Why Do You Blog? A Student's Perspective

The following is a guest post by New Milford High School sophomore Sarah Almeda. After learning about her Chemistry blog titled Avogadro Salad I asked her to share some insight on the importance of blogging from a student's perspective. I was so blown away by what she wrote below that I went against my long standing personal policy of not following my students on Twitter. Please take a minute to read Sarah's post below, share a comment with her, and check her out on Twitter. This is one amazing student!

...Um, because Ms. Smith made me?  

Lol, jk. (That’s, “laughing out loud, just kidding” in teenspeak, that fictional language adults seem scared of...?)

I’m Sarah Almeda, a sophomore at New Milford High School. Somehow, I can have twitter conversations with my teachers and my principal. Somehow, they led to Mr. Sheninger giving me the opportunity to write a guest post on the importance of student blogging. I’m a blogger at heart, as I have been since 4th grade. That’s probably why I was actually excited when my chemistry teacher, Ms. Smith, opened the year by telling us that part of our assessment in the course  would be the regular maintenance of a blog.  This included posts twice a week that connect chemistry to our world.

Image credit: http://gregmillerprincipal.com/tag/blogging/

Now, I’ve posted almost daily to a personal blog for years and I’m grateful for the decision. I’m told I’m a very good writer. I’m not trying to boast; my writing visibly improved when I started blogging and I can tell you why.  Teens turn to the internet for validation, myself included. Why? When I post to my blog, I don’t write to impress a teacher. My audience is the World Wide Web, which is literally worldwide. I attract viewers from all around the globe. When a post gets attention, some views, likes, comments, or even subscriptions, I look at the post and think, Wow; I had some valid ideas that a complete stranger could relate with. What did they like? How do I turn these visitors into regular readers? When a post gets no attention, I then think, What would be more interesting? What will lead viewers to my blog? How do I get a response? 

Rather than having a teacher hammer the importance of good writing into my head, I get to feel it in a very real world situation with immediate feedback. I don’t just learn about writing, either. Yesterday, my friends were genuinely interested to hear me talk about how one day our phones may literally be coated with nanodiamonds. I learned that from an article I blogged about. Now I’m always learning a great deal about topics that I decide are interesting to blog about, like the chemistry behind a bad hair day. Not to mention that my chemistry blog is a blessing for someone whose homework always seems to disappear rather inopportunely. I can put an assignment on my blog in the “Homework" category, protect it from copycat classmates, and email the password to Ms. Smith so she can view it whenever she needs to.  Not convinced yet? I learned HTML coding when finding ways to better format blog posts, and it’s become a very useful skill. 

A personal blog’s also the perfect place to vent my feelings. After articulating my emotions to an Internet audience, I realize I’m better understanding myself.  In an Internet world where that wretched teenspeak is the preferred language on nearly all social media platforms (bc my insta captions/ tumblr posts r like so articulate lol jk idec) blogging is a practice that expands learning way beyond the walls of the classroom. It encourages self-improvement and dedication in a way that I don’t believe can be taught as well as it can be experienced. And it's addictively fun!

So, pull a Ms. Smith move! Teach kids to blog! Start one yourself! Trust me, you’ll find the time, you’ll find the passion, you’ll find out a lot about the world, and you might even find out more about yourself.  And watch out for me! You can find my chemistry blog by clicking HERE, and I’m even building my own website with the awesome tools I learned in business class at NMHS.

Cheers!

-Sarah “Shmarah” Almeda

Please take a moment and leave a comment for Sarah. Not only is she a talented blogger, but an artist as well (see her self portrait below). She, like many of her NMHS classmates, fully take advantage of everything that NMHS has to offer to advance their learning and follow their passions.

Image credit: Sarah Almeda

BYOD and the Paperless Classroom

At New Milford High School teachers are adapting their professional practice as we continue to evolve into a Bring Your Own Device school where student-owned technology integrated effectively.  NMHS teachers are also beginning to to integrate social media tools that are blocked and banned in the majority of schools across the country.  Ms. Smith’s science class has gone paperless. Students complete assignments whether it’s homework, class work, projects and tests all online using various websites, such as, Edmodo, Tumblr and Instagram on their BYOD devices. They also use their smart phones, iPads, iPods and digital cameras to take notes or to capture information. All pictures, notes and assignments are posted on the websites, e-mailed or placed on their private homework blogs. This has led to more student engagement, accountability and participation in the classroom, peer reviews and instant feedback to the students on how they are progressing. 

