I was chatting with my husband about this topic last night. I was trying to think of a valuable way I could use blogs in my classes. I teach so many different subjects that I was trying to work my way down to just one. I chose Business Law. I just did a modified fish bowl in my class last week. In this strategy you choose a topic (we chose a case here in WA State where a man was sentenced to the death penalty). I had the students break into groups of 4-5 and each group was asked to find an information source on-line. After three groups came up with articles from a newspaper or similar source I asked the other groups to find other types of sources. Some examples of what they found were a blog and a transcript of a police statement from the defendant. Copies of the sources are given to each group. I had the students highlight information that supported their stance on the death penalty. The students divide up and go back and forth using the sources as evidence to support their positions. I modeled some sample statements for them beforehand.
I believe I could easily transform this into a blog assignment to be completed outside of class. Each week I would assign the topic and one group would choose a court case related to the topic to fishbowl on the blog. The group would post links to the sources they chose and write the initial post. Each student would then post their response and I believe the conversation would explode from there. I have such a great vision of what this could become. I am guessing most of the topics would be controversial and that the students would post way more than the required amount. This last week was my first opportunity to do this exercise in class and it was a huge success with most students, yet I still have those few who for whatever reason do not participate at the level I would like them to. I believe posting would give these students a voice yet in a protected environment.
I think a blog would enhance the lesson because the students would be doing it outside of class time. It was a fantastic lesson but very time consuming to do in class. It would also let others chime in on the court cases so the students would get a greater perspective of opinions. I would ask a few lawyers in our community to post comments so the students could see the real world outcome and perspective from a professional. I teach grades 9-12, this particular class is Business Law.
Does this sound like a lesson anyone else would implement in their classroom? Does it seem realistic to expect the students to do this on their own time? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated!
This is awesome. I teach 5th grade and would to do something on a 5th grade level. Although a great idea, it all depends on your school. I am in a low income area. I have maybe 6 students with internet at home. Our computer lab is always shut down or signed out. I would not be able to get into it more than maybe twice a week.
ReplyDeleteI think this assignment would be a hit for you. Even the students you say are not participating at the level you want will come around. If you can get some lawyers to participate as well, this would be an outstanding tool. Only thing I could see is if they do not have internet at home and can not make it to the library. Even though that sounds highly unlikely, it may be the case for someone.