blogs

=Blogs=



Please add your wikispaces name to the participant's list to let everyone know who is in the class. To do this, select "edit this page" on the top left. You are now in the editing area of this wiki page. Place your cursor under the word "participants" and type your wikispaces name. When finished select "save" in the upper right hand corner.

bettis bloggers MyMrsC
 * Participants**

Trussville and Hueytown Ann and Dawn
 * Collaborative Spaces**

Congratulations! You are now a part of the online community, In this first week, you will learn how to participate in an online class using a wiki and the discussion select of the class wiki page. Each week I will post a reading assignment, discussion questions, and an assignment that will be part of the overall lesson plan / project that will be your final presentation. I will post the assignments by Monday at 9:00 A.M. Also, there is an optional Elluminate meeting available every week where we can get together online for re-teaching, questions, and assistance with assignments. Elluminate is a virtual classroom where we can write on a virtual whiteboard, talk one at a time, chat like through IM, share desktops for help, and take Internet tours. The final session will take place in Elluminate where we will all meet online at a specific time decided by the group to present the lesson plans / projects and reflect on the session. I will send you the link you need to enter the Elluminate room at least one day in advance so you can make sure that there are not any problems getting in for the final session.
 * Week 1 - June 4**

**Week 1**
1. Join wikispaces by following the directions above. 2. Add your name to the participant's list 3. Leave a post to week 1 discussion. To do this, select the "discussion" tab at the top of this page. Select Week 1 Discussion. Type your reply in the box under reply and select "post" when finished.

Week 2
Reading Read [|Blogging, It's Elementary My Dear Watson] by Lorrie Jackson. Within the article, Lorrie shares blogging resources where you can create your own blog. We have the ability to blog on our private teacher websites to create the safe environment. However, if you want global collaboration, you can create a public blog using one of these services. Whichever service you choose, make sure you know how to create a safe environment for all users.

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Optional Reading [|Ways to Use Blogs in Education]

Assignment The best way to learn about blogs is to read professional blogs, teacher to student blogs, and student created blogs. Here is a short list of some blogs to begin reading. You do not have to read all of these blogs. Choose a few to read paying close attention to the types of posts that are made and comments written. You must leave at least 1 comment on three different blogs.

[|Duck Diaries]

[|PS 124's Third Grade Blog]

[|Fifth Grade Blog],

[|Toa's Troop]

[|Room 613 Talks], class weblog and podcasts for Mr. Htherington's 6th Grade Social Studies class in Connecticut.

[|Mr. Frazier's Class Blog], Hueytown Elementary School

[|McGuyer's Technoids], Hewitt Trussville Middle School

[|ERHS Photography 2], Washington State

[|21st Century Learning], Sheryl Nussbaum Beach

[|A Difference], professional blog of Darren Kuropatwa. Darren also has students in his [|PreCal math classes] blogging. Watch the following video by Mr. Brune's Fourth Grade students about their experiences with blogging.

[|May the Tech Be With You]

Discussion 1. While reading Blogging, It's Elementary My Dear Watson, what ideas did you find interesting? Did any ideas come to mind of how you could include blogging in your classroom? 2. What blogs did you visit (remember to include the URL)? What did you notice and/or have questions about?

Week 3
This week's objective is to read and discuss how other teachers teach Internet Safety to students and other educators, create a professional blog to document blogging project, and create lesson plan for using blogs in your classroom.

"I think the most pressing issue in 21st Century teaching and learning has to be the safety issue. There is so much hype and misinformation going around about how to comply with CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act) and everyone seems to be struggling to find the perfect balance between keeping students safe and empowering them with tools that will prepare them for their future. We need to proactively teach students to use the Web just like we teach them other safety techniques. (not to talk to strangers, telephone strategies when home alone, how to drive, use scissors, and hunter and boat safety...you get the idea) So here we have a "power tool" and we need to integrate safety and responsible use into our curriculum." - Sheryl Nussbaum Beach
 * Reading**

Begin by viewing Safely Surfing Cyberspace webquest, http://www.auburnschools.org/wrightsmill/jdempsey/safely_surfing_cyberspace%20web%20quest%20index.htm, created by teachers at Wrights Mill Road in Auburn, Alabama to teach students about Internet Safety and then have the students teach others through the use of technology. You can also listen to podcasts, http://www.auburnschools.org/wrightsmill/jdempsey/Podcasts/Newscast.mp3, watch movies, http://www.auburnschools.org/wrightsmill/jdempsey/Internet%20Safety.wmv, and view powerpoints, http://www.auburnschools.org/wrightsmill/jdempsey/InternetSafetyPowerpoint.ppt, created by the students as their tasks.

