While I Am Out.....

Hello My Budding Bloggers,
    As you know I will not be in these last two days of this week.  I am confident you have all the tools you need; ones I have provided and ones you are bringing with you.  I can't wait to read your rough drafts of your first blog posts.  For some of you blogging will come very naturally; as I recognize some natural story tellers in my classes.  For others, this may be a bit frustrating.  Blogging is a writing genre all its own.  As you are creating this first post, try to picture your audience.  It will be filled with people of all ages from all over the world.  How would you introduce yourself to them?  What do you want them to know about you?  Using the questions I have left for you will help you do a great job.
The Resource Packet:
At each of your workstations there is a packet of resources.  Please find and review each of the pages mentioned below.

• The first page is filled with some hints and tips.  
• When you flip over to the back side of the first page you will find the actual "how to" or steps to writing your first post.  There are 9 questions for you to ponder and answer.  You don't have to answer them in order.  Be sure to create a paragraph (or two) with your answers; not a list.
• One of the resources is a page of "sentence starters."  I found a blog with these ideas.  Try to use a couple of them.
• I included a resource with the steps for finding and saving an image for your post. It is the process we used a couple weeks ago in class.  Be sure to sign in to Novell.  **If you cannot sign in to Novell I will help you with this process next time.
• I won't be grading this rough draft, but I will be giving you a lot of feedback. You will have many revision opportunities.  Eventually I will be assessing your post with the rubric I've included so take a look at it.
• Finally, the back page is a copy of the BPS Blogging and Commenting Guidelines. 

I have added two new items to Google Classroom.  The first is an announcement containing a presentation of the BPS Blogging Guidelines. You will view this presentation and then move on to the second addition.  You have a new assignment; Creating Your First Blog Post.  Please "OPEN" this assignment and get started.  If you don't get to the image step; don't worry.  The most important part of this assignment is your introductory paragraph.  

Please go to Google Classroom and start the process of introducing yourself to the world!!!!!!

Fondly,

~Mrs. White :)

Finding Out What You Know

This week students in my classes will be taking their first assessment.  This is an opportunity to show me what you have learned so far this year.  We have spent time preparing for this assessment, and I think you will all be surprised at how well you will do.  You are really a very bright bunch of young men and women!!  Assessment #1 was created using a Google form.  It will only be available, accepting responses, during school hours.  Students will not be able to view or take this assessment from home.

I will not be in the lab for my students two days this week as I will be in "school" myself.  Mr. Frazier will be in the lab in my absence.  Please do a great job for him.  I have gone over my expectations with some of you, and know those of you whom I did not speak with will do an awesome job and make me proud.  

Please start off class by taking the assessment.  There is a link to the survey part of the assessment in the first paragraph of this post.  You will also be given a printed copy of an email to correct.  There are five errors on this email.  Please circle, and then correct each of these mistakes. The directions are written on top of the email.  Please be sure to read them carefully.

Once you have completed your assessment, you will begin working on a presentation.  You will create a presentation using either Glogster EDU or Google Presentation.  If you choose to use GlogsterEDU you can find some video tutorials at the bottom of the home page.  Please remember there is NO punctuation (no underscore) in your Glogster username (nickname).  Your password is the same as all of your other passwords.  If you are using Google Presentation don't forget to name or title your presentation before you begin.  There is a "help" tab for you to use to try to answer questions you may have.  In the help tab you will find this "Overview of Google Slides."  

What exactly is the presentation to be about?  You were given a copy of the Barnstable Public Schools Blogging and Commenting Guidelines last week.  We reviewed and discussed the Blogging Guidelines. You will create your presentation about these Blogging Guidelines.  Please do NOT simply retype the guidelines on to slides or in text boxes.  You will need to add extra information to explain each of these guidelines.  This extra information should be written in your own words.  This presentation will show me your level of understanding in regard to our Blogging Guidelines.  This will help me design my lessons over the next couple of weeks.  If you use any images from the Internet be sure to copy the URL of that image and paste it on the slide or in a text box with the image.  There is more information about using and saving images in the resource below.

I have created a more detailed resource for this project.  Please check it out!

Resources for Blogging Guideline Presentation

Please try to make your presentation fun and interesting!!  I want to be able to create a space where these presentations will "live" so students can use them as resources this year and in future years. 

Have fun!  I cannot wait to check out your work!

What is Blogging?

We will finally get started with our blogging unit this week.  Before we learn the parts of the blog, you will take a Blogging Pre-Assessment. This will give me a better idea of what my students know and don't know about blogs and blogging.
Now let's get started.  I created a special blog for us to use as a "teaching blog" or a resource.  You will all be given a copy of this blog and a word list.  You will try to label the blog.  Remember to use what you know to figure out what your don't know.  We will talk about these parts of a blog.  You will also be given a copy of the BPS Blogging and Commenting Guidelines.  Once you have reviewed these, you will be asked to evaluate a blog of your choice.
The best way for you to blog well is to read a lot of other blogs.  So lets get started!!  Check out some of the blogs on "Interesting Blogs and Resources."
By the way, you will be given an assessment next week.  This assessment will cover our acceptable use policy, parts of the computer, the Internet and intranet, and emails.  You have many resources to use to help you prepare.  We will take a little bit of class time to review.  You will get a copy of the "Study Guide" for this assessment during class.  Be sure to use your other resource to complete the guide.  If you have any questions be sure to check with me by the end of the week.  You will do well, so don't be nervous!!

Bon Jour Bloggers!

I will not be able to be in class with you today.  However, I will be in school so I may be popping in or you may see me in the halls.  Our Broadcasting & Media Club will be filming a movie, “A Day in the Life of a BIS Student.” This movie will be shared with the current 5^th graders.  They will be coming to this building next year.  If you see us filming in the school please try to act naturally.  We may stop some of you and ask you to do a “cameo” appearance. 

In my absence today, Mr. Anthony will be in charge.  I am confident you will work well for him and impress him with your blogging skills.  He will begin class today by handing out your “BLOG DESIGN RUBRIC.”   You will take a couple of minutes to review this.  Then you will be putting it in your binder/folder for future reference.  You will eventually receive a score or content grade for the design of your blog.  You will want to take some time over the next couple of weeks to prepare your blog for this assessment. 

Moving on to the class at hand; you will be working on your second blog post today.  Although you have shown me you have an understanding of the BPS Blogging and Commenting Guidelines; I would still like to see your blog posts before they have been uploaded.  You will need to take out your guidelines and have them readily available to review.  You may create your post about anything your little heart desires.  Please remember this is a school account and the content must be appropriate for school.  Think about all of the things which have been mentioned in the presentations earlier this week.  It is a good idea to have links and possibly images in your posts.  Your title should be “eye catching”, like a newspaper headline.  We will be adding labels/tags before uploading your post next week.  So you will want to think of some effective ones to use.  If you take a look at my previous post, “Ready, Set, Blog!” you will see some links which may be helpful to you for this assignment.  Take the time to check them out.  In addition, you have the Internet at your fingertips to do some research if necessary.  Please remember to cite all sources and images in your blog.  You may not have anything or anyone to cite.  This sometimes happens as well.

Step One:   Pick your topic.  What will you blog about today?  There is such a wide range.  If you are having a brain freeze and cannot think of anything to blog about  well then check out this blog post, “Student Blogging Challenges-A List of Ideas.”   I am sure one of these ideas will inspire you! 

Step Two:  Think of a catchy title for your post.  If one doesn’t come to mind right away skip this step and move on to the next.

Step Three:  Open you Google accounts using the shortcut on the desktop and create a new doc.  Title this doc with an appropriate title (blog post #2 will work).  Then begin writing.  Get all of your thoughts down on this doc and then worry about editing.

Step Four:  Edit your new blog post.  If you were not able to come up with a title earlier in the process, then try now.  Take a look at your guidelines and be sure you have followed them.  Make any corrections or necessary adjustments.  **Remember to download an image to your pdrive and then upload it to this doc.  You may need to upload the image again next week when you publish this post..**

Step Five:  You will now need to “share” this document with me.  You will do this by dragging it in to your ILT folder.  Please make sure your name and ILT#  are on the top of this doc before sharing it.

Step Six:  If you have finished your post before the end of class start going over the Blog Design Rubric. You may start making any changes or adjustments to improve your blog.  

I cannot wait to check out your latest posts.  If you were not able to share your presentation last class you will be doing so next week so keep on practicing!!  Have a great class!!

Mrs. White J