Edublogging

After reading about “Edublogging” I thought I would get started in creating a blog for my students to ask, respond and answer question about the novel study we are currently working on. The students in my class were very excited when I explained that our first period would be spent working on a classroom blog. The night before class I spent about an hour setting up a blog and providing students with stimulating questions to trigger some opinions and discussion. I think that creating a class blog is a fantastic idea to motivate students into immersing themselves in subjects that are being studied. I think blogs provide a unique opportunity for students to participate in a non-threatening way. They don’t feel the pressure of being put on the spot because they have an opportunity to think and edit what they want to say in the comfort of their home. I know in school I was always less likely to ask or answer questions amongst my peers. That didn’t mean that I hadn’t anything to say. Given the opportunity I would have loved to get involved in blogging when I was in school.

Unfortunately for me when I had the students try to log onto my blog site we all found that the site was blocked. My school board happens to have a policy of blocking everything and only unblocking certain sites. We can request to unblock sites however this is a process that can take up to a month. I defiantly think the wait is worth it. The last couple of year I’ve been trying to get a website up to house all the daily things in my classroom I think my parents may be interesting in seeing. I think a daily blog might be an excellent alternative. It’s easy to set up and all the students in my class can update it from their homes.

I think that blogs are a gateway to a whole lot of information. I think that we need to be careful as to teach students to be critical of a lot of this information. I think the biggest problem with wiki’s and blog is the fact that it holds more opinion then fact. Credibility must be taught so that students can sort though the opinion and identify the fact.

Backup Education

            After reading Marc Prensky’s article “Backup Education,” I am most defiantly left with mixed feelings. On the one hand I think I have to agree that education should reflect the changing times and maybe head in the direction of a technology centered future. However, I also feel that sometimes technology can be use a crutch and depended on more then it is needed.

In my short career I have tried to harness all the technology I can to provide my classroom with spontaneity, enthusiasm and an equal playing ground for all the learning diversities that may be present. Whenever is being studied in that classroom or any question a student may have or present can be been accessed through the Internet.  Why just explain and lecture when you can show.  It has also been my finding that students perform to their best ability when they are intrinsically motivated.  When students are excited about a lesson, assignment or project, the sky is the limit. Technology can provide that excitement through, creating wiki’s, blogs, podcasts, or video’s.  I also believe that technology can be as important as a pair of glasses or hearing aide for some students with special needs.  By students utilizing programs like Kurzwell or Dragon they able to read and write at pair even when their abilities may be well below grade level.

            Each year I hear the same arguments from the students in my class.  “Why can’t we use our calculator for the first unit?”  Well I think that mental math is an important. I feel that students in my grade 8 class should know there times tables to at least 12 and be able to recite these when asked to.  I think that it’s faster to think of it off the top of your head then compute it into a calculator when the times table has been committed to memory.  Science shows us that the human brain builds new axons and dendrites when it has been stimulated.   Science also shows us that some technologies actually put the brain to sleep.  I think that in the classroom we need to stimulate the brain as much as possible and challenge our students with and without technology.

            It is my belief that we should educate students to harness technology but to learn to use it when it is best.  Will technology fail us?  Maybe sometimes but there will always be a back up. 

Me

         My name is Lucas Boluk and I am currently in my forth year of teaching.  I started my teaching career in 2006 by supplying in the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board. I was fortunate enough not to have supplied for long before obtaining an LTO teaching high school Hospitality and Tourism. When that was finished I supplied for a two-week period before I was graced with another LTO teaching 5/6. I was able to finish the year with this fantastic but challenging placement. The next year, although still an LTO teacher, I was fortunate to have a 6/7 for the entire year.  Last year, still an LTO, I had a grade 8 class of 36 for the entire year. This year, yet again an LTO, I have a 7/8 class at the same school.  

        

         I completed my undergraduate studies at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Majoring in History.  I attended teachers college at D’Youville in Buffalo, New York. 

          

         My favorite thing about teaching is the rewards of working with children.  Motivating and inspiring students can be a frustrating and tiresome endeavor but when it happens it makes it all worthwhile.

        

         I am taking this course in order to broaden the door to possible teaching opportunities.  As this is my forth year as an LTO teacher I am hoping that the more qualifications I have the more likely I’ll be to obtain a full time job. 

        

I have also always been a keen advocate of technology.  My father was a computer consultant in our school board and so I’ve always had computers and other technology around as I grew up.  I had the privilege of having a smart board in my classroom for he last 3 years of teaching and have become fluent in it’s day to day operations.  I believe technology creates opportunity, provides a gateway from the classroom to the world and is as important as literacy and numeracy for the future.

        

In my spare time I enjoy a multitude of athletics including rugby, skiing, wakeboarding, and working out.  I’m a lover of the outdoors and worldly adventures.