Students Spread the Joy with Blog Commenting

My 6th grade English students have killed it with their blog comments so far this year. I have told them repeatedly how proud I am of them, and I have also told my 7th grade English students who learned similar skills last year how awesome the 6th graders are doing. There's nothing like some healthy competition.

It's the 6th graders first year officially exploring what online life is all about. We have a class blog through Kidblog, and they each have their space to create. Once I approve their blog posts (a time consuming affair), students are free to comment on their classmates' posts, which I also must approve.

The long term idea is to open up our blogs to other classes around the globe, but I'm starting small, and we're being very careful and safe. No real identifying personal information makes it into the students' blogs, and if I do see something, I simply don't approve the post or comment until it's fixed.

In order to make it a positive experience for everybody involved, we've set up some guidelines, 4 of them to be exact. While many more could apply, this is what seemed most manageable for my middle school students at this time. Special thanks to Linda Yollis who has so many great blogging resources for her elementary students. Link to her educational blogging wiki here.

Make a positive connection.

Our comments are designed to note the good in somebody else's post, whether it be their writing style or ideas presented. However, we try to make sure that we're more than generic in our praise. While it's nice to read, "Great post", or, "I liked your paragraph", I tell the students to be specific when responding to what they've read. I'm surprised when students who've been going to school together for years know very little about what is important to their classmates. Making that connection a positive one opens up continuing conversations that occur, hopefully building or beginning friendships along the way. I've seen great stuff from my 6th graders lately, like, "I didn't know you took dance lessons. I did ballet when I was little."

Add new information.
One of the things I want students to learn through blogging and commenting is to expand what they know about each other or about a particular subject of interest. A piece of new information could be something about themselves that makes a connection; it could also count for what's described in the paragraph above. What I really aim for here is a continuation of the conversation. Rather than having a few comments below the blog post relating to just one narrow topic, I want students to go beyond and add different angles or perspectives, even share (respectful) alternate viewpoints. This way the conversation can begin to go deeper. In middle school, I love to see the higher level thinking that occurs when students challenge each other.

End with a question.
This is the invitation. I really like to see this one done well because students validate each other's interests or concerns and ask clarifying questions about what somebody else has written. When on topic, it shows respect to a classmate's ideas and encourages them to share even more. One thing I advise students to note when they ask a question in their comment is how many other questions are already on the comment thread. Staying on topic (at least for a while) is important. If too many different questions arise, it becomes a random mess of fractured ideas. Students have enough distractions in their lives without adding to the chaos!

Proofread.
Oh, yes. This one. I had to make it official. In my class, students are graded on the quality of both their blog post and their commenting. I don't demand perfection, but I need to see care. On Kidlbog, when students struggle with grammar and language, I have the chance to sit down with them one on one to help them note particular issues before I "approve" their writing. If I encourage proofreading ahead of time, it covers over a multitude of possible mistakes. I also think taking great care in proofreading is a sign of respect to the others who will be reading and trying to understand their thoughts. And don't get me started on "text speak". The little i for "I" and the letter u for "you" will unfortunately send their comment straight to the trash.

And a couple bonus thoughts:

Keep your comments to 1 or 2 sentences.
I do this for a two reasons. Let's just say the main reason is so that the students learn to be creatively concise. I don't want their comment to be another story all in itself; it should be a response to some previous information. Arguably, if students know how to combine sentences and cut down ramblings, they can fit in all the comment requirements (positive connection, new info, question, proofreading) into a couple sentences. We all know that students will choose to read the shorter comments anyway. My second reason is that it cuts down on my approval time. Remember, I have it set up that I have to approve absolutely everything the students put online, original blog post and each comment. I can read a comment in a snap and decide to approve it, trash it, or help the student edit it.

Spread the Joy.
And what about the student who receives no comments on their blog post? They've been working