3 ideas from the readings

I liked the idea of instant messaging with a buddy that was referred to in the Barrone Article. It was shown an as alternative way of doing 'think pair share' with a reading activity. This activity enabled peer learning/sharing and collaboration. I also liked the idea of having a clock whereby students were linked to a different buddy at various times of the day . Often in a classroom students are paired up with the same students all the time, as partners are picked on the basis of friendships. This system allowed for greater collaboration acrosss the classroom.
One concern however would be an overeliance on technology such as IM for communicating within a classroom as it takes away from students developing their oral communication skills.

The idea of differentiated learning on the KidsBiz reading and writing program was interesting. The idea of having articles for students to read according to their level was a good way of dealing with this issue in the classroom. The whole way the classroom was set up also allowed for differntiation and for students who finished tasks early to go onto new activites and use their time productively rather than waiting around for the other students to finish and the teacher to assign new tasks.

The idea of a class blog where students could post their work is a great idea. On 'prac' our students had to create a Diary of a Convict. One of the biggest problems was getting students to edit their own work. I think if they new their work was available for all to see, they would be more motivated to 'polish' their work. It would also allow for easy review and feedback from their peers.

References
Pericles,K(2008). Happily blogging@Belmore south.SCAN,27(2),4-6
Barone,D., & Wright,T.E.(2008).Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. The Reading Teacher,62(4),292-302