Special Assignment

Best Blog Ever!

This is an in depth examination of Mr. McClung's Wonderful Class Blog. What I have found out about the way he has constructed his class blog is that he is very passionate about it, which leads to a fabulous and successful blog. He describes it as, "the vehicle that drives majority of the technology in his classroom." The blog serves as a daily newsletter that helps keep the parents, students, teachers, etc. in check and informed about what's going on in the classroom with assignments, projects and things of that nature. There are tons of resources for parents, students and teachers that are severely useful and easily accessible. His blog is very organized, clear and clean. He uses it for informative purposes, media tools, fundraising resources, a learning tool, communication to everyone needed, a central home base for those that need it and so much more. It's incredible!
As an educator, Mr. McClung seems to be very creative! I love his "class-yes" ideas and "teach-ok" and "hands and eyes".... for example, when he says "classidy class" they have to say "yessidy yes!" lol! I believe this is brilliant. I think it's a great way to get the class involved and refocus their attention. I would've loved this as a young student. Maybe not all students love it at first but if the whole class HAS to do it (and they do), and once they get used to it, I'm sure it becomes second nature. As an educator he also seems to care on somewhat of a deep level or he wouldn't have posted "internet safety" tips, rules and regulations.
His class rules, coming from a loving place I should add, seem very strict and straightforward. He has high expectations in every area such as being late, class participation, etc. However, I think that's what makes for a successful school year, a teacher who cares enough to not be your friend but be your leader and sometimes that entails a few tough guidelines to get your troops headed in the right direction! All the while. he seems fun though and I wish I would've had him when I was in 8th grade.
A day planner was the 1st thing under "everyone needs" because like I mentioned above he appears to be quite organized and neat and tidy, and for a teacher that has high expectations to the level that he does, these students wouldn't make it very far without a planner. Plus, maybe he is trying to get them prepared for the real world and don't most adults use day planners? I know I do!
Late penalties are pretty reasonable, like yours Dr. Strange, except that life only gets harder the older you get and in college, not only are we older with more responsibilities such as work, spouses, kids, other jobs, exercising to stay healthy (if you can find time) etc. but we also have other teacher's expecting the same exact work from us. So I guess what I'm saying is it's ok to work high schoolers to the bone because they have no life. But what about us tired/old/BROKE college students? Guess it's getting us ready for the 'Real World' though huh? Aren't we in it already? I'm pretty sure when I'm doing the same work everyday, life will be easier than randomosities to make my professors happy week to week... just sayin...
Personally, I love the fact that he puts so much into his blog and has such high hopes for it being the "vehicle" that drives all the technology in his classroom! I think it's a great idea and tool! A lot like EDM 310 and what Dr. Strange teaches and offers! I also adore his communication skills (via blog) to the parents, students, faculty administrators, and general public! Sweet of him to care... that'll go far too! I aspire for this technological level in my classroom. Hopefully I can take it to this level and use it to the extent Mr. McClung did even in the special ed rooms!
One of the useful links I enjoyed was "guys read." This might seem a bit weird given that I'm female and all but I figured it could be useful for me because I'm a girly girl, only child, who did not grow up around boys and isn't really used to teaching them, not quite comfortable around them, don't know what makes them tick or what they're interested in. So not only would it be a great tool for their entertainment but also for mine as well! The second link I explored was "from the basement" with all kinds of musical artists and some of the work they've done/performed. I think it's phenomenal that he is so passionate about music and incorporates it so much and so well into his students' educational lives. It not only will broaden their horizons and expand them in ways that couldn't be explained, but also may even lead to unknown passions and talents they may never have discovered otherwise! Perfect! All these useful links made his list A.) because they have something in common with Mr. McClung and what he wants to accomplish B.) they pulled his attention/interest somehow and brought him in C.) Maybe he saw something on one of these links that he didn't know how to touch on and figured that it was important enough to make it a link... I don't know but whatever his methods were, I deem them valid and legitimate because I can feel it through his blog.
His "internet safety" rules seemed pretty perfect to me, although I don't know much about internet safety. It concerned me though because I have my last name and real name up on a lot of things on my blog, facebook, twitter, and so forth. Should I change that?
I was assigned the German Gnomes from the "World Language Festival" and the only other comment besides mine was a girl who seemed to absolutely love the project and proposal that a couple of his students did about an infomercial. She seemed a lot like me actually, only giving good positive feedback with a few questions here and there. The only thing is that her grammar might have been off a couple of times but I'm no one to judge because I'm far from being grammatically perfect!
Now, when it comes to doing something with my blog that Mr. McClung does with his, yes I believe I can find something. I would love to be able to navigate my more clearly and be more organized in it's creation. Right now I seem to be doing ok I guess but when I'm a teacher with unlimited amounts of students, parents and teachers with access to my blog, I would love for it to be flawless. For the parents, teachers, students, etc, he makes his blog material so efficient and resourceful, easily accessible, clean, thorough (the list could go on and on).
Compared to the other 8th grade blogs I've seen (not a lot), Mr. McClung's takes the cake!!!!! By far!!!!!! I find it hard to criticize anything about his blog. I'm having to rack my brain truly and I just can't seem to find anything. Maybe if it's brought to my attention but on my own I'm stumped. But I have seen some boring, useless, confusing, and not worthwhile blogs, especially when compared to Mr. McClung's!
I think he did a FANTASTIC job on his 8th grade class blog and believe he will go far in the education world and that he will take his students with him! The world is his oyster for him and his students and the sky is the limit for them as well! I just hope they all wear sun shades because their future is magnificently bright ; D
I just had to!