To Blog or Not To Blog?

Thank you to those of you who have responded to the poll asking whether you'd like to continue blogging in Geography. I really appreciate those of you who took the time to write a comment and let me know what you think.

This is the first time I have taught using blogs and, like you, I am learning a lot! Your work continues to improve as you use the tools available to you more and more effectively. I am especially impressed with your work on Assignment #8. I have read some wonderfully creative and well-researched imaginary interviews.

Some issues you have raised and that I am thinking about:

More class discussion - Some people have suggested that we do some class discussion along with our blogging. I think this is a great idea. So far, you have been working fairly independently on your blogs (and doing a great job, may I add!), I will work on finding ways to interact even more.

More guidance from the teacher - In other classes you've taken in the Social Studies (History, Geography), you are used to having the teacher lead you through a concept and then you do a reading or an assignment. With our projects so far, I've been releasing the responsibility to you. You have been responsible for working with information I've given you, that I've directed you towards or that you've found on your own. Some of you want more guidance and I will be happy to provide that to you.

More clarity - You may not believe it, but you are flying through curriculum expectations for your grade. What I will do is I will let you know, with each assignment, which curriculum expectations you are covering (there is a whole bunch of stuff you're expected to learn each year and that's put together in curriculum documents that teachers refer to). Also, I've started to add more information at the end of posts to tell you how I'll be evaluating each assignment. People have also expressed that they miss learning in units. I'll add more info at the beginning of assignments to let you know which unit we're working on. I'll get even better organized and hopefully that will help you.

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Fewer Assignments - Some of you have said that you would like more time to read your peers assignments before you are given your next one. I've been trying to give you assignments of different lengths, but to also keep you busy during class time. I'm thinking about how many assignments to give you.

Distractions - Several of you have said that blogging is distracting. I'd argue that it's not the blogging that is distracting, but it's all the other cool stuff on the Internet that is distracting. It is up to you to monitor your use and make sure you are staying on task. The world is a distracting place and I think it is an invaluable tool to learn how to stay focused amidst many other tempting things.

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Once again, I really appreciate your opinions and I really appreciate the respectful, mature way in which you are expressing them. Like I've said, I am learning from our blogging project along with you, and your input helps me to continue to learn and improve my teaching. Thank you.

If there are any other issues you'd like to raise, please don't hesitate to do so in the comments area.

Comments: A Quick Reminder

Those of you with funky templates,

Make sure that people can comment on your blogs! I just tried to comment on Amit's blog and was unable to! Egads! Go to Settings-->Comments-->Show comments in pop-up window

Also, make sure that people do not need to type in a scrambled word. For that, go to Settings--->Comments-->Show word verification for comments-->"No"

Have a friend comment on your blog so that you know comments work. The Tech Experts are pro at this if you still need extra help.

***Note to Tale - try following these directions or ask a Tech Expert for help - I'll be back tomorrow if this doesn't work!***

Amazing Students!

You guys rock!

Check out what Santana has done. She found an awesome website that tells you what important historical events occurred every day of a year. She's also added a gadget on her blog that updates daily with that same information. Awesome! Also, how can you not adore her blog title - "Love This History"?

Sarah has found a super, duper neat-o widget. You can create a quiz (similar to those 10 question quizzes on BrainPop) and embed it on your site. I strongly suggest that you do her quiz. Embarrassingly, I only got an 8/10. See if you can beat my score!

Let me know, in my comments, if you've discovered something super amazing!

Helena Gives Some Advice, Which Reminds Me...

Hey ladies and germs!

Helena in E7/8 never ceases to amaze me! She has posted an amazing entry giving advice to you, her peers, on how to write even better blog entries. She has outlined the process that she uses in her own writing. This is something helpful for all of you to read.

It's so interesting for me to see the process that you use when you do your work. Remember that you can use your blogs for any History related things. Some of you have embraced this and have written reflective entries, made polls or contests, and commented on things that are going on in Canada today. That is perfect. In addition to the marks that you will get for completing your assignments, you can get bonus marks for using your blogs creatively to share relevant information. Some of you have done creative things, like add video bars, music, personalized templates, etc. That is a good way to personalize your blog, but is not relevant, so will not get you bonus marks.

To get bonus marks, be CREATIVE and RELEVANT. I look forward to seeing all the cool things you come up with. If there is something you want me to check out, simply leave a comment for me.

Assignment #3: History of the Future

In searching for cool stuff for you folks to read, I found a blog maintained by a historian named Christopher Moore. You should check it out. He wishes "there were enough worthwhile Canadian history blogs to make .....(a) list". Perhaps some of your blogs will be just that!

I especially like an entry titled "To the Nines -- reviewing the centuries". I would like you to check it out and read it so you can hear one perspective on how far our wonderful country has come in the past 500 years. He discusses what Canada has looked like and felt like both from a newcomers' point of view, as well as from Natives' point of view. It's a pretty interesting way of looking at things, making sure to see history through different sets of eyes.

Your assignment is to read the entry discussed above and respond to the author's final sentence. He wonders what Canada will look like in one hundred years. Please write a blog entry (on your own blog) speculating on what may be happening in Canada in 2109. It may be tempting to just talk about things like flying cars, but please try to think long and hard about this. Reflect on some of the things that have happened in the last five hundred years and what will change in our country in terms of politics, the environment, population and big historical events. Think about how exciting it is in the United States that there is an incoming black president. What sort of exciting things will happen in the next hundred years here?

***Make sure in your blog entry to introduce what it is you're talking about and to link back to Christopher Moore's blog ***

***Update: (3:30 p.m. Jan 21st) Samantha in E7A has made some great observations and predictions about where we are headed. She predicts another female Prime Minister and a first black Prime Minister. She also predicts more schooling will take place in the blogosphere.
Some other students have predicted very interesting things like an Aboriginal Canadian Prime Minister, population laws similar to those in China, alternative sources of fuel, desolate conditions around the world due to global warming.
You have so many interesting ideas! Keep on sharing them with one another!***
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***Update (12 p.m. January 26th) - Janet has made a very good entry that you can look at as an example. She writes very clearly and even uses bullet points to make her writing easy to read. Her ideas are very optimistic and positive. ***
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***Update (9:05 a.m. January 27th) - Alem has done an exceptional job with this assignment. She has listed many predictions and is very specific. Well done!***

Be creative, be specific.

It's time to write about the history of the future!

Assignment #2: Comment on three blogs

This assignment will be due by the beginning of our next class.


Your first homework assignment is to find the blogs of three of your classmates (I will post links to these on my blog on the right hand side) and make comments on their first entry. That means that you are reading their entries and responding appropriately and thoughtfully to the things that they said. You are not telling your friends how awesome their new shoes are, or about a person you have a crush on. This is your professional educational blog and you are expecting people to be respectful of that and you must, in turn, be respectful of your classmates.


Good luck!