Educational Blogging

To me, educational blogging takes a few different forms. For this class, educational blogging has provided me with an opportunity to dive deeper into some of the challenges that children, families, and teachers face in the field. However, it can also be an opportunity for teachers to share with families what their children are learning and doing at school. Personally, I am planning on teaching young children, so blogging is not particularly an activity that they can understand or interact with just yet, but teaching students about blogging in middle or high school has several benefits. For example, blogging for students can "promote self expression, develop analytical thinking, exercise students' creativity, improve students' writing skills, and encourages the sharing of resources among students and teachers" (NSU Florida Learning and Educational Center, 2019). For my purposes, my hope is that blogging looks more like sharing with parents and families what children are learning and doing weekly. 

Here is an image of someone blogging. 

Throughout this experience of learning to blog, I have had the opportunity to access and read peers' blogs to learn more about educational topics. This is one of the great things about educational blogging is that you have easy access to others' ideas and can have discussions. The first thing that I learned about through a Cobi Genna's blog is about the Tennessee House Bill 2670. I was not familiar with this prior, but from her blog post I was able to understand more of what this bill is. Essentially, I was able to gather that TNHB2670 is requiring schools to gather information on employees and students regarding whether they feel comfortable or not discussing controversial topics in school. This bill has received heat especially in recent months concerning the teaching of Critical Race Theory. She explains both viewpoints on this matter such as - some employees or children may feel guilty about the innate privilege they were born into that they have no control over, whereas on the other hand other populations really advocate for the teaching of Critical Race Theory because of the underrepresentation they feel daily. 

The second blog post I read was Rachel Lebo's concerning school safety. Personally, school safety is something that I also feel passionate about because children should be able to come to school every day and not have to worry that anything traumatizing or horrible will happen during the school day. Something that I learned from her blog post was about the Tennessee School Safety Specialist Program. I had never heard of this prior, but what this program does is provide training on state and national best practices, as well as resources for school safety to teachers and faculty. This was really interesting to me and I am glad that a program like this exists because sadly, all too often school shootings occur. It can happen anywhere, and sadly, it is very necessary for teachers and faculty to be trained, and to know the protocol for if something horrific were to ever happen.

Lastly, the third blog post that I read was from Maya Wielgosz. She discussed IDEA and Special Education in one of her blog posts. IDEA stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This act ensures that the people that qualify receive the appropriate services for them to be able to complete their education. One thing that this act does that Maya discusses is that it prohibits discrimination to children with disabilities and that they, too, receive quality education. This is something that is important for me to know, as there will be children with differing needs and will need accommodations/aids throughout my career. 

All in all, I would consider my experience with blogging this semester positive. I have had the chance to learn more about issues that are relevant to the field of education, as well as learn about other issues that are important to my classmates. I think that for my purposes, teaching elementary, using a blog to share with families about what children are learning is going to make the most sense. However, I totally see the benefits of blogging across different age groups and different classrooms. I look forward to being able to use this resource as a way to connect with families in my future! 

How Technology Can Enhance Education

Today as a society, we rely on technology more than ever. Especially with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, technology was essential to keeping children learning even though they could not attend school in person. Since then, nearly two years later, new resources and new ways of using technology to our advantage in the field of education have come forward. There are many ways that technology is changing the field of education. One way is that it is engaging and interactive. Children can engage in research, for example, to learn about concepts brought up in class. There are also engaging and fun games that get students working on their math skills and reading. Another thing that technology has brought to the table in education recently is the aspect of exposing children to the real world. Anything can be researched with just a quick search into Google, and students can learn how to do anything with a quick search on YouTube. Additionally, technology can provide students with simulations that may not be easily done in the classroom. This particularly pertains to science, with experiments, for example. Technology also adds a lot of flexibility to the classroom. As seen in the COVID-19 pandemic, children are able to learn through online means such as Zoom. Additionally, if a school runs out of snow days, for example, Zoom is a great alternative. Lastly, if a substitute must fill in for a teacher, there are lots of online measures that can be taken to make sure students are still learning through online modules, videos, interactive games or simulations, etc. 

