Friday, October 30, 2015

Using Schoology To Personalize Instruction For 5th Grade Bloggers!


I am always striving to find ways for students to share their writing in authentic ways, and blogging seems to provide that opportunity.  For the last several years I have helped students create their own reading blogs. This is a painstaking process as I teach each step and wait for all students to accomplish each step through the creation stage. More recently I started trying to find ways to give students more control over the "how" of their learning. Giving students control gives them the opportunity to work at their own pace, hear instructions more than once and seek their own understanding. Though I have "flipped" the tech instruction for the Oak Hills staff, I hadn't ever tried it for students. This week, I created screencasts for the steps required for blog creation for my students. I used the learning management system that our district has adopted called Schoology (pronounced Skool'uhjee) to deliver the instruction for students.  

In a series of three videos, I delivered instruction for my students with great success! By delivering the instruction via video, I was free to walk around and help students who were struggling. It was eerily quiet in the room with students focusing so intently on their lessons, but engagement was 100%.  You really can't beat that! I think they enjoyed the level of independence this teaching method provided them! I can't wait to share their blogs very soon!