Here are two other great resources that every teacher should read when considering blogging with students Responsible Blogging Lesson Plan by Stephen Lazar, New York - http://outsidethecave.blogspot.com/2005/05/responsible-blogging-lesson-plan.html Blogger's Contract, David Warlick - http://tappedin.org/tappedin/do/FileAction?ROOM_ID=18099&FILE_ID=33808&state=doDownloadFile

Activity This week's activity is to create one professional blog and develop a lesson plan which uses blogging. Blogs can be public or private based on your comfort level.

We will begin with creating a professional blog using Edublogs, [|http://www.edublogs.org.] Open the following document by David Warlick to assist you with creating your professional blog - http://landmark-project.com/workshops/handouts/edublogs_setup.pdf
 * Activity 1**

You might like to create a reflective, journal type blog to...
 * reflect on your teaching experiences.
 * keep a log of teacher-training experiences.
 * write a description of a specific teaching unit.
 * describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn't work.
 * provide some teaching tips for other teachers.
 * write about something you learned from another teacher.
 * explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes.
 * share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom.
 * provide some how-to's on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class.
 * explore important teaching and learning issues.

As you add posts to your blog, other teachers will be able to read and leave comments. Each person in the class must leave at least one comment on each person's blog. **Add your blog's URL below:**

April - [|http://maythetechbewithyou.blogspot.com] Ann - Dawn -


 * Activity 2** - planning for using blogs in the classrom

Anne Davis http://anne.teachesme.com/ published these weblog "Think-Abouts" a while back in an online class. I think they are worth repeating, especially for those educators who are just beginning to think about creating a weblog.

1. THINK ABOUT what you want to do with your weblog. What kind of weblog do you want to create? What purpose will it serve?

Do you want to create a reflective weblog to blog about your personal teaching experiences or discuss your ideas about teaching in general?

Do you want to present a number of your favorite teaching techniques or ideas for using technology in language learning? Do you have clever ways to teach vocabulary or ideas for using poetry that you want to spotlight?

Maybe you want to create a blog with links to useful learning resources for your students?

Will it be a class weblog to use with a class you are teaching right now? What kinds of information and learning tasks will you provided for your students and what will you ask them to do? Will you focus on one particular skill such as reading or writing? How would you like to involve your students?

These are decisions that need to be made before you start your weblog. To help you make these decisions, in my next post I will post a more detailed list of ways that educators and students can use weblogs.

2. THINK ABOUT what you want to name your weblog. Once you have decided what kind of weblog you want, you will need to think of a name for it. When you create your weblog, no matter which blogging software you decide to use, you'll be asked to name your weblog first. You may find it difficult to think of a name on the spot. So, it's a good idea to come up with a name you like before you start the process. Strive to choose a clever name that somehow reflects the purpose of your weblog.

3. THINK ABOUT specific content. What kind of content do you want to post on your weblog? How much information do you want to include, and how will you organize and present this information. You need to have an overall view and a long term plan on how this weblog will unfold.

There are many aspects to consider. If, for instance, you are using it as a class weblog, how often do you plan to use it with your students? What types of information do you want to include? Will you include assignments, events, announcements, links to resources? Will you assign tasks or publish student writing? How many different types of sections do you want to include, and how will you incorporate use of the weblog into your class schedule?

If you are writing about your teaching experiences in a particular class, do you want to blog daily, or only occasionally? Do you want to focus on everyday activities and how students' learning evolves over time, or do you want to comment only on special events and activities? Will you focus on student progress, insights you gain while teaching, or on what worked well or not in the classroom?

Will you include photos? Will you invite comments from readers? Will linking to other websites be an important part of your weblog?

4. THINK ABOUT your potential readers (your audience) and your own writing voice. Who will read or use your weblog? Your students? Other teachers? Colleagues in other teaching institutions? Will you seek an international audience? It's important to keep this audience in mind, both now as you plan your weblog and later when you have it running online. By doing so, you'll soon become conscious of your own writing voice and writing style. YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR YOUR SCHOOL BLOG. YOU CAN CREATE A PRIVATE BLOG IN SHAREPOINT WHERE ONLY TCS STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND PARENTS CAN POST AND REPLY. OR, YOU CAN CREATE A PUBLIC BLOG USING EDUBLOGS WHICH WOULD ENABLE ANYONE IN THE WORLD TO LEAVE COMMENTS. The decisions should be based on the objective for your blog.

Additional Resource Tips from Student Bloggers, Anne Davis, Georgia http://itc.blogs.com/thewriteweblog/files/BloomingBloggersShow.ppt I suggest saving the PowerPoint and viewing it from your computer. It takes less time.

1. After viewing information about Internet Safety, how will you proceed with your students to educate them about using the Internet at school and at home? 2. What was your experience like when creating your professional blog? 3. Answer the four Think About questions related to creating a blog for classroom use. (1. What do you want to do with your weblog? 2. What do you want to name your weblog? 3. What kind of content to you want to post on your blog? 4. Who will read your blog?)
 * Discussion**


 * Week 4**

Read these comments that I picked up from the blogosphere.

Blogging is part of the read/write Web. English is the read/write course. In English you read various genres of literature and then write papers responding to and building on the ideas of the author. In blogging you begin with reading the ideas of others (either on blogs, in articles, or books) and then you write posts responding to or building on the ideas you have read and discussed in class.


 * The difference--** with traditional forms of English (written on college lined paper with a pen and turned in for a grade) the audience is usually teacher or at best peers and parents.

With blogs the audience is global and there is an ongoing conversation that occurs with readers from around the world about the student's ideas. Sometimes, there are even comments from the author of the book or article being discussed. It simply doesnt get much more authentic than that. The focus isnt to write a paper and get a grade. The focus is on the process, the back and forth of idea development, and on the refinement and revision of becoming and finding your voice through your writing.

Blogging isnt one more thing competing with the curriculum-- it is the strategy you use to "teach curriculum. It is the paper and pencil of the 21st Century.


 * Here are academics discussing blogging: Important as 12th graders will go to college right?**

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/lore/digressions/index.htm

http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i39/39a01401.htm

http://www.blogscholar.com/


 * English Teachers who are asking similar questions and blogging about it.**

http://www.huffenglish.com/

http://teachersteachingteachers.org/?p=81

http://ahighcall.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_ahighcall_archive.html

And finally from a comment on Wes Fryer's blog where he asks for high school bloggers to participate in a conference he is doing.

December 28th, 2006 at 10:34 am
 * 1) Gail Desler Says:

Sorry I didn't make your Dec. 26 deadline, but I thought I would send you 3 short clips anyhow from a blogging project I've been involved with - http://www.bayareawritingproject.org/yvc2c (Yep, a -walled garden using Manila, but we're continuing on and evolving this year with elgg.)

These clips were taken during a videoconference in which students from Bob LeVin's 12th grade English class at Florin High School in California shared with students across the state their thoughts on blogging. Yes, we have written parent permission for sharing the clips for educational purposes. Here is Erica - http://a3wp.ucdavis.edu/nwp06/video/erica.mov Philip - http://a3wp.ucdavis.edu/nwp06/video/phillip.mov and teacher Bob Levin - http://a3wp.ucdavis.edu/nwp06/video/levin.mov

But here is what amazes me about the Read/Write web. I will actually be traveling to San Francisco on January 10 to join you at your MacWorld presentation. The fact that you've already shared a draft and invited commentary, to use your words, "just changes everything." Professional development has never been more accessible (I'm in my sweats right now with my dog at my feet) or more "just in time," or more interactive and meaningful.

Posted by Sheryl Nussbaum Beach in Tapped In, ABPC 21st Century Program

How will blogging in your classroom teach the objectives for your grade level? Do you think blogging will help students in any other ways besides teaching the curriculum?

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPREADING THE WORD How will you share what you have learned with others?

Webquest about Blogging by Anne Davis, Georgia http://www.webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/34308-060831081120/

1. What was the most important or awakening moment you had while learning and creating blogs? 2. How will you share what you have learned with others? 3. If you were asked to sum blogging up in one sentence, what would that sentence be?
 * Discussion**

Once you have completed the discussion questions and the End of Class survey ([|http://private.trussvillecityschools.com/sites/Teachers/april.chamberlain/Lists/Blogs Online Class/overview.aspx] ), your professional development hours will be posted on STI PD. If you need additional time, just let me know.
 * End of Class**