Post #3 - How Can I Use Blogs in my Classroom?

There are multiple ways to use a blog in the classroom. Some ways can be helpful for students, some are helpful for teachers, and others are helpful for both. I think one of the best ways to use a blog is to help with student mastery in content. The student mastery would come from the students teaching each other the a piece of the content on the blog just like a jigsaw classroom. I can assign groups of students different topics to master and then blog about. This way the blogs stay out there for the whole year, In the jigsaw classroom students have to write notes about what other students are teaching them. Their notes will not be as useful as looking at the blog their classmates have created. The problem with that is that the students could explain the material incorrectly or not clearly.

The blogs can also be useful for student feedback. Every week the students could write a blog about the week in my class. What did they enjoy in class? What did they not enjoy? What concepts do they thing they have mastered? What concepts they didn't understand?. This could be useful except for the fact that students will most likely not like it. If I make it a requirement some student may put minimal effort and not give the feedback I need to help them. If I don't require blogging, many students won't even blog.

A problem with blogging in general is that not every student will have easy access to a computer outside of a classroom. There may not be a lot of computers in the school either making it even harder for certain students to access the blogs.

There are many good aspects to using a blog but there are many constraints. The goal is to use blogging properly to engage students and get the information you want out of them.

Post #2 Leaner Analysis

The learner that I decided to analyze is from one of my favorite shows call "That 70s show". His name is Eric Forman. He does decent in school. He is not the smartest but he is definitely not the dumbest kid in the group of friend (that tile belongs to Kelso). Eric is a middle class kid who lives in the suburbs. His dad starts offf as a plant worker but then becomes the manager at store called Pricemart when the plant shuts down. He is able to have his basic needs met but doesn't always get what he wants. His dad puts a lot of pressure on him to be smart which can cause him some stress as his quite afraid of his dad. He does often engage in class but sometimes has the tendency to drift off and think about other things (like his girlfriend). Eric doesn't have a whole lot of interests. He likes Led Zeppelin, his girlfriend Donna, and smoking illegal drugs. One strategy I would use for Eric is to use technology like iPads. I would give one to Eric and set him up on a sight that has interactive practice problems. This way he stays engaged and doesn't drift off into his fantasy world. Is Eric "college ready"? I would say that he is. He is a hard worker and even though he got an 800 on his SAT score on his first attempt, he can always retake it and get into his dream school which is the University of Wisconsin.

Below is a video of Eric daydreaming while taking the SAT. It's about 2 minutes into the 3 minute video.

All About Me

Hi Friends,

My name is Marty Brudzinski. I am originally from Canton, MI where I attended Canton High School. In high school I played football, basketball and track originally came to GVSU as an engineering major. I soon realized it was not the major for me and changed to an education major. Best decision of my life!

I have not had as many teacher experiences as most people who started in the education program. But I did have a great experience this summer. I worked for Camp Fire West Believe to Become program. I got the chance to work with GRPS middle school students and lead some math lessons. Hopefully I can use that experience during my teacher assisting. I have been placed at GR U Prep math class teaching Algebra 2. I have rarely used any technology in any classes as the teacher. I have just planned a game of Jeopardy on PowerPoint to help students in the Algebra 2 class I am placed in. We have also used Nooks to work woth Khan Academy but that hasn't worked out well as they have many problems (not charged, don't work, slow internet). Hopefully I can incorporate technology into my classroom more this semester.

Outside of school I love to go outside and play basically any sport. I am a huge sports fan root hard for the tigers, lion, red wing, and pistons. I am a big Michigan fan as well. The video below is me at a red wigs game right after they won 3-2 in overtime! It was an awesome game!

At GVSU I was a member of the Ski and Snowboard team so I am one of those people who look forward to the snow. Winter is probably my favorite season for that reason. That's me in the blue getting ready for a race by singing the national anthem.

I also met my girlfriend on the GVSU Ski and Snowboard team. We have been together for 2 and a half years. She is a first year elementary teacher in Fremont, MI. She's pretty great :). We had a fun time at her cousins wedding last summer in the picture below.