Introduction: What is a blog?
A blog, short for “web log,” is an Internet-based journal that is usually hosted by an individual or group. The blog serves as an interactive, online meeting place of sorts and allows for visitors to post and respond to comments.
Why blog? (Adapted from http://msvrburton.edublogs.org)
There is a rationale to creating a class blog. I believe that with blogging, students are:
• Motivated about learning because their work has an audience
• Taught the appropriate use of collaborative web tools in a monitored
environment
• Taught how to respond appropriately to others
• Given opportunities to learn, research and discuss in different ways
As the facilitator and teacher I will be able to:
• See the students’ progress with their written responses about their learning
• Watch their interaction and responses to the work being covered
• Oversee all comments
Blogging Rules
1. Students using blogs are expected to act safely by keeping personal information out of their posts. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, user name, email address, home address, school name, city, country or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas and preferences.
2. Students using blogs agree not to share their user name or password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student.
3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blog spaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for your blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of our school.
4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the various requirements and rules of classroom teachers.
5. Every blog posting must be original and if needed, must have source information. If your work does not fulfill this requirement it will NOT be published on the blog.
6. Students using blogs will take good care of the computers by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions.
7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in this project.
General Blog Guidelines
1. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home) to know.
Ask yourself: is this something I want everyone to see?
2. Do not share personal information.
Ask yourself: could someone find me (in real life) based on this information?
3. Think before you post.
Ask yourself: what could be the consequences of this post?
4. Know who you’re communicating with.
Ask yourself: who is going to look at this, and how are they going to interpret my words?
5. Consider your audience and that you’re representing our school.
Ask yourself: do I have a good reason/purpose to do this?
6. Know how to give constructive feedback.
Ask yourself: what will I cause by writing this post? How will this post help someone?
7. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
Ask yourself: would I want someone to say this to me?
8. Use appropriate language and proper grammar and spelling.
Ask yourself: would I want this post to be graded for proper grammar and spelling?”
9. Only post information that you can verify is true (no gossiping).
Ask yourself: is this inappropriate, immature or bullying?
10. Anytime you use media from another source, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work.
Ask yourself: who is the original creator of this work?
Commenting Guidelines
As a blogger, you will be commenting on other people’s work regularly. Good comments:
• are constructive, but not hurtful
• consider the author and the purpose of the post
• are always related to the content of the post
• include personal connections to what the author wrote
• answer a question, or add meaningful information to the content topic
• proofread your comments before posting them
How will we use our class blog?
We will use our class blog to essentially continue discussions outside of the classroom. You will also be graded on your participation and will be asked to respond to the teacher post and then to at least one of your peer’s comments.
