Blogging - Thing 4

Well, I got lost in the blogosphere once again. As soon as I see something interesting on one blog, there is a link to connect to another, then another and before you know it, you have jotted down a bunch of new ideas to try out in your classroom not to mention added to your PLN. There are so many interesting people out there with great ideas, one can learn something new every day! This is blogging at it's best. Not only is it a place for you to write your thoughts and ideas down on paper, but an opportunity to peek inside other "virtual" classrooms to see what other teachers are doing around the globe to facilitate learning. Blogging has important implications for students as well. They begin to realize they have opinions and comments others want to read and in turn, they can learn from others. This helps accelerate their knowledge and in turn, will search for more information as it starts to ignite the learning process.  We only started blogging in our first grade classroom about a month ago, and my only regret is we didn't start it sooner. Blogging has taken off like wildfire in my classroom and I love it!  The children can't wait to get on the blog and read what others have written and comment on a post.  We have also connected with another class and learning to make valuable comments to others as well. Children begin to realize their world suddenly is alot smaller when they start to make these connections.

I just want to share one new thing I came across reading these different blogs - an application called ThingLink. I haven't tried it yet, but will surely give it a go next school year. Here is a great link to 23 Ways to use ThingLink in your classroom.