Classroom Blogging and Multiple Literacies

This article was well-organized in that it listed the NETS standards along with things that real CT teachers are doing to meet them. This is great for those of us who are unsure how to incorporate technology effectively into our teaching, or may think we are but are still somehow not meeting standards.

I love the example given under "Writing Across the Curriculum and Multimedia" of the students doing "news casts" for their classmates about topics they are learning in class. I could easily do this in my own classroom, whether in English about a cultural or research topic, or in the target language using basic phrasing on topics we are studying such as weather, food, etc.

What really excited me was the use of Skype mentioned in the article. Students took part in a Skype Literature Circle to discuss and get excited about reading. The website gives a quick video showing the end of a Skype call. It's easy to see how excited the kids are to talk to someone about their reading, and it's not hard to imagine how this might encourage a struggling reader or a student who does not like to read might get pulled in through the dialogue via Skype. Personally I have been in search of a way to use Skype with my students. I REALLY hope I can connect with a French-speaking classroom somewhere someday! I know my students would love it.