I currently teach high school math (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry) in an alternative setting. This high school has students from 4-5 different surrounding area school districts.
I do not use textbooks in my classroom and so I rely on other resources to help with my lesson planning, primarily the Internet. If my students all had access to the Internet (I know they do not), I would love to try and incorporate more technology into my classroom. I could set up a blog to keep the students informed.
The blog would list the topic and objectives for the day, the assignment(s), and links to tutorials to help them learn the new lesson.
This blog would also be useful because I have students who cannot attend due to court, transportation issues, counseling sessions, and/or jail time. The blog would help them stay connected with the class and to hopefully, keep them up to speed for their return to school. They could use the blog to ask questions and leave comments regarding the assignments. Having the blog would also be a nice way of keeping the students (and myself) organized throughout the school year!
I do not teach in an alternative school, but I can relate to you somewhat, I think. My students come from really bad homes, a lot of them are on probation, they do not have computers, etc. I love being organized and think this would be a great way to keep students informed and provide extra study materials, but my students would not (or could not) take advantage of it. One of my biggest challenges is to get students doing work at home. How can we overcome this? Is this something you struggle with as well? I bet if they could figure out a way to do it on their phones, they might! Is there an App for that? ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, I struggle with students not doing work at home. I actually have changed my lesson plans and assignments around so the students can do work at school and inside my classroom. I feel this is beneficial for me as well as the students. If they are doing their work in the classroom, I can help them with difficult problems. I also enjoy seeing the students work together. There is something a peer can explain better than the teacher! Working inside the classroom has improved the students’ grades, because they are actually turning work in to me!
DeleteI too teach in an alternative setting (a juvenile detention center in Colorado). My students do not have access to a great deal of technology either. That being said, I really like the idea of using the blog to organize the curriculum for your students. Giving a transient population the chance to keep up or at least review what they missed is a great means of keeping our students consistent (something that they sorely lack).
ReplyDeleteI think helping to keep your students connected would be HIGHLY beneficial for them. Not just based on what they might have missed, but to give them some stability; to know they're part of something. Even if they don't have internet access at home, perhaps you could set up a class blog to let students express themselves and show what they can do - even if its outside the scope of your classroom. Have them show things they're good at and create an online how-to complete with pictures! Post creative writing, poetry, or artwork to remind them of the positive things they have going for them. These are just some suggestions, but I know how excited my kiddos get if they know their artwork is going up on the school website, even if they can't get online at home to see it.
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