#sschat is a network of educators, resources, and ideas that started on Twitter, but has expanded to Facebook, an annual NCSS unconference, and more. Join us to chat asynchronously on Twitter or Facebook, or chat with us live on Mondays from 7-8pm EST.
Welcome! Please introduce yourself, where you teach, what you teach AND please share any examples of class websites or blogs that you or your students have created. Please include the URL in your post and don't forget #sschat
Chris from Bloomington, IN. I teach world history for an online HS affiliated w/ Indiana Univ. I'm also one of the #sschat co-leaders. I have had Ss create websites as projects but not a class website or blog.
#sschat
I teach 6-8 grade in an international school in Panama City, Panama.
Here is the class website I used last year. The front the page has links to websites that my 6th graders made
https://t.co/MDu7OdwjLD
“Slouching Toward Autocracy” Important read: "the willingness of those in the legislative and judicial branches to put their institutional loyalties and their stewardship of the system as a whole above their partisan loyalties.” @EJDionne via @washingtonpost#hsgovchat#sschat
Slouching toward autocracy
We know what a military coup looks like. But #Trump's slow-motion dismantling of rules & norms--and declarations that "truth isn't truth"--are especially insidious because we can lose our democracy without even noticing
My column
https://t.co/AASgnD6fLR
With the school year already under way or very close to it, you might get distracted & forget about #sschat. However, we have a @RemindHQ group to help you remember. :)
A1) To help communicate the awesomeness and learning that is going on in the class. Give Ss an authentic audience for work & opportunity to get feedback from others, not just teacher (in the case of blogs). #sschat
A1) While I am not using a blog/official class website the daily use of google classroom has become an access point of communication and resources for my students and families. #sschat
All of our course materials are on Canvas, but when I was teaching face to face I used class webpages to update topic/assignments weekly. Was really helpful for Ss that were out. That was before things like LMSs & Google Classroom and such. ;) #sschat
Joining #sschat a little late tonight (Mary Lou from Mass, HS T), but A1: blogs are great for making connections between the course content and current events, provide opportunities for Ss expression, and share learning with an authentic audience
Hi #sschat Scott Petri HS History teacher lurking & hoping to connect with Ts using @Schoology 's blog and portfolio features. Would like to see some success stories before starting the learning curve.
A2) I have had Ss use Google Sites to create webpages for projects. They've also used Sutori, Padlet, Tiki Toki, and more. These could be shared with links and some can be set to accept comments. #sschat
A1: To provide resources for students, to showcase student work or achievements, to provide links to homework or important information about the class that ss can access at home
#sschat
I spend a lot of time working with teachers on their websites. An embedded presentation on a google site works great, because you don't need to republish your site as you add to the slides. https://t.co/9Fytiru7K3#sschat
I use wordpress for my class website and it is a great platform and relatively easy to use. Blogger is also very user friendly and allows you to make the blog private if so desired #sschat
There is more on it, but it hasn't changed much in 5 years. My focus has been elsewhere. Converting to the new Google sites, so this might be my chance to shake things up. #sschat
A1 I use my blog as a class resource where I analyze student work, showcase exemplars, and post my reflections. https://t.co/Rf8NiP4ASX Would like to see Ss posting their best work on ind blogs. #sschat
A2 Would like to learn more from Tweeps using @Schoology as our District has adopted it and the training materials are lacking. #sschat Would like to see how Ts are "grading" portfolios.
A3) They would need to think about what they learned as well as the best ways to present & share that with others to make it understandable and interesting. #sschat
A2 I've used both Blogger and Edublogs--latter is very student friendly w/great support. Most important is finding model sites that Ss can read and comment on before creating their own. The concept of a written blog is foreign to Ss raised on Snapchat/Instagram "vlogging" #sschat
If you want to learn more about student writing specifically in relation to social studies, definitely check out @scottmpetri 's blog. Lots of great stuff there! #sschat
A1 I use my blog as a class resource where I analyze student work, showcase exemplars, and post my reflections. https://t.co/Rf8NiP4ASX Would like to see Ss posting their best work on ind blogs. #sschat
A3) If students act as editors and publishers for their website evaluating content and contribute content to other classmates sites as authors, it creates a layer of professionalism for everyone. #bettertogether#sschat
A3 Getting students to comment on each others' sites is a step toward an authentic audience. How do Tweeps police mean-spirited comments and "grade" those that don't comment? #sschat
A3) Students created websites to showcase learning on the Amendments & Reform Movements. Benefits of this approach- student choice. Skill building- citing sources, categorizing content, curation and creation, project/time management. #sschat
I think portfolios provide a great opportunity for student self-assessment so the students could probably be quite helpful in setting expectations & evaluating themselves. #sschat
A2 Would like to learn more from Tweeps using @Schoology as our District has adopted it and the training materials are lacking. #sschat Would like to see how Ts are "grading" portfolios.
