Hey Kids!
On April 8th I have the opportunity to share two of my favorite joys: teaching and blogging! As a presenter at the NCEA (National Catholic Educational Association) Convention, I will help other teachers learn how to blog.
Will you help me teach the teachers?
I need your input to show everyone how great blogging is. As you read this post, think about your own experiences with blogging. While you are reading and thinking, I’ll be sharing our class experiences. I’ll start with a little powerpoint that explains why I began blogging in the first place.
Next up, I’m going to show this video which explains what blogging is. Do you remember the first day you went into the computer lab and got your own blog? How cool was that, right?
I’ll need to mention, of course, the importance of digital safety and the responsible use of technology. Have you ever had a problem with inappropriate material on your blog? Think about copyright use, too.
We are going to learn all the important blogging terminology so that the teachers can write fantastic posts. We’ll be learning about embedding videos, adding widgets, creating avatars, and giving attribution, in addition to lots of other blogging skills. All the best blogs use these concepts. What are some of your favorite blogs out there? As my kids know, we are great buddies with the kids and teacher (Ms. Smith) at Huzzah!, and I am sure we will take a trip to British Columbia, Canada, to visit them. I would not be here at the NCEA Convention in Orlando, presenting to other teachers, without my BBB (Best Blogging Buddy) Ms. Smith. Also, I would never even have begun my blogging journey had I not been inspired by third grade teacher Mrs. Yollis in California and her blogging buddy Mrs. Kathleen Morris in Australia.
We love exploring blogs, reading about all the great learning that is going on in the world, writing quality comments, and connecting with other kids and teachers. Reading posts from other classes really makes me feel as though I have discovered a “captain’s log” from a ship sailing in a distant land. Or even perhaps from a ship sailing in space; I often hear the voice of James T. Kirk in my head as I begin to read a new blog, “This is the captain’s log…” Do you have a favorite entry/post that you would like us to visit?
Some of my favorite posts involve special blogging activities we have done, like our blogging parties for reaching a goal. I also love the Skype visits we have had with author Graham Salisbury; movie producer Dana Hankins; Shakespeare birthplace curators Lisa Peters and Anjna Chouhan; and Mrs. Emerick’s 6th grade class, Making Waves. Another great experience for me was our guest lecturer, Mrs. Joanne Chonody, who connected with a friend she hadn’t spoken to in over twenty years thanks to Family Blogging Month and our quest to collect visitors from all 50 states. All of these events were possible because we blog. Have any of your special memories from school been the result of blogging?
Okay, now here’s the part where I could use your help. Would you take a few minutes to think about a specific experience you’ve had with blogging and then share that story in the comment section? I know the teachers at the convention will want to know about blogging from the students’ points-of-view. This is how you can help me teach the teachers.
As my new blogging friends from Hawaii (Graham Salisbury and Dana Hankins) say,
Mahalo and much aloha!