Originally,  we did not require registration for a student to make comments.  Firstly, we did not want to lose out on class work time because so many students did not know their DET emails and passwords. By not requiring registration to comment,  we knew that students would then have at least a week to begin reading and commenting and to get their DET email information before starting their blogs. Secondly, we never dreamt that any student would write grossly inappropriate comments.  It is because of the latter that you now must create your own account at www.edublogs.org and logon each time you wish to make a comment. 

Blogging Assignments

1) Most students still need to comment on 1.3 and 1.4 after viewing the university lecture at home, since it is blocked, like many videos, by the school’s filter. 

2) All comments must be submitted by Friday, 19/6. 

3) Register your blog name and post it in the comments of lesson 3.0 by Tuesday, 23/6. Include your name, the blog title, and the link to your blog.

4) TWO Critiques (from lessons 2.0 and 2.1) are due by Friday, 26/6. This has been revised from 4 critiques to 2.

5) Blog posts 1 & 2 on your blog  by Wednesday, 1/7, for peer and teacher review

6) Blog posts 3 & 4 on your blog  by Friday, 3/7, for peer and teacher review

Some of the questions we will discuss and answer in the coming weeks. . .

• What are blogs?
• How can blogs help us learn?
• How important is technology in senior high school?
• What makes a ‘good’ blog?
• What are the key parts of every blog?
• How can learning about blogs make us better reader and writers?
• Are blogs worth our time?
• Can teachers learn to use technology wisely?
• How does online learning and blogging improve a teacher’s job?
• What would it take to make online learning a success for both students and teachers?
• Can students be trusted to learn independently and can they feel like part of a community if their learning happens online?
• What blogs are most worth reading?
• Why do people read and need blogs?

This really is one big experiment for all of you and Mrs. Liddell and Mr. Russell.  We’re curious to see how and if you enjoy learning through blogs.

Lesson 3.0–Getting Started on Your Own Blog

If you haven’t already, create a blog at www.edublogs.org. And then read the following resources, submit your blog plan to your teacher and then begin writing.

Resources

How to Start a Blog

http://michaelhyatt.blogs.com/workingsmart/2005/04/how_to_start_a_.html

To Twitter or not to Twitter? And if you Twitter, how to Twitter well.

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/News/Unlocking-Twitter-Tips-for-Successful-Microblogging-197176/

Tips to Write Better Blogs and Tantalising Twitter

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/how-microblogging-can-help-you/

Making a Blog go Viral

http://writetodone.com/2009/05/06/how-to-create-a-highly-viral-blog/

About.com on blogs– Too much information–How blogs can affect getting a job.
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobsearchblogs/a/jobsearchblog.htm

Planning—This is done on paper and handed in the old fashioned way.

What is your purpose and subject?

What tone will you take?

Who is your audience?

How will your structure your blog?

How would you describe your intended style?  Are you able to maintain it across your posts?

Lesson 2.1—Suggested Blogs for Reading & Critiquing

http://edublogs.org

http://liddellenglish2d.edublogs.org

Top 100 Australian Blogs

http://blogpond.com.au/top-100-australian-blogs-index/

Blogs from primary to senior classes in all subjects

http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/check-out-these-class-blogs/

Life Blogs

http://www.aboundlessworld.com/purpose/

• this one has a good post about the purpose(lessness) of most of high school education

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/

Sports Blogs

http://www.foxsports.com.au/blogs

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/main

Food Blogs

http://www.sbs.com.au/blogarticle/108525/How-influential-are-Australian-food-blogs

http://foodblogsearch.com/

Entertainment Blogs

http://blogs.thewest.com.au/category/entertainment/

http://www.fox.com.au/entertainment/blog

Technology Blogs

• Track what is up and coming in technology

http://www.kotaku.com.au/

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/

Photography Blog

www.lens.blog.nytimes.com

• A photojournalism blog. Great photos and great stories
  

Lesson 2.0—Reading and Critiquing Blogs for Audience, Purpose, Voice and Effectiveness. . .

You will need to follow, read and critiqueTWO blogs over 2-weeks.  This means a total TWO detailed responses on the provided handouts that you develop over the weeks. Each should take you at least 2 hours of reading and writing time.

You will do these on paper and hand them in the old fashioned way. We’re still learning about online teaching, so this works best for us for now. J

–Blog name and address

–Author/owner

–Dates you accessed and Titles of the Posts

–Subject and Tone

What is the blogger writing about?

What is his/her attitude toward the subject? 

What biases might he/she have? Why?

Who do you think the audience is and why?

–Topic(s) & Content

Does the blogger pursue the same topic each day/week?

What changes?

Is there a theme or focus?

What attitudes, beliefs, values are implicit or explicit in the blog?

–Structure

How is the blog organised and structured? 

Does the title reveal anything?

What makes it effective or ineffective?

–Self-Presentation

How does the blogger present himself/herself? Proof?

What is the image he/she wants to portray? Proof?

What are the blogger’s attitudes, beliefs, or values that are implicit or explicit in the blog?

–Voice &Style

What is the writing style and voice of the blogger? Proof?

What is distinctive about this blog?  Consider word choice, sentence length, structure, use of humour, punctuation, figurative language. . .

–Context

How does your personal context affect your reading of the blog?  

Lesson 1.4—The Building Blocks of Blogs

A Glossary of Blogging

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/the-bloggers-glossary/

History and info on blogs from Oracle THINKQUEST from Over 7,000 websites created by students around the world who have participated in a ThinkQuest Competition.
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01130/index.html

More formal study of blogs–Blogging and social action—this is for more advanced readers and those interested in the social impact of blogging
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogging_as_social_action_a_genre_analysis_of_the_weblog.html

Comment  #4: What are the FIVE most interesting things you learned from these posts?  Or if you already knew it all, what did they miss?

Lesson 1.2—Learning from the Experts about the Blogosphere

Presentation by a leading researcher, Alex Halavis, on on-line learning and blogging

http://alex.halavais.net/virtual-reality-real-life/
 

–Listen to this lecture by an American professor. Take notes so that you’ll be ready to post a response on the class blog.   

Part I—The Blogosphere

·         What are different approaches and ways to use blogs in education?

·         What are the benefits of blogging in education?

·         What are the costs of blogging in education?

·         What do you think about technology and student- not teacher- centered classrooms?

·         What are the benefits of peer review?

·         What does learning mean?  And how do we learn from blogs?

·         Do you think you can live others’ experiences by reading their blogs?

Comment  #2:  Based on Part I, explain how/if you will benefit from studying blogs? Do you think you could have received a better education at RSHS if more blogs had been used?

Lesson 1.3—More from the Experts

Part II of the Halavais Lecture—Writerly Literacy

http://alex.halavais.net/virtual-reality-real-life/

• Do you agree with Halvais’s and Jordan’s comments on the effects of lectures on students? Why?
• How is writing for a blog better than writing for a class assignment?
• What is the power of the blogger?
• What must a blogger pay attention to?
• What is practicing the actual?
• What is interesting to you about Halvais’s comments on group communication?
• How is the blogosphere starting to rival the current structure of academia?
• What does it mean that the nature of knowledge is changing?  What examples can you give to prove or disprove this?
• Back to 1953. . . A conversation with history teacher, Mr. Davis
  • If authoritarian isn’t the answer and laissez faire is not the answer, what is the answer?
• Do you agree with Halvais’s statement that how our education system needs to and will have to change?

Comment #3: Based on Part II, to what degree do you think writing is improved by writing for blogs and not just for the teacher?

An interview with Alex Halavais—extra, if you’re interested
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/94/getting-ahead.html
 

Lesson 1—Getting Started

We only have 3-weeks for our study of blogs, so this will be fast and furious. You will be expected to spend time outside of class reading, critiquing and posting about the blogs you read along with writing your own blog.

You must give Ms. Liddell or Mr. Russell a working email address (one that you can access both at school and at home).

COMMENTS  1-4 will go on your teacher’s website in the comments boxes. This way both the teacher and your classmates can see your posts and add comments.

1)      What is a Blog? How will we be using them?

http://globalteacher.org.au/what-is-a-weblog/

COMMENT #1: Respond to a range of these questions in the comment box and then your classmates and teacher will respond.  What do you know about blogs? What ones do you already read? What makes them useful or new compared to just facebook or myspace or other community sites?

Blogging 101—

This module for English 2D will provide an opportunity for you to learn about the history of blogs and also give you a chance to study and critique blogs to see how voice, audience, and content all work to share people’s experiences and ideas.

You will be spending some class time in the computer lab reading different websites and taking notes on your learning.  In the classroom, you will rely on these notes for discussions and group and individual work.

Once we clear the technological hurdles, you will be creating your own blog that provides your own narrative/commentary on your learning in the class along with providing us links to blogs you find useful, interesting and entertaining. In the meantime, please find your DET email and password, you will need this to register for a blog. 

You can create your student accounts in the www.edublogs.org space. You will have to sign a consent to follow our blogging rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to loss of computer privileges in class and in a zero for this module.

This module will run for weeks 7-10. It accounts for 30% of your 2D grade and focuses on Response/Investigation.

Task 1 Part A (15%)

–Investigate how bloggers use language to offer particular representations of themselves, other people, events and topics. 

COMMENTS 1, 2, 3, 4 on class site for teacher and classmates to read and comment on

FOUR Detailed Blog Critiques on the provided handout designed to help you study and critique blogs. Yes, it’s the old-fashioned way, but we’re still learning about how to use online courses for both teaching, learning and assessment.

Task 1 Part B (15%)

–Write a blog presenting a particular perspective on a current topic.

ONE planning worksheet handed in the old-fashioned way

POSTS 5, 6, 7, 8 are your personal blog entries to show your understanding of voice, purpose, audience, and all else that you learned from the blogs you read. It’s your chance to express your ideas, thoughts, rants, whatever you choose and put it out there in the blogosphere.

While you are learning, we’re learning too. Neither of us has taught online before, so we’ll be sure to let you know if/when we have to make changes to where the POSTS should appear—class blog or your own.