Week 2 Assignment

I think blogging is kind of scary especially when your picture is attached to it. I would feel more comfortable putting what I really think in a blog where no one knew who I was or what I looked like. I am taking an online class right now and I enjoy bantering back and forth with people on the text we have read back and forth and they have no idea who I am or what I look like. However, that is how I feel in relation to personal blogs. When I begin teaching, I will have a blog with my picture and everything else a student or their parents would need to be as successful as possible in my class. Here at TAMU-Commerce I enjoy it when my professor has a page I can link to through the school website. I can print off any handouts that I might have lost or I can reprint their syllabus if there is any question about what's expected. Furthermore, I do not feel that blogs are a waste of the students time because there is no question as to the teacher's expectations when they have a blog. I listened to the Tim Tyson podcast and I was real interested in the jump in the parent perception that they had a better understanding of what their child was doing in school. I, as the parent of a high school student, would appreciate it if the teachers would have blogs that I could go to and see what my child worked on and what her homework was. I can then talk with her about whether or not she did the work and double check with the teacher to make sure the work was done. I didn't see it mentioned in Chapter 6, but one way in which technology would help the teacher and the parents is through the emailing of the students grades to the parent. I do receive an email from a couple of my childs teacher that outlines exactly what they have done up to that point and the grade right next to it. I love that because there isn't a question as to why my child has a bad report card because it's all laid out in the email including test grades. One thing I did see in Chapter 6 that interested me was the Global Schoolhouse. This could be real useful and giving the student a better idea of what it's like to live in another country as a child. It might even teach them to be more grateful for what they have and appreciate the differences in others.