learningconnections

Multidisciplinary 26 Science 29 Visual Arts 30 Special Needs 32 English Language Arts 34

Mathematics 36 Social Studies 38

Hooked on Classroom Blogging

By Rachel Peters

n February 2007, Earthwatch Institute invited me to participate in

a program called Live in the Field,
which would take me to Vietnam in
May to help scientists study butterflies. During my time abroad, I was
expected to communicate with my
students via the Internet and satellite phone. In addition, I would be
required to write and submit a lesson
plan based on my trip, take photographs, keep a journal, and create and
maintain a blog for the expedition.

The research for this particular

expedition was butterfly diversity and
population changes in Tam Dao National Park outside of Hanoi. It was
easy to work in a science unit on butterflies. The more challenging aspect
would be teaching my students about
Vietnam. My students and I were going to have to learn together.
I knew that corresponding with
my students while in Vietnam was
going to be a powerful and meaningful way for students to build awareness and interest in the land and the
people of that country. I was sure
that by engaging my students in the
geography, culture, and the plight of
the Vietnamese peoplewho share
many of their same dreams and hopes
for the futurethey would develop
an appreciation and respect for Vietnam that would hopefully transfer to
other countries and cultures. I figured

that starting a blog would be a new

real-time multimedia tool that would
connect students to my trip. (See 10
Reasons You Should Blog below.) The
challenge was making it interesting to
9- and 10-year-olds.
To introduce Vietnam to my students, I read aloud chapters from
fact books and discussed Vietnamese
fables. I introduced games that taught
them to identify Vietnam and the
surrounding countries on a map. Together we learned a few Vietnamese
phrases and had contests to see who
could remember facts about the country. I brought in Vietnamese food,
decorated my room with images of
Vietnam, and shared my search for a
cheap flight. I drew my travel route
on a map, and the students helped me
plan what to bring. This was the easy
and fun part. But I still hadnt created
my blog.

10 Reasons You Should Blog

Its free.
Theres no charge for
most accounts, and
most dont even have
advertising.

Its a quick
and simple way to
share ideas, photos,
and thoughts.

You dont need

to fill out paperwork
because youre
not using the district's
server.

Students can access

it anywhere they can
log on to the Internet.

You can use it

in place of your
weekly newsletter.

Copyright 2009, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.

26 Learning & Leading with Technology | March/April 2009

learning connections

Multidisciplinary

Blog Post and Response

Do you think that there are fewer behavior problems in Vietnamese
schools than compared to United States schools, because of how
teachers can punish students? Explain your answer.
I think there are fewer behavior problems in Vietnam than the
United States. One reason is because the kids get pinched and hit
by the teachers and in the United States people just talk with the
principal or something.

Part of my reluctance was due to preconceived notions based on my husbands blog. He is a college professor,
and his blog is filled with text and an
occasional photo related to his musings
on local issues and teaching. I knew
that successful blogs had to be updated
frequently and have a loyal following. I
was pretty sure that there was no way I
would be able to hook 9- and 10-yearolds using my husbands approach. It
took a while to figure out that this traditional format wasnt the best model
for elementary school students.
Just weeks before I left, with the
help of Earthwatch, I created my
Vietnam blog on the commercial-free
Blogspot, which is now called Blogger
and is owned by Google. I entered my
first post of three paragraphs about
the blog, myself, and my upcoming
trip. One anonymous post appeared
a day later that essentially reaffirmed
my lack of excitement for the blog:
It taught me a lot about your trip.
My next posts focused on trip
preparations, and I received similar
responses. I was making two mistakes:
I wasnt writing for my specific audience, and my writing didnt ask readers
to do anything. My next strategy was
to post questions and set aside classroom time when all students would
be required to read the blog and post

If kids are going there,

theyre reading.
Reading is good!

a response. This was a step in the right

direction. But I soon discovered that
the procedure was a bit confusing to
students. I realized that my questions
were not thought provoking or challenging; they were merely factual. The
blog still wasnt doing what I wanted:
getting kids excited and motivated to
go to the site, read my entries, and post
thoughtful responses and questions.
It wasnt until I started using quizzes
and rewards while in Vietnam that I
had them hooked. Here is the first blog
post from Vietnam:
I have posted photos of four butterflies and moths. To win a prize,
look carefully at each photo and
tell me if it is a photo of a butterfly
or a moth. I will give you a hint:
There is at least one of each, and
here is a reminder of the differences between the two: moths are
usually fuzzier, when they land
they usually lay their wings flat,
and they have straight antennas.
Butterflies usually (not always)
have clubbed antenna, when they
land they hold their wings up
above their bodies, and they usually (but not always) fly during
the day while moths usually (but
again not always) fly during the
night.

If kids are posting,

theyre thinking
and writing.
This is good, too!

You can use it

as your class Web
page, adding links to
sites your students
will access during the
school year.

Older posts are

archived and easy
to access.

You can use it to build

community. Your
students can get to
know you outside of
the classroom.

Copyright 2009, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.

March/April 2009 | Learning & Leading with Technology 27

learning connections

Tips for Blogging in the Elementary Classroom

1. Post questions that students will enjoy answeringquestions that encourage
them to share personal experiences and opinions.
2. Inform parents about your blog and get them involved. Encourage them to go
to the blog, read it, and post. Ask them to share an experience or opinion.

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3. Ignore others typos and misspellings (but avoid them in your postings).
4. Teach students how to use the blog. Make sure they know that anyone will be
able to read their posts, and private information such as last names, phone
numbers, and addresses should never be included. Require them to post in
class, then check to make sure their posts show up.
5. Include photographs. Also consider posting voice recordings using Gabcast,
video clips, and links to related sites.
6. Think of your blog as a tool that you use when you need it rather than a neverending monster that sucks up your time and energy. Allow it to retire when
appropriate, and begin a new one as needed.
7. Check your post settings. If your students comments are set to post
immediately, so are the unwanted posts of strangers. Decide whether you
feel you need to review all posts before they appear on your blog and change
your settings accordingly.

This post received 50 responses, 27

of which were answers to the quiz.
Using Google Analytics, I could see
that the sites hits were up significantly,
and a number of hits were registered
after school let out. Both my teacher
partner and substitute reported that
students were asking to check the
blog before school began. I started
to purchase small items for prizes
hats, toys, chopsticks, fans, even small
Vietnamese boxes and bowls. Each
day I would read the responses, select
a winner, post his or her name along
with the correct answer(s), and submit
a new quiz. Some of my questions
required students to research answers,
while others asked for well-thoughtout responses to questions that compared aspects of their lives to those of
Vietnamese children. Additionally, I
took and posted photos of anything
that I knew would interest students.
(See Tips for Blogging in the Elementary Classroom above) Daily views
and postings continued to increase.
A few parents e-mailed me that their
children were reading the blog from
home and were enjoying my daily up-

dates as well. All of my students were

reading the blog, and their posts indicated they were beginning to compare
their lives with the lives of Vietnamese
children.
After returning home, I decided to
leave the blog up for former students
to show their friends and relatives,
for other teachers to glean ideas, for
people wanting to learn more about
Vietnam and butterflies, and for future students and their families who
might want to know more about the
teacher they would have in the upcoming year.
Resources

Blogger: www.blogger.com
Earthwatch: www.earthwatch.org
Gabcast: www.gabcast.com
Rachel Peters blog, An American Dragon in
Vietnam: http://sgsdragon.blogspot.com
Rachel Peters is a nationally
board certified teacher whos
taught for 13 years in public
and private schools. She lives
in Spokane, Washington.

Copyright 2009, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.

28 Learning & Leading with Technology | March/April 2009