Bloggers who make a difference
Harley is one of my favorite bloggers. He puts a lot of joy in classrooms and really gets kids actively engaged in learning. Recently he posted about the process of making maple syrup for a group of fifth graders in Georgia. He had read some of the analogies that the fifth graders were creating and he incorporated that into his post. What great reinforcement for these kids! They got to think and apply their learning in such a fun way and many of them tossed analogies back to Harley. Harley’s first post brought 53 comments from the students and his second post now has 41 comments! I’m betting we will see even more comments. Plus many of the students went on to create their own posts as they excitely shared all that they were learning. Wow! Talk about connections!
I love blogging with kids! I love the connections, the joy, and the thinking that abounds. Just think of all the neuroscience that is getting applied here:
Making it relevant….
Harley made the lesson personally interesting and motivating to the kids.
Giving them a break….
Blogging like this gives kids a break from the normal routine and it was a pleasurable activity that reduced stress and let them experience novelty.
Creating positive associations……
Kids developed associations by practicing creating analogies with a positively reinforcing strategy. (See Fifth Grade Webwriters Are #1)
And the best one, allowing independent discovery learning! These kids will no doubt remember and understand this experience becaue they had a part in figuring it out for themselves. There were choices of places to go to learn and they got to use their imaginations in the process.
Harley is not only a great blogger but has the makings of a neuroscientist too! Thanks Harley for putting all that joy into learning.
I also owe a tremendous thank you to Lani whom I had the good fortune to meet through a comment on one of my classroom blogs back in 2005. We have collaborated and learned much since that time and she personally has put a lot of joy into my learning and reflecting. Lani truly makes a difference in the lives of many….
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Thanks for poining me in the direction of Harley. Some interesting stuff that I will look to use in my classroom and pass onto others across the school.
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 pm
This is a great post. Blogging really makes a difference. Harley’s post is awesome too. Thank you for giving his link.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I really like the idea of collaborating with the students when posting. Placing their work online really gives them a pride and sense of ackomplishment. As a beginning teacher, I can see that the use of blogging is positively impacting education. I looked at Harley’s blog and I really enjoyed it~
October 5th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I am totally new to this blogging. Being a fourth grade teacher, I am unsure of how to incorporate it into my classroom and share it with my students. I loved Harley’s Making maple Syrup blog. I am in New England and may share this with students as we talked about this subject just the other day. Thanks
March 19th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
[…] I have done numerous projects where mainly elementary students blogged about what they learned in class and beyond. The students developed a multitude of relationships with numerous audience members. I don’t think any topped their interest and love more than the one with Harley. Harley’s blog was created by Lani who was a constant commenter on all the student blogs. She and Harley made the learning full of joy and relevant learning. One day brought 53 comments on a post from Harley about making syrup. The students adored him. The looks on their faces was a testimony to this love as they eagerly read each and every word from Harley. See my post about “Bloggers who make a difference”. […]