http://grade5inquirynews.blogspot.com/ is a blog link designed for fifth graders. The purpose behind this blog is to create a culture of meaningful and constructive communication from each student’s home. It is an opportunity to promote international mindedness through future connection and collaboration with other schools worldwide. Furthermore, this activity stands as a tool for assessment because it allows us to trigger the students’ thinking.
How could I motivate my students? How could I take advantage of their maximum learning potentials? How could I make teaching and learning in my class visible for parents, learners, and me? As an educator, I participated as a trainer in the Eighth Professional Day at Hariri High School II; I shared my knowledge and understanding of motivation in the classroom through interesting activities. Nevertheless, the notion of intrinsic motivation, through which learners develop as lifelong independent and responsible learners, is still an area of great interest to me. Intrinsic motivation whose origin is the learner’s curiosity and responsibility is the opposite of extrinsic motivation that relies on a reward and punishment system. Thus, if our mission is to create learners with a consistent interest in learning and full responsibility towards personal, social, academic, and mental improvement, reflection on our own practices as educators and parents is necessary. One of the strategies that I decided to use to attain intrinsic motivation is the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) within my teaching. It is the inevitable decision taken in the twenty-first century with all its demands. Then, it was the onset of the project of the blog.
To blog is to have access to an online link where you can post a comment, upload a photo, raise a question, or share an experience. In the blog, comments are posted under different pages related to favorite readings, best writings, multimedia, blogging, and questions. Again, I cannot overlook the challenges I have passed through in a community with diverse beliefs on technology and its accessibility. However, students enthusiastically passed through a successful process to create an account on this blog and inquire into the principles and wise use of a blog. Nowadays, more students are blogging and enjoying posting constructive thoughtful comments.
At last, blogging is a new method in teaching and learning that could not succeed without a supportive school and home environment. Encouraging your children to blog and praising their thinking are simply what I am waiting from you, IB parents.

Mrs. Rola Hallak
Grade Five Homeroom Teacher