Image credit: http://www.packwomantech.com/byod-pros-and-cons.html

In Chemistry, Marine Biology and Bioethics Studies, every week each student makes two reflective and analytical posts on their blogs (Tumblr, Wordpress, Blogger, Pinterest or Weebly) exploring what has been happening globally or locally, either on TV or the Internet, and then making connections to what they have been learning in class. They are taking charge of what they want to learn about and are interested in science. Some examples of their blogs can be found at the following links: 

• http://chemistrychronicles.tumblr.com/ 
• http://smatthewsmarinebio.tumblr.com/
• http://stephaniehparkchemistry.tumblr.com/
• http://submarinologists.tumblr.com/ 
• http://tflstar89.wordpress.com/ 
• http://jasminnj.tumblr.com/ 
• http://chemistryinreality.tumblr.com/ 
• http://jessiewhittaker.blogspot.com/?zx=80a0680a9077d851 
• http://chemistry2013-14.tumblr.com/  
• http://aashlinthomas.blogspot.com/  

Students also used Instagram as a communication tool (like texting) as a way to give feedback, make comments and to reflect on what they have been learning. This works extremely well in Bioethical Studies, where some students may be reluctant and shy to express their opinions. One topic had 143 comments in the forty-eight minute period. Using Instagram allowed everyone to have a voice and be heard. They have also used Instagram/Webstagram to send short video when Ms. Smith has been absent to show they have been engaged, completing their work, and staying on task. Make sure you follow Ms. Smith on Twitter.

What tools and techniques are you using to go paperless in your classroom and/or school?

The InFocus IN3916 projector

Earlier this year NMHS had the opportunity to take the new InFocus IN3916 projector for a test drive.  Vikki Smith, a science teacher, utilized the device in her chemistry and integrated science courses.  The following is her review of the projector.

The InFocus IN3916 projector is an interactive projector that allows a teacher to change her regular whiteboard into an interactive whiteboard. The projector can be connected to a laptop computer or directly to a TV/DVD player. Its interactive feature is a wireless LiteBoard wand which allows teachers and students to interact with the whiteboard from the middle of the classroom. One of the cool features of the wireless LiteBoard wand is the ability to write, draw, and highlight on PowerPoint presentations to emphasize any relevant points a teacher or student would like to make. Another feature of the wireless wand is that it acts like a mouse control or a remote presenter pointer when a laptop computer is connected to the projector. This allows a teacher to move about the classroom and interact with the students without the teacher having to be next to the computer or whiteboard. Students can watch movies, presentations, or play interactive educational competitive games from anywhere in the classroom.

The InFocus IN3916 projector with the wireless wand was used in my class to allow students to interact with each other. Topics in Chemistry and Integrated Science were studied using online interactive websites on a regular whiteboard. Using the InFocus wireless LiteBoard wand is similar to using the wand control on the Sony Video Wii console. Students who were familiar with this kind of video control usually found it easier to control the wireless wand of the InFocus IN3916 projector. Any time the wand feature was involved in an activity, many students volunteered to participate.

Students were able to play interactive games that were created using various websites, such as http://resources.oswego.org/games/. This website enables a teacher to design and create her own interactive games, allowing students to review a subject's vocabulary, review quizzes, presentations, and play educational versions of games such as "Who wants to a millionaire" and "Jeopardy" using templates from http://kevinculpepper.edublogs.org/gametemplates/. This helps students review for a test, quiz, reinforce information, or check for understanding. It definitely helps to bring out the competitive nature in the students.

Although, there are some great features of the InFocus IN3916 projector, it still takes some time to get familiar with and to learn how to use the features of this projector. As with any wireless control, there are limitations, such as the maximum distance you can be away from the projector and the control of the wand, especially for those of us who are not video savvy or experts. However, although it is a learning curve, it is definitely worth using this projector to see the students excited about learning and interacting with topics, especially in science. 

Some websites used and explored with this projector are as follows:

http://resources.oswego.org/games/

http://www.jason.org/public/whatis/games.aspx

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-science.htm

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/RndGenerator/rndnogen.html (Random number generator - great for creating groups)

http://kevinculpepper.edublogs.org/gametemplates/      (Some game templates)

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/wattsthat_junior/        (Used to learn about forms of Energy in Integrated Science)

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/sci-units/energy.htm#Interactive_ (Will be using the link for building interactive Electric circuits)

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/st8/thermal_loop/   (Students played this game to obtained random vocabulary words to define for homework)

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/games.shtml

http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=SCE304 (Students learned about Heat Transfer )

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/edvideo/index.html    (Watched various videos and interactive labs)