Thing 3: Helping Myself and My Future Students

     Let's see... how many ways could I use a blog in assistance to my teacher education program? For starters, it's incredibly convenient to watch other students' work. A lot of times you come to a fork in the road amidst a difficult assignment and all of a sudden, a confusing word appears. That word can usually be read in one or two ways, you just don't know which way to read it. By that point, you have already emailed your professor a hundred times and really don't want to bother them anymore. In fact, it's highly possible that when he or she sees your name in his or her inbox again, it's going straight to the Spam folder. Ha! Just kidding!
     But I have been faced with these obstacles often throughout my college career and I'm here to tell you that a good way to avoid it has been by using these blog posts. Since all of the Education 3040 students are  able to view each other's material (regardless of the class period), it's much easier to see what path everyone else has taken. For instance, many students in my own class have not progressed onto Thing 2, whereas I am beginning Thing 3. Fortunately, I could view the profiles of the other classes to note the topics they discussed and make them relevant to my own subject matter. I consider this process of "peer reviewing" to be extraordinarily beneficial to students like myself.
     As an English major, I love the fact that I could post an essay and receive immediate feedback. It would help me in my classes and thusly, improve my writing. The same goes for classroom environments. As a teacher, it would be convenient to post material that I cover in class with other teachers in order to prevent the same course objectives being taught. For example, ninth-grade teachers might teach Romeo and Juliet, but an eleventh-grade teacher also teaches it. By teaching the same thing, the students don't have much room to grow, but by proper communication (i.e. blogging, etc.), the eleventh-grade teacher could further the students' knowledge of Shakespeare by teaching Twelfth Night or Othello rather than repeating the prior lesson.
     It's "all about communication." Isn't that what we always hear? Well, the fact of the matter is that it's true. Communication is key. Blogging can be used to help post calendars, syllabi, and other material needs that students might need access to. Granted, programs like Blackboard and D2L exist and can also be used for those reasons, however with blogs, students can comment. I find this important because I love to work from feedback. Knowing myself and how I want to teach, I want to give my students the best possible education I can. In order to do this, I'll need their input. If something is wrong on the class schedule, he or she can leave a comment. Or if a worksheet is available online, students can ask questions about a certain topic. This kind of participation is ideal for all teachers. And through blogging, I certainly hope I can both participate and set an example.

Yours,
TPlummer