As the school year winds down and report card cut off looms I had to put a firm date for our last blog. That did result in more students submitting on time, but I was still missing about a third of the class. Thankfully these blogs do not take long to assess, so I can give them one more chance. I do that too often.

Our final topic was, “If you were in control of the school, what would you change?” The ideas varied however a large portion mentioned uniforms. I was not surprised by this as the number one question we have before an event or a trip is “Do we have to wear our uniform?” Bringing cellphones and personal technology was also a common talking point as was getting a cafeteria and new playground equipment. Surprisingly though the second most common suggestion was allowing gum. This is a school rule, but it is one I have to enforce. The past few weeks I have had to ask one particular student to get rid of their gum two to three times a day. For that student it has become a power move, for everyone else it has become a daily chore. At the very least it does show me that I have become the villain in this battle.

A Few Surprises

A number of students mentioned ways high school could be different. This shows me they are actually thinking of their future at our school and how it could be made better. They are also picking up on a few odd things we had to deal with this year and decided what we saw as a problem was an improvement. For example we had some students trying to sell items at school as a small business. One student saw this as a way to teach how to avoid scams.

There also seems to be a disconnect between our school and what some of them think happens at local public schools. Some think that every elementary school has a cafeteria with hot lunches and every school has a better playground than us.

Improvements

Students are becoming much more adapt at picking images that connect to their blog. In previous weeks a majority just used pictures from the school website. At least half of the entries used clip art that blended very well with their text.

Comments

Once again comments have been low. Only half of the students commented by the due date. Oddly enough a few of the students who did not submit their own blogs found time to comment. The comments that have been posted continue to improve. While most are quite short, they reference what they read and provide useful feedback. I’m taking this as one of the major successes of this project. Aside from reminding them to make their comments, I no longer need to remind them the expectations. They are more enthusiastic and more positive. I will be curious what they tell me about this when we review this whole process as a class.

Next Steps

As we wrap up these blogs I will be doing a survey to see what they think went well and where I could improve next year. Overwhelmingly they voted to do the survey in our google classroom. Only one student voted to do a paper survey. They have gotten comfortable in this digital space. I can see how this would be a beneficial resource to start earlier in the year. We could return to it for various projects, possibly even creating a safe virtual hangout. It would require a lot of monitoring on my part, but what if I had student moderators? There is a lot of potential that can be explored. Now the fear of waiting to see what the survey says.

Blog #3 was difficult to get in from a number of students. A list of missing entries on my whiteboard solved the problem for most students within a day. I also discussed the number of students missing comments for the week.  I was worried it would be a lacklustre week, with very little added to the group conversations.  Thankfully something switched and a few started asking for access to iPads to finish their comments.  That got everything rolling and it wasn’t long before the comments started popping up.

This also unexpectedly resulted in students asking me what the week 4 writing prompt was.  This continued and seemingly because they had to login to post comments, a lot of them decided to do their blogs at the same time.  Perhaps because most of the year I have not allowed them to use the iPads as frequently; they are enjoying the greater access.  Thankfully it has been mostly on task use.

Improvements

A few of them are getting better at using slides to make visually interesting blogs. While this is largely my typically “strong” students, it is still nice to see.  They are also improving at writing beyond the simple responses. Many have found writing about positives and negatives a simple way to organize their thoughts.

Some students still struggled to get me their digital blogs.  While this is the new “my dog ate my homework” excuse, sometimes the dog actually eats the homework.  I had a few students share their blog in front of me and yet it never reached my email.  I reminded them I could put up physical copies and have students write their comments on post it notes. This actually resulted in greater effort to get me a digital copy.  I started to receive files from multiple accounts to ensure I received something.

Each morning has now begun with, “Did you get my blog? I sent it to you.” I’d like to think they are just eager to share their thoughts, but that is probably not the case. As the year is winding up we have much fewer assignments, which makes it easier for me to keep on top of this project.

Unexpected Benefits

Still I am very happy to see that my students that have struggled to submit work all year have been consistent with their blogs. There have also been a few, who rarely ask how they did, mentioning they are writing “good comments.” While I am enjoying the goal of creating positive digital citizens, I may just be realizing the benefits of mini assignments. Even one page may be too much for some students. I can do small assessments on a series of these short reflections, rather than a more traditional paper. On my end it is also much quicker to mark and easier to keep up with.

Next Steps

With one blog left I am looking forward to celebrating this small accomplishment with them. I also let them know that I will be asking them for feedback on how things went. This will help direct this assignment in the future if I attempt it again. The final writing prompt also brings everything full circle. Our first prompt was the differences they see at our school, blog 5 is asking what they would do if they could change the school. It will be interesting to see what they would keep. Who knows, there might even be some ideas I could share with admin.

This week was a continuation of their week 2 blogs as they were submitted and uploaded. Our topic was something that is often a hot button topic with my students, uniforms. 

Positives

The overall writing improved, and they seemed to take my instruction well on how to improve their blogs (less formal, don’t make a list, add descriptive/engaging words, include pictures to break up the text).

Some comments were more detailed and made good reflections on what was written.  A few even took my feedback and used that to recommend improvements on their peers writing.

There was an improvement with the visual aspect of the blogs and a few even played with the format.

Trending Trouble

While there was some improvement with comments, overall they were not as good this week.

Despite asking them not to write simple responses, there was quite a few “I agree with you,” comments. There was even a few students that wrote one strong response and then essentially copy and pasted it on other blogs.

There were far fewer comments this week. Perhaps because we had track and field, or I had a deadline for late assignments.  Either way, it has dropped considerably.

Something I had not considered when using a prompt that could be applicable to other schools, researching answers.  It was obvious when students were not just writing their own thoughts and a quick google search unearthed a few websites that listed the positives and negatives of uniforms.  While not quite at a plagiarism level, a few were dangerously close.

Submissions were also slow this week.  I had to extend the due date.  Many gave the excuse of issues with technology, although these same students sent other assignments to my email. As a result I did not have time to get permission to show any blogs this week.

Next Steps

I have to remind students that comments are an important part of an online community.  Reading alone does not create a dialogue; it also does not give the reader a sense of where they are within the spectrum of ideas and opinions in the group.

I also have to go over what is a “good” comment.  While I did project some examples, it might be good to brainstorm comments as a class.

Some blogs were submitted to me in a physical form.  While I will scan and upload them, I also should start to post them in the class.  Hopefully this will remind students of the project and may encourage students to complete their work more quickly if they remember a physical copy is an option.  In the past I have noticed how much they enjoy when others look at and discuss their posted artwork.

A quick discussion on using someone’s ideas to create your own will be needed.  While it can be a jumping off point when you are stuck, it is important to speak to your own ideas and opinions. After all, the point of this blog is to share our experiences, not some strangers.

The initial excitement is quickly leaving as we rush towards the end of the year.  I think celebrating the blogs in class will be a good way to remind them of the assignment and improve engagement.  They may pretend to be shy, but when there is an opportunity to share their work, most want to present.

Blog #3 will be especially interesting, we will be talking about teachers.