Coach T’s Blog

In the past 6 weeks, I’ve finally put BlueTube shows online. I still don’t have any comments from the general public and that’s disappointing, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a columnist at the Dallas Morning News. He’s lately gotten into the blogging game and expressed frustration about lack of comments. He certainly exists in a bigger universe than I. Kinda like the tree falling in the woods (or is that the bear?).

Anyway, I still like using the blog for public literary criticism. While it hasn’t made all students think about all things at all times, it’s better than previous attempts. I think they’re learning from it (how to dish out criticism and how to take it). The collaborative end of it has been minimal, at least student-to-student. I have used it for some teacher/student evaluation/feedback, but students apparently find it too time-consuming and non-immediate. They still prefer texting. I keep telling them that one day they’ll look back on the “old days” of texting and think how ancient it was.

So, have I improved my methods of class communications in the past year? Overall, I think, yes. How will I know? I hope the students will tell me. I plan to use the final days of class for review of our year and suggestions on improving the system.   To that end, I’ll use the blogsite for at least a portion of the evaluation.  I want to make some of the evaluation anonymous and blogging doesn’t facilitate that (without use of email aliases).  The challenge next year will be communicating my expectations at the beginning of the year and designing a system from day one that students will be able to access.

After three weeks of using a class blog, my immediate response is: “Why did I wait so long to start?” It is an invaluable tool for constructive criticism, but I don’t have to give up class time to use it. I’ve seen some growth in maturity, especially as it relates to online posting, that I couldn’t possible teach through lecture. So much so, that I’ve advanced my student users from the role of “author” to “editor”. As authors they aren’t allowed to edit their comments, but as editors they can edit (and delete) each others’ posts or comments. We’ll see how that works out.
Looking back at my previous two posts, I have these observations:
1. We still don’t have our shows online (a major disappointment for me); but if we ever do I see the blogs as a major player in promoting interactivity between my students and their audience. That will be interesting to see.
2. I still need more online tools (like Google.docs, wikis, forums, etc., to help with show management and the creative process. Maybe next year.
3. WordPress is not the best choice for classroom blogging. It’s not meant for multiple users, and most teachers would pull their hair out (and look like me) if they tried to use it for such purpose. I need to search for multiple-user blog software (hopefully open source, too) which better fits.

I finally got around to building the BlueTube site, and I’m using a blog to get the ball rolling. The site address: http://blogs/parisisd.net/bluetube . I used it as a major component of my class semester exam and I’m quite pleased with the results so far. Students are already using it as a communications tool to discuss future show ideas. I will continue to use the site as an an evaluative forum for future shows. Hopefully, students will find other uses, too, that I haven’t considered. I would like to add a Moodle site to the equation and maybe Google.docs as well.

What did you do in class today?
No, I’m not writing about casual conversation a parent might have with their child while waiting in the fast food drive through. I hear it all the time in my classroom as students who share a common teacher hastily finish a homework assignment in a few free moments before the bell. Students talk to each other about their classes, their teachers, their assignments, probably more than we teachers imagine. I’d like to eavesdrop on a portion of that conversation beyond the casual comments, the text messages, the Facebook random postings. The trick, as always, is how to generate a learning vehicle where students feel ownership, yet which the teacher simultaneously feels addresses the curriculum.

I’d like to create a class website for Blue Tube, the weekly video magazine I sponsor at Paris High. I’d like for this site to serve (in ranked order) as a place:
1. Students in my classes can plan and develop features. I’d like for it to be a place they can brainstorm, set calendar dates, advertise for help, and generally do all the things they usually do in the video production process.
2. I, as their sponsor, can monitor progress, provide feedback, and get a more immediate handle on the creative process instead of waiting on face-to-face interaction.
3. Students not in my classes can contribute to the show either through feedback or physical contribution to the show.
4. Casual observers can provide feedback and find out what we’re doing, especially, when we go online and maybe generate a following beyond the PHS community.

I’m not sure what web-based vehicle I want to use: blogs, forums, wikis, igoogle, or some mixture of emerging technologies. I also want to involve students in the process of creating this tool. The enemy, as always, will be time.

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