to-handle-
             sleepy-unprepared-and-unmotivated-s
 
Linsin, M. (n.d.). In Smart Classroom Management: Simply Effective Tips and Strategies. Retrieved
              from http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/
 
Linsin, M. (2013b, March 16). The most common speaking mistakes teachers make: Part 2. In
              Smart Classroom Management: Simply Effective Tips and Strategies [Web blog].
              Retrieved from http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2013/03/16/the-most-
              common-speaking-mistakes-teachers-make-p