Now that I got past the design issues, I reflected on blogging itself. I find that the most challenging part of blogging is keeping up with it. I have set up several in the past and the students are all gung ho at first but then they move on to different things and the responses trickle down. I guess in the elementary school world this is more realistic than say an ongoing commercial blog. I have noticed though that often it happens there also. People get busy and don't always have time to keep updating the posts. Short term - such as this class, they can be very useful.
Thing 22: Emerging Tech and Scanning the Horizon
I have a unit that I do with classes on inventions and technology. I start with reading a book called 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids by Amy Zuckerman. The book I have was written in 2006 and the first thing I discuss is the timeline of when the book was published, what the current year is and finally how long it is between those dates and the year 2030 (the reason for the title of the book.) We discuss the fact that this was the authors projection of what life would be like 24 years in the future and after reading the book, discussing what inventions, technology is already in place or in planning in the present. In future lessons we take a look at modern technology such as 3D printing, drones, self-driving cars etc. The kids love it and it shows them so many possibilities. I then have them research an invention or technology and finally come up with their own idea of an invention. When I chose this cool tool, I was looking for other topics to include...
Good point, blogs are really great for short term projects like this. And as you said, for longer term projects, it depends on the person.
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