My Ss share part of their work for each lesson with each other (link to a Padlet wall) and have to leave some feedback/questions for at least two other students. Ss work in GDocs so comments are tied to them. #sschat
A3 Getting students to comment on each others' sites is a step toward an authentic audience. How do Tweeps police mean-spirited comments and "grade" those that don't comment? #sschat
A2 We use Google Sites because we are a Google School. We have really clamped down on student privacy issues, so I am not sure if they could use anything else. We have used Weebly for NHD, but it can take a bit to learn. #sschat
"Effective Civics courses fully engage students through an open climate, where they can examine and take part in social and political topics, simulations, service-learning projects, and interactions with civic role models"
#PolitiCraft#sschat#hsgovchat#civxnow#civicsisback
A4) It can be difficult to stay on top of all the Ss' sites & any comments in case there are any issues. However, I think it helps to have Ss involved in setting expectations for appropriate commenting, content, professionalism, etc. #sschat
A4 Challenges for me are the illusion of grading with 170 students and 2 diff subjs. Our Dist supe is talking about class sizes going to 50 kids per class. YIKES! #sschat#LAUSD How do I give meaningful feedback?
A4) Rather than using this is as a summative assessment for one topic, it would be nice to have the student website be a place for display/reflection of inquiry work. Digital portfolios add another layer of detail and time to managed tasks. Intriguing though! #sschat
Join me in #tlap tonight!! I'll be hosting an Aretha Franklin inspired chat at 8pm CST. All questions drawn from quotes by the Queen Of Soul. See you soon! #LearnLAP#LeadLAP#sschat#XPLAP#PlayLAP#RunLAP
A5) Depending on age, have Ss help in planning. Think about what should be there, organization, theme, etc. Also important to think about ease of updating and editing. #sschat
A4: one challenge can be the amount of time it takes to grade these types of assignments as a teacher. Another is access to technology for those who are not in a one to one school. Lastly, it can take a long time away from the normal "curriculum" #sschat
A5) Joining a little late here, but enjoying it a great deal! I began a website with the help of two students who were interested in web design. I'd say start small. Just keep at it - a little bit everyday. #sschat
Unfortunately, you can't with those numbers. You can limit what you are looking for, and focus your efforts there. I may assign 10 questions, but I'm really https://t.co/XCRjiBfQFw the answer to #10. So that's all I look at. #sschat
Someone shared this Google Doc West Wing Episode Guide last year on #sschat Not sure if this is what you are looking for or not but might make for a starting point. https://t.co/npQ6GLaXIx
A5 Start small. Maybe just a syllabus for a webpage. Blogging doesn't have to be lengthy. One of my favorites is George Couros. His posts are short and to the point. Something to think about. #sschat
A6) I would think that MS and HS Ss could be very involved in the setting of criteria/expectations & then doing a lot of self- and peer-evaluation. That may be possible with younger Ss as well but I don't have experience teaching elementary. #sschat
A6: I've found it difficult to give a traditional letter grade for a website assignment... still working on the assessment part. I give Ss a timeframe to complete their assignment and have them work with partners to cut the grading in half. #sschat
Yes, I think starting small is important. I think its helpful if the teacher gains some experience through creating a personal blog and then they can take what they have learned and more easily create and help students create websites and blogs to
#sschat
A6: I've found it difficult to give a traditional letter grade for a website assignment... still working on the assessment part. I give Ss a timeframe to complete their assignment and have them work with partners to cut the grading in half. #sschat
Nice to see you in the chat tonight! Thinking website assignments could be peer evaluated---keep the "authentic" part going through assessment. Or many Ts use websites and blogs to showcase work that's already been revised/assessed so is T "grade" even needed? #sschat
Yes, it's a great way for as to work on their writing skills, but on a digital platform which is different from a traditional essay or pen and paper writing assignment.
#sschat
Thanks to @CalebPahl for hosting #sschat & everyone for contributing such great ideas & resources! Archives will be posted soon at https://t.co/ronvPOmIkk
Next Monday, we'll join forces w/ our ELA colleagues for #engsschat to discuss cross-curricular learning with @rcollins_edu
Feast your eyes upon the Fall 2018 Session of #sschat!
In honor of the NCSS Conference at the end of the month, November is all about inquiry with 3 themed chats. (Novemquiry?)
We have a diverse slate of other topics throughout the semester!
#edchat#worldgeochat#apgov
So great for allowing Ss to share their work with more than just the teacher. Think it really encourages Ss to up their game when they know that their work will be more public. #sschat
Yes, it's a great way for as to work on their writing skills, but on a digital platform which is different from a traditional essay or pen and paper writing assignment.
#sschat
