Blogging to learn

As I have listened to you speak about your reading I have heard about the new language you are encountering in the novel. Harper Lee was writing in a different country – the United States, and at a different time – the 1950’s. So it is obvious that there will be words that you have not encountered before. How do you work out the meanings of these words? You can look up unfamiliar words, and it is good to do this sometimes, but the best way would be to work out the eaning from the context, and from other things you know about language. Today I would like you to write about your experience of reading Part 1 of To Kill A Mockingbird, and to pick ten words you have encountered for the first time. Write them and their meanings and comment on how you worked out their meanings. Looking forward to reading your posts.

Some resources will be listed here. The list will be updated from time to time.

• A Research Guide for Students

Today I would like you to consider what has been the most interesting thing you have learned so far this year, in any subject or out of class. You might have learned how to use a new piece of equipment, a sport, some new things in English or something in Science or Maths that you didn’t know before. Or it might be something you have learned how to do such as use a computer program or how to use sources in writing up a research essay. Or maybe you have learned how to take photos or anything really. Just think back to what you knew at the start of the year and what more you know now. I would love to read about your learning this term. I know I have learnt heap – for a start I didn’t know any of your names at the beginning of the year, now I know you all. Looking forward to reading your posts.

How cool is this?

There are so many things to be proud of in our first two weeks of blogging. I would like to feature some class members who have done very well. Have a look at Greg’s blog. He has put a quiz on his blog that readers can do, and adds interest to his blog. It comes from a site called Braingle which has lots of brainteasers and puzzles. Another student who has made an impression is Lachie W. His first blog post is written in a very natural way – I love this sentence: “Love skating although it is the cause of many of my injuries.” Lauren also has made an impression; she has a comment from Renata, a student in Argentina! What kind of writing do you have to do to get comments from people outside this class, ask Lauren!! I loved Josh’s post: My tips on website design as it is something that helps me (and other readers) learn. And finally I would like to feature Jacinta, as her post “About Me”, was very powerfully written and great to read. As you can see there are lots of opportunities for doing it right, and next week I will feature other bloggers from this class.

Blog entry for this week: write a post about how you use gadgets like computers, phones, mp3 players and the internet. Do you think there are problems with the way teenagers are using all these things? I would love to read your ideas. If you want to write about a different topic that you have thought of yourself of course you may. Try to include a link to another page on the internet in your post.

You may notice that I have added a link to another class blog: The Eights. This week I would like you to go there and read a few students’ blogs. Maybe have a look at Aleena’s blog or Ashleigh’s. Leave a comment on one or two if you wish (it is the best way to get comments back). If you have received a comment, go over and check out the blog of the commenter and comment back if you wish.

Lastly, make sure you add a link on your blog back to the class blog.

Have a look at this site which explains all about the 2009 student blogging challenge. This is a set of weekly idea to improve your blogs and meet other students online at the same time. The post about the blogging challenge asks you to do the first task and reminds you of things to do and not do to be a savvy person online. Register here if you wish, and read other students’ posts here to get an idea of who is in the challenge. Then do the activity listed: “Your readers need to know about you and your interests.  So there is an “About ” page on most blogs.  This is often the first page your readers might visit…”. So… write about yourself or your class on your “About” page and let your readers know what makes you tick.

This is the class blog of Year 8JM English. Here we will link all your blogs and this is where you will find assignments and questions for you to think and write about for English. This first lesson, when you have signed up for your blog, it would be good to customise it with images you have chosen from Flickr Creative Commons photos. Don’t forget to link back to the image to give credit to the photographer. If you have your own photos you can use those as well. It is important to remember not to put identifying information on your blog so don’t put your full name or other information on your blog. Do not link to your private blog if you have one, and remember that we will be respectful at all times on the blog.

What you write here can become part of a body of work that reflects our learning and growth as students and as individuals. We are putting together a collection of our thoughts and reflections about our learning as part of establishing our identity online, that will remain with us. So it is important that we think before we link to anything and that we check our spelling and punctuation so that we can communicate clearly with our readers. What else do you think is important in establishing our digital footprint? Who do you think the readers of your blog will be?

When you have personalised your blog, given it a name, chose your theme and your avatar, write a brief introduction abour yourself and saying what main things you are interested in, both in school and out of school. Good luck with your blogging.