Leah Dewhurst’s Weblog

This was the first full week I had the my classroom blog up and running.  What an incredible experience it has been for my students and I.  Each of my students each have their own blogging buddy which has encouraged them to become better writers.  The students  were also excited to have received random comments from grade 2 students from Bengough, Saskatchewan. 

My students were eager to write back to them. Now I find myself trying to find some more time to give them a chance to not only communicate with their blogging buddies but to make general comments to others. 

This classroom blog has also sparked an interest in geography.  With clustermapsattached to my blog, my students are so excited to see when a new “dot” has appeared. We are learning about all the different countries in this world. So far we have had visitors from Australia, Italy, Thailand, Europe, United States and Canada. What a great way to teach a quick simple geography lesson.

Can’t wait to see what next week will bring

Clarence Fischer spoke a very powerful presentation last Tuesday.  His words definately hit home with me when he was encouraging his students to become responsible global citizens.  The social networking is now allowing our students to authenically experience life on other parts of the world.  They not only get to see and hear how others live their life but to collaborate and learn from one of another.  What a great experience this is for our students to get a real authentic experience, something they can’t get out of a text book.  I know my students are enjoying being penpals with students from Thailand. They have learned so much about them, and they will now learn so much more now that we are blogging with them. 

It was also amazing to see the powerful connections Clarence’s students made in regards to the Nata Village Blog.  What more can we give to a student than a real authentic experience, something that they can have their own voice and truly make a difference.  

                          “The more of us together; the more powerful we can be!”