Bear blogs in third grade classroom!
Somehow in all my blog wanderings, I have missed Julia Siporin’s blog “Relections on Classroom Use of Blogs” and “The Adventures of Jefferson the Bear”. Julia is a third grade teacher in Eugene, OR. Julia has been trying out blogging with her students and taken the time to post her reflections. Looks like she is getting others involved, too. Lots of good brainstorming going on for good use of blogs in the classroom. I like the way she uses Jefferson, their class teddy bear, as a springboard into discussions about classroom happenings and the curriculum she is teaching. Also, she is using Mo’time. I have used it briefly during one of my training sessions and it appears to be one of the better free ones. She talks about what works, what doesn’t and lets students post comments a lot in the classroom. Her blog is just full of good ideas about blogging. This would be a good one to show elementary teachers who are thinking about blogging. Julia also has created The Gilham Forum as an experimental blog. Her tagline reads This is an experimental blog for Gilham staff to play with blogging, sharing ideas and visions, get support, and whatever else we dream up!
It’s great to find good examples like this. I’m going to have to connect Julia with some of the third graders at J.H. House next year. Julia is doing a great job!
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