Personally, I believe that technology is a great tool if used correctly. I think it is important to be aware of screen time because some parents feel very strongly about children only being allowed so much screen time. I do not think that using technology is better than strong, in-person instruction, however, it is a great tool to keep in your back pocket for certain situations. Technology can be an excellent tool for students to review what they already know, using online games such as Kahoot, or using Quizlet. I do think that it is important to have a good balance and only use technology when it would be better than trying to demonstrate something yourself or would be a better method of instruction. All in all, some online resources are excellent for enhancing a child's education, however, it is important to be aware of keeping a good balance between strong instruction from the teacher and allowing students to learn, discover, and explore class content through virtual means. 

Cyberbullying in the Modern Age of Technology

In today's modern age of technology, cyberbullying has become increasingly more prevalent in the lives of the children we serve as teachers. Simply, cyberbullying can be defined as bullying that occurs in a digital space whether that be through messaging apps, social media platforms, chat rooms, video calls, etc. Often, cyberbullying involves posting mean/hateful content on these various digital spaces.  Cyberbullying is important because ultimately, nothing is ever truly erased from the Internet, and can affect the outcomes of a student's future. Additionally, because bullying is such an important and prominent issue in schools, teachers are required by law in most states to report it. This includes forms of online bullying. As teachers, it is important to be on the lookout for warning signs of online bullying. Luckily, there are some ways to watch out for it. A few tips include obvious increases or decreases in the use of technology, the child may prefer to be alone and not engage in social interactions, or the child seems to be generally depressed, as well as other warning signs. If a teacher senses that a child is being bullied online, it is imperative that the teacher speaks with not only the child but also the parents privately. It is also extremely important that teachers are educated on digital awareness, so they can have the ability to intervene when necessary. Also, discussing this with students and increasing their awareness of cyberbullying is an excellent prevention tactic. 

Luckily, I have never been the victim of an online bully. However, from my schooling experience, I do have memories of some of my classmates that were. I believe that it is incredibly important that teachers have a good sense of digital awareness so that they can understand and intervene when necessary in cyberbullying cases. I think it is important to be aware of the social standings of the children in the classroom so that it can be easier to pick out situations like these. Being an advocate for children who are experiencing this is important because not only does it affect things such as their self-esteem, confidence, social-emotional development, but it can also affect their academic performance. Online bullying is something that is not worth risking a future over, so intervening and settling the issue before it gets to that point is important and something I plan to be cognizant of as I become a teacher. 

Parental Involvement in Their Child's Education

There are two ways that parents can participate in their student's education: through parental involvement and parental engagement. Simply, parental engagement can be defined as parents and teachers collaborating in order to meet the student or child's academic standards for learning. Parental engagement looks like helping their child at home with assignments. Parental involvement in a child's education is huge and has a variety of forms it can take. For example, parental involvement could look like volunteering in their child's classroom. Today, parents need to be engaging in their child's education more than ever. With some schools across the country implementing either full or partially remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is important for parents to be supportive of their child's learning when a teacher may not be as easily available. It has been proven that children whose parents take an active role in their academics perform well academically, are more likely to graduate, have good social skills, and are less likely to have behavioral problems.  

A father helps his son with his reading skills. 

I think that parental involvement, as well as parental engagement, are both necessary factors in the success of a child in their education. From my own experience in school, it was so memorable when either of my parents would come to do a read-aloud for my classmates. Additionally, I have vivid memories of both of my parents helping me with homework assignments, and even when I was little and learning to read for the very first time. Had I not had the support from my parents at home, I do not think I would have progressed through the mastery of standards at the pace that was expected. Additionally, while teachers should always be available and willing to help their students with anything that they may need help with, sometimes it is hard for teachers to individually address each and everything that every individual student is struggling with in the classroom. So, if at-home parents can help them with some of those foundational skills, it will help their child ultimately in the long run. All in all, parental involvement and parental engagement are important for a child's learning success. It can look like a lot of different things and may be different for each family, but it is important for each family to find what works for them.