Blog #6- Twitter and Blogs in the Classroom

50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom is an interesting article. Some of the ideas are genius and some I am not so sure about. Number 1, "Tweet about upcoming due dates or assignments," is such a great idea. I know that I, as a current student, would benefit from this. It is so easy for students to forget about assignments and this would help a lot of students remember that they have homework due. Another good tip is number 10, "Live tweet field trips." This would be a great way to keep parents who couldn't attend in the loop. Some are not the best ideas in my opinion. Number 50 is, "Summarize." This encourages students to type a 140 character synopsis of the lesson. First of all, kids don't want to tweet about class. Second, if students get their phones out in class it can and probably will cause a slew of distraction. Another point I don't quite understand is "Compare Religions," number 31. The last place I want my students making decisions about their religion is social media. There is way too much misinformation to assume that this would be a scholarly discussion. If religion is going to be brought into my classroom it will involve reliable resources and studied presentations.
15 Awesome Ways to use Blogs in Your Classroom is full of helpful information that is new to me. I had never thought to use a Blog in my lesson plans but this article lists some really cool ways to do so. It suggests that  teachers create a blog for substitute teachers. This is an awesome idea for art because it is very difficult to find a substitute that knows the content for art well enough to adequately teach or continue a lesson. A blog would give them a brief synopsis of what they need to know to avoid a movie day every time a substitute is needed. Another good idea is, "Illustrate an Activity." This is designed to help parents help their children at home or help older students at home. I could write an article, create videos and incorporate images that help students problem solve while not in the classroom. What a great idea.
Visible Narratives: Understanding Visual Organization is an article that explains that when it comes to visual communication content needs to not only be artistic and visually interesting, but it also needs to follow certain brain patterns. Some examples of this include objects that are close together on a layout are grouped together in the brain whether they are meant to or not. Also, items of different color and texture are differentiated and separated in the brain. I can use these psychology facts to make my website more interesting to viewers. I can change fonts to draw the eye to something I feel is important. I can color-code sections so that the brain can process and group things that are supposed to be together...the possibilities are endless.






Resources
50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom
15 Awesome Ways to use Blogs in Your Classroom 
Visible Narratives: Understanding Visual Organization