Before I set you up with Blogger accounts (so you can blog of course), I will have you each set up a Gmail account. That means that you will each have your own email account with Google. I will beg you to please choose identifiable names (ex: jfinkler@gmail.com or finkler_primetime@gmail.com), but I can anticipate that many of you will not listen. This will cause a problem, however, because if I can't identify your email address, then I won't know who you are and I won't be able to grade your post. Therefore, stick to easy and identifiable email addresses.
After you have an email address and you have your Blog all set up (you get to choose a template for it and you can set it up your own way), we (me and one of the media specialists) will set you guys up with GoogleDocs. On GoogleDocs I will share with you 3 different rubrics- one rubric for each act. After each time that you post on your blog, I will go to the rubric that you have saved on GoogleDocs (remember, I will be sharing these rubrics with you and you will not be able to change any of the rubrics or grades that I post) and I will highlight the rubric. After, I will post some comments on the rubric and post the grade on there as well. Whenever you want to see your grade for any of your posts, you just log into Google, go to GoogleDocs, click on the rubric that pertains to the specific post you want to see the grade for, and voila! you will see a highlighted rubric with comments and a grade.
The end result? We save trees (Go Green!) and we get computer/internet savvy!
Also, for all of you that always complain about losing your work on your computer because of viruses (you know how your research paper mysteriously disappears from the computer?), now you won’t have that issue. Since you will have an account with Google, all you will have to do is upload any documents to GoogleDocs and it is saved there FOREVER! All you need is internet connection so that you can access GoogleDocs. Pretty cool, right?
Here is a video you can watch about GoogleDocs. Enjoy!
BHS students share their perspective on Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"...
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Exemplary Blogs
The following are links to some blogs that Ms. Vayda's students have been working on. They blogged on Hamlet by Shakespeare. Note how she would post questions on her own blog (the link to her blog is on my blog list), and then the students would reply in a conversational manner. Pretty cool, right? That's how my online classes are for graduate school.
The following two blogs are examples of good writing:
thy version is thy best
Inside Machop's Head
I like the pictures that these students included in their blogs:
Hamlet: As Told By Gina
The Hamlet Files
The pictures obviously related to the play. So, feel free to add your own stuff to your blog, including widgets. Just make sure it all relates to the play.
Also, note the creative Blog Titles that the students came up with. As we begin reading A Doll's House, you may want to go back and change the Title of your blog. You want to make sure it is creative and that it reflects a bit of your personality, while relating it to the play.
-Miss.C.S
The following two blogs are examples of good writing:
thy version is thy best
Inside Machop's Head
I like the pictures that these students included in their blogs:
Hamlet: As Told By Gina
The Hamlet Files
The pictures obviously related to the play. So, feel free to add your own stuff to your blog, including widgets. Just make sure it all relates to the play.
Also, note the creative Blog Titles that the students came up with. As we begin reading A Doll's House, you may want to go back and change the Title of your blog. You want to make sure it is creative and that it reflects a bit of your personality, while relating it to the play.
-Miss.C.S
What you will be blogging on...
You have already been provided with a rubric. Therefore, you know exactly what you have to do to excel. However, all of this talk about rubrics, blogs, and posting, and you've never even been told what you are supposed to be blogging about.
As a class, we will be reading the play A Doll's House. There are three Acts and before each Act, I will be giving you vocabulary handouts that you must complete for homework. It is your responsibility to become familiar with these vocabulary words because you will choose the ones that you will want to include in your blog post. For example, if one of the vocab words were “self-sufficient”, then you would include the word in your post as you are discussing your views on the play. Therefore, I would write, “It is hard to tell whether Nora could ever become a self-sufficient female because of the constant suffocating nurture that her father and husband have provided for her.” That means that when you post for each Act, you want to focus on the vocab words for that Act. To become a Platinum Blogger, you must include more than two vocab words from the Act in your post.
Furthermore, you want your post to focus on your views and opinions of the plot, characters (inner struggles), and the setting. It is important for you to be able to analyze the plot and the characters development, individually. In addition, you want to tie in any important themes and symbols that you find to be appropriate. Most importantly, I want you to relate the play/ its characters to the media/ personal life. I need to see (and so do your peers) that you can make that connection between literature and your own lives.
After you publish your post, you want to go visit other blogs and you want to comment on what your peers have written. Hopefully, your peers will post higher- level thinking questions that will help you all initiate discussions. You must, however, do the same. This contributes to becoming a Platinum Blogger. Please make an effort to reply to at least three posts (three different bloggers). If you do not make this effort, then it will affect your grade (look at the rubric).
In another post, I am going to provide you guys with links to some excellent blogs from other students at BHS. It is vital that you understand what I am looking for and that you see a model of an exemplary (excellent) blog.
Are there any questions? (This is where you hit the comment button and you type in the question ;) Then I’ll reply back)
ps: I shouldn’t even have to mention this, but I will anyway. Do NOT forget to write properly. You are not to be writing as if you were texting or IM’ing. Transition words will become your lifeline (they will connect your thoughts and ideas) and the proper tense usage is important. It is best if you type your post into Microsoft Word first, and then copy and paste it into Blogger. Again, read the rubric thoroughly since all of these details are included in it.
pss: Get creative!!! Include pictures and videos that relate to the play/your post!
As a class, we will be reading the play A Doll's House. There are three Acts and before each Act, I will be giving you vocabulary handouts that you must complete for homework. It is your responsibility to become familiar with these vocabulary words because you will choose the ones that you will want to include in your blog post. For example, if one of the vocab words were “self-sufficient”, then you would include the word in your post as you are discussing your views on the play. Therefore, I would write, “It is hard to tell whether Nora could ever become a self-sufficient female because of the constant suffocating nurture that her father and husband have provided for her.” That means that when you post for each Act, you want to focus on the vocab words for that Act. To become a Platinum Blogger, you must include more than two vocab words from the Act in your post.
Furthermore, you want your post to focus on your views and opinions of the plot, characters (inner struggles), and the setting. It is important for you to be able to analyze the plot and the characters development, individually. In addition, you want to tie in any important themes and symbols that you find to be appropriate. Most importantly, I want you to relate the play/ its characters to the media/ personal life. I need to see (and so do your peers) that you can make that connection between literature and your own lives.
After you publish your post, you want to go visit other blogs and you want to comment on what your peers have written. Hopefully, your peers will post higher- level thinking questions that will help you all initiate discussions. You must, however, do the same. This contributes to becoming a Platinum Blogger. Please make an effort to reply to at least three posts (three different bloggers). If you do not make this effort, then it will affect your grade (look at the rubric).
In another post, I am going to provide you guys with links to some excellent blogs from other students at BHS. It is vital that you understand what I am looking for and that you see a model of an exemplary (excellent) blog.
Are there any questions? (This is where you hit the comment button and you type in the question ;) Then I’ll reply back)
ps: I shouldn’t even have to mention this, but I will anyway. Do NOT forget to write properly. You are not to be writing as if you were texting or IM’ing. Transition words will become your lifeline (they will connect your thoughts and ideas) and the proper tense usage is important. It is best if you type your post into Microsoft Word first, and then copy and paste it into Blogger. Again, read the rubric thoroughly since all of these details are included in it.
pss: Get creative!!! Include pictures and videos that relate to the play/your post!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Rubric
You can find the rubric that will be used to grade your posts here. Remember, it is important that you read through the rubric and you understand what is expected of you. I am confident that you will all do a spectacular job because you have been working towards this the entire year.
Happy Blogging :)
ps: For those of you that would like to know the website where the rubric can be found, it is at http://tr.im/postingrubric. Easy stuff to remember, right?
Happy Blogging :)
ps: For those of you that would like to know the website where the rubric can be found, it is at http://tr.im/postingrubric. Easy stuff to remember, right?
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