Caine,+Dawn


 * BLOG LESSON

Objective or goal of the lesson:** Student-created Blogs

The blogs will be used in lieu of traditional Reader Response Journals
 * Brief explanation of how the technology will be used:**

Students will learn about online safety, blogging etiquette, and how to set-up and maintain a personal blog.
 * Description of what behavior is expected of students:**

> I would start by showing my principal this quick [|video] > Here's a simple [|video] to introduce the idea to kids > I would also find several student appropriate blog sites to share with students > Then I would set up my own blog site with content that is relevant to our discussion and have my students "test out" reading a blog
 * Process or steps for teaching (i.e., what you will actually do in the classroom)**
 * 1) Introduce my administration to blogging in order to receive approval
 * 1) Introduce students to what a blog is
 * 1) Teach students about online safety
 * 2) Teach students about web etiquette
 * 3) Provide practice opportunities for students to comment of a classroom blog
 * 4) Guide students through the steps needed to set-up a blog
 * 5) Ongoing instruction on maintaining their own blog site

As students access the internet more and more, they are bound to come across more and more inappropriate content. Specific discussions about this topic will be required. Depending on whether the inappropriate content was found or created by my students would determine my course of action. Before this topic is discussed out of reactive necessity, I will plan for it proactively by holding a class discussion that specifies what constitutes inappropriate content and then delineate the actions that should be taken. This will be followed up with a class blog topic for students to practice their commenting skills as well as reinforce the important discussion points from our class lesson.
 * What actions you will take and how you expect your students to respond if they find inappropriate content**:


 * PARENT PERMISSION LETTER**

[Why reinvent the wheel? A sample letter was provided which offered many elements that I need to include in my own letter. Below is an adaptation of the sample letter provided at []]

Dear Families:

Our class will be making a giant leap into the digital age by creating our own Weblogs. A Weblog, or blog as they are commonly called, is a special type of Web page that can be created and easily updated using a Web browser. Each new entry has its own date stamp. Each entry has a comments section where visitors to the blog may leave comments for the author. This program designed to help your child further develop personal writing skills, reflect on literature, and explore their interests by sharing their writing with a real audience. Students will be using personal Weblogs to post their writing to the Internet.

Each week while reading a new piece of literature, students will respond to the literature by posting to their blog site. Some of the entries will be assigned with specific criteria other posts will offer the students a bit more personal freedom to choose the specific direction that they take in posting a blog to their site. In a blog, the emphasis is on the quality, not the quantity of what they write. Actually, blog posts that are particularly long are not desirable.
 * How it Works**

Specific time will be dedicated at school each week to create and post to their blogs. Students may also work from home. All that is required is an Internet connection and a Web browser. Students are able to save their work as drafts before publishing it to their blog. Directions for working from home will be provided.

Having a real audience is one of the key components to this program. In addition to receiving comments from their classmates, students will receive comments from me as I read their posts each week. Parents are also encouraged to visit the blogs and respond to the writing. Potentially, anyone on the Internet could respond to our blogs, however, it is not likely that the world at large will stumble across them.

This blogging project is designed to minimize risk to your child. The only personally identifying information included in the blog will be their first name. There will be no mention of our school name or our location. Students are allowed to post their interests and opinions, but not their age, email address, photographs of themselves, or other sensitive information. We will have multiple classroom lessons on this topic prior to beginning this journey.
 * Security**

The weekly blog assignments will be part of your child’s IRLA grade. As with other projects they have completed this year, students will receive a scoring rubric that explains the expectations for these assignments.
 * Assessment**

- Blogs created by fifth grade students in the USA [] - BBC News article about blogging in a school in the UK [] Before your child may start posting to their blog, we are asking for you and your child to discuss and sign the following form. Please return the form to Mrs. Caine.
 * Resources**
 * Permission**

//**Blogging Terms and Conditions**// 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 blogspaces 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 this 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. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject. 5. Students blogs are to be a vehicle for sharing student writing with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog who leave comments will leave respectful, helpful messages. If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell your teacher right away. Do not respond to the comment. 6. Students using blogs 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.

I have read and understood these blogging terms and conditions. I agree to uphold them. student’s signature:_ date: parent’s signature: _ date: