mtdoug-english

Monday, November 8, 2010

Student Blogging Guidelines

Student Blogging Guidelines
As a student blogger at Mt Doug, you are expected to follow these blogging guidelines below. Use the questions in italics to help you decide what is appropriate to post on your blog.
1. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home, in other countries) to know.Ask yourself: Is this something I want everyone to see?
2. Do not share personal information.Ask yourself: Could someone find me (in real life) based on this information?
3. Think before you post.Ask yourself: What could be the consequences of this post?
4. Know who you’re communicating with.Ask yourself: Who is going to look at this, and how are they going to interpret my words?
5. Consider your audience and that you’re representing Mt Doug.Ask yourself: Do I have a good reason/purpose to do this?
6. Know how to give constructive feedback.Ask yourself: What will I cause by writing this post?
7. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.Ask yourself: Would I want someone to say this to me?
8. Use appropriate language and proper grammar and spelling.Ask yourself: Would I want this post to be graded for proper grammar and spelling?
9. Only post information that you can verify is true (no gossiping).Ask yourself: Is this inappropriate, immature or bullying?
10. Anytime you use media from another source, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work.Ask yourself: Who is the original creator of this work?
Commenting Guidelines
As a blogger, you will be commenting on other people’s work regularly. Good comments:
are constructive, but not hurtful;

consider the author and the purpose of the post;

are always related to the content of the post;

include personal connections to what the author wrote;

answer a question, or add meaningful information to the content topic;

follow the writing process. Comments are a published piece of writing.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

This video was made by a Photography 12 student last year. Watch, listen, analyze, and tell me what you think. Remember, don't just say "I liked it, it was good". Tell me why. Thoughtful, specific comments with support are what I am looking for.

Shakespeare.

I think we can all agree that Bill Shakespeare was a master wordsmith. He was successful in his own time, and 400 years later we still study and perform his works. Like Bach, Mozart, Van Gogh, Michelangelo and Duke Ellington his art has "stood the test of time".

Lets write some poetry!

Here is a stanza from a poem written by my English 9 class last year. They were asked to express their thoughts about the concept of "mystery".

Mystery can be seen, or unprovoked.

The unknown, scratching for the right,

Mystery is the planted symbiosis in life,

Growing and separating from reality.

It’s the cool mist hovering around the trees.

The feeling of intense anxiety; the cold bumps

We feel on our necks when we feel vulnerable.

Mystery is the cold effect in our lives.

Now it's your turn. What is mystery? Post your thoughts in the comment section.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Technology in Education

I have experienced a Renaissance in teaching. After 21 years teaching in very low tech and high tech environments I find myself rejuvenated and excited about teaching again. I fell into this situation quite accidentally. I found myself teaching Media and Photography in a Apple Lab and was assigned a block or two of English. I had taught English before but suddenly found myself utilizing the technology in my room in English. Suddenly I had my students engaged in web quests and then we evolved into online notebooks using wikispaces. Eventually we were using cloud computing and multimedia projects that truly engaged my students in the content and curriculum. I feel like I have opened the door and had a glimpse into the future of education, and at the same time feeling a little overwhelmed about the sheer volume of resources that are available, but what I know is that I want to be a pioneer, an explorer and leader for educators who want to take advantage of and manipulate the technology available to teachers in the 21st century.