RebelCadet Student Blogs--Quarter Project

The culminating assignment for the RebelCadets is to create a blog of their own. Students are to email me once their blog is up and functioning. I will place links to their projects on the RebelCadet blog.

Assignment: to "build a blog" for use in an elementary school classroom. Worth 100 points.
25 points

• Use www.blogger.com You already have an account...now click on "Create a blog."
• Choose a blog title and a blogspot address.
• Choose a template.
• Write the description, goal, mission, object of your blog...find this under "Settings" on the Dashboard.
• Set your archive to none...find this under "Archiving."
• Save your settings.
  

40 points

• Compose 5 active posts, 1 draft post (Posting). Posts should relate to the description/topic of your blog.
• Use illustrations (clip art, photos, etc.) for each post
• Work with varying text size, style, color
• Incorporate 2 links to other sites relevant to your blog--if your blog is about sea life, add links sending your reader to other locations to learn more
  

30 points

• View the blogs of 3 other cadets and post comments on each. These posts will be visible when I grade the blogs.

5 points

• Write a one paragraph evaluation of the blogging experience in your email to me when you have completed the project. Include comments about your weekly assignments and your blog itself.

URL: www.rebelcadets.blogspot.com

Implementation and Evaluation--Element 3

I implemented the blog with my two classes of cadet teachers, a total of 15 students, on March 15, 2006. The RebelCadets blog replaced the journal writing required by the students during the previous three quarters of the school year. Needless to say, the students were excited by the opportunity to try something new. It is always a challenge to keep seniors interested as their high school careers wind to an end. For the most part, this delivery mechanism has worked very well (some students, no matter what the assignment, will choose not to do the work). The successes are multiple: less student complaining about writing (somehow the blog writing doesn't seem as mundane as writing on loose-leaf); two classes functioning as one (the morning group has only five students so this really made a difference in the level of activity); the interaction with a former student who is teaching in a New York school as part of The New York City Teaching Fellows.

I believe this process has been successful. I am looking forward to seeing how the students choose to develop their final projects using blogger.com. During the third quarter, the students produced a classroom newsletter using Microsoft Publisher. I showed several elementary school blogs to give them an idea how they might utilize a blog in the classroom. Based on the success of this endeavor, I plan to use this approach again next year with a new group of students. I also plan to organize a blog for the cooperating teachers as a method of providing schedule changes, student absences, and other pertinent housekeeping details.

URL http://rebelcadets.blogspot.com/

Evidence-based Project Description--Element 2

Project blog URL: http://www.rebelcadets.blogspot.com/

Course description for the RHS Cadet Teaching program:

"This class is an introduction to basic education issues and will provide opportunities to apply what is learned to different school seettings. Students will be given a detailed course of study about education as a career. Students will engage in teaching experiences at the elementary school level." In addition, this course exposes students to the variety of activities they will encounter as they head to college.

Standards, learning outcomes of the RHS Cadet Teaching program:

• Observe and learn best teaching practices and how teachers teach
• Develop expertise in journal writing
• Plan, research and write one project each quarter on issues involving the elementary classrom and teaching
• Evaluate current issues in education
• Improve communication skills

These standards and learning outcomes come from the RHS prescribed course outline. I have only listed those pertinent to this course project.

Unit Overview:

Please note: the RebelCadets blog has facilitated a variety of assignments for the fourth quarter of the school year, including book discussion, current issues in education, journal writing (opinions and discourse), and blogging with a practicing educator. Each post, after the introductory information, provides information and an assignment for the student to complete. The blog provides the delivery mechanism for the assignments. Additionally, the RebelCadets blog allows two classes of cadet teachers to interact and to share experiences.

Instructional Approach:

Similar assignments have been used to direct student readings and writings. In the past, students have submitted their writings in a journal format and the teacher was the only person reading their works. By using the blog format, students are able to submit their work in a user-friendly mode and to share their thoughts with other students. Dialog begins. The course outline emphasizes improving communication skills. I believe using the blog has promoted student interaction. Next year I will have both a student blog and a blog for the cooperating teachers as an aid to communication.

Learning experience:

Included in the blog are a variety of assignments for the students to complete: discussion about the book the classes read--22 third graders and one class bunny; online journal articles on multiple intelligences and alternative teacher certification programs; and an opportunity to converse with a young teacher who chose a different path to arrive at teaching.

A variety of assessments are used for the student work, including

• completion (fulfills assignment) and "on time"
• grasp of the topic/engagement with the topic
• use of evidence to support opinion
• interaction with others
• rubric for final project: student blog creation

RebelCadets Blog--Element One

The blog portion of the final assignment for this course may be found at:
URL: http://www.rebelcadets.blogspot.com/

The basic purpose of this blog:
Roncalli High School Cadet teachers blog for book discussion, journal responses, 4th quarter assignments and projects.