Social Networking vs Educational Blogging

Bloggers, below is a link that may be very enlightening for all of us and even our "larger audience" out there. Please click on the link to read a clarification of the difference between educational blogging and social networking. Networking sites like MySpace truly differ in content and language from educational blogging, and reading this link will clear up some of the challenges we face as new bloggers. I hope to prevent any misunderstandings which could emerge over blogging expectations. The site covers dangers, safety, language, and benefits of a knowledge based site. Read on. We'll discuss this further in class, and you may wish to blog about this!

Please be current on your reading, both our book and the blog. Tomorrow is a computer laptop day, and everyone will have a chance to be heard.

http://supportblogging.wikispaces.com/Blogs+vs+Social+Networking

Great Book, Lively Discussion

Yesterday we discussed questions you raised in your literature discussion blog as well as passages and related issues referred to in the blog. Each class shared ideas about favorite characters, mysterious events, historical references and themes that were emerging. We also pondered over language, both Harper Lee's and ours. You noted (as spelled out in the guidelines) that comments and posts should be readable and appropriate for a larger audience. What you write on the blog should be accurate, responsible, and mature. Using letters that stand for "bad language" still have the same connotation and don't belong in our academic conversation. Likewise, in an effort to be funny, some comments still are dangerously close to politically incorrect (no slurs, remember?) and so they, too, don't belong in our public space. Be careful with your words. The ARE powerful!

Today we will be reviewing articles related to our historical time period and the rest of the setting of the novel. We'll create mind maps which may help as you look for connections for our weblog.

Keep reading for deeper understanding and blogging for meaningful connections!

Wednesday Book Discussion: Midway Through Mockingbird

Here's a recap of what's due tomorrow:

l. Writing packet - lst draft with conferencing
2nd draft revision with conferencing (highlighted changes)
3rd draft revision with conferencing (highlighted changes)
Letter of reflection (a discussion of your writing process,explaining your revisions and other suggestions from the guidelines)

2. Second reading response, if you haven't already handed it in.

3. Mockingbird vocabulary, if you haven't already handed it in.

Gosh, that sounds like a lot, but these are projects that we've been working on for a long time. I enjoyed the book presentations today, and I hope these will add to your reading list.

Tomorrow I look forward to a large class discussion of the book thus far. Be sure to make note of questions you still have or passages you'd like to share or anything you've noticed on the weblog literature discussion. It is crucial that you are up to date on your reading so that you can join in, and it would be helpful to read over the blog posts if you can. I love a good discussion, and with a great book like Mockingbird, there is so much to say!

Tie Up Loose Ends

As we are nearing the end of first quarter, I want to thank all of you who helped me make the transition back into the classroom. Look at what you have accomplished:

l. You read The Odyssey and studied a bit of Greek Mythology.
2. You selected books for independent reading and are ready to share information
about your books.
3. We've written every day and read every day.
4. We have established writing workshop and completed a writing project.
5. We have set up our class weblog are all signed on, posting, and commenting.
6. We are reading To Kill A Mockingbird and studying vocabulary and literary elements.
7. We are exploring digital resources and establishing internet safety.
8. We are building a community of readers and writers.

My expectations are that you challenge yourself to stretch and reach higher limits in your academic endeavors. Don't look for the minimum output to reach a grade; do as much as you can do! You have every opportunity to read, write, research, explore and connect with others. Take advantage. Thanks for your efforts.

We're Wired: Let's Talk!

What an effort it has been to get our Weblog up and running! Almost all of you are signed up and posting now. Way to go! This weekend I've been answering e-mails and sending new invitations out, so if you are having trouble, send me an e-mail, or if you are still struggling, I'll help you in class tomorrow. We're signed up for the big laptop lab again on Tuesday and Friday, so if the power holds out, we should be able to have plenty of time to solve our problems.

The book is getting good, isn't it? Just read the posts and comments on your class blog. It's really cool to get comments, so if you haven't done this yet, please be sure to respond to your fellow bloggers. Also, be sure to check your own posts for comments. If you have gotten one, be sure you respond back, especially if you were posed questions. Connections are what it is all about.

Well, my friends, happy reading and happy blogging! I think we're pretty amazing.