Blogs for Pupil Events and Outdoor Challenges September 26, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , trackback
In the newsletter I have mentioned the possible use of blogs to aid transfer of learning by reflection on outdoor experiences. Recently I have been thinking it could be an ideal opportunity to make a specific blog for challenges and events. I was reading Hans Mundahl’s blog over the pond in New Hampshire where he posted a great link for those interested in using blogs for events.
Are events are reasonably small scale but can often connect with hundreds of individuals (e.g. intro to watersports/orienteering for primary schools). The blog/web page format could be a link for pupils comments helping them (by a different medium) to write about their experiences and post their work online. There is certainly the nuts and bolts of it to sort out, but some excellent input from David at Edubuzz has made it technically easier (thanks David). My main reasearch has been in asking Teaching staff at events whether they would actually use it? The response has been mixed. I will keep fielding the idea and try and get one running for one of the future events.
Comments»
This is a really interesting topic that I find myself thinking (too much) about. One problem is that I’m really interested in this idea and I find that others aren’t or that the technology has some perceived barriers until folks see how easy it is.
We had a funny thing come up last spring with a blog that we set up to keep parents in the loop with a five day backpacking trip we run with our 10th grade students. I provided a sample trail map and parents were really excited to see where their child was actually going to hike. So I published all the trail maps with routes marked out.
This seemed harmless enough until I discovered after the trip that several parents had actually hiked into the woods to see their children or drop them goodies on the trail!
Not quite what I intended but demonstrated that parents were reading the blog!
That blog is http://www.sophx2007.blogspot.com if you’re interested.
Another thing we did with this blog was change the sidebar content frequently depending on how close we were to the event. Three months out we had a lot of broad content, philosophical stuff and information on the clothing and gear that would be needed. This came down and group lists and logistics info went up 30 days out. Then during the trip we had links to weather and trail conditions.
Anyway - good luck with this - and share some of the blogs when some go up - I’d love to see what y’all are up to!
Hi Bill
This sounds like a really interesting idea, using the technology available to us to enhance the outdoor Education within East Lothian.
Thanks again for a fantastic day today, the pupils really enjoyed themselves and it was great to, once again, bring the trophy home to Knox!
Regards
Sharon