I explored several of the options. I like the idea of 3rd graders sharing their "voice" with each other and their parents. I am not sure if I would have them each individually blog, but perhaps have groups blogs set up, or one class blog that the students are "in charge" of.
I was thinking that maybe I could take the idea of the "Thursday Letters" students write and send them home digitally instead. I looked into Tiny Letter, but honestly since we are a Google school, I think students could create their own template in Google slides and email it to their parents. Then their parents could respond on the following slide. This way students would still be interacting with parents and have a great record of all the things they did in third grade. (Bonus: more typing practice!)
One new site I discovered from the list is Padlet. I created a very basic Padlet template that I think my literature circle group could use to extend their conversations and understanding of the text. I like that you can easily link/add pictures, and the fact that students can type their response may make them more willing and comfortable contributing to the "discussion". Using this idea would not only give them the opportunity to respond to the text and each other, but also allow me better insight into their thinking. Padlet
My final thoughts...I'm not sure I'm ready to manage 3rd grade bloggers, but I do see the value in giving them a way to share their voice digitally, so this is definitely an idea I want to explore more and think about how to best incorporate it in some form next year.
Great idea to use Google Slides that way. It's a tool they probably already know a bit about. Easy to extend it that way. And easily shareable. Great idea for Padlet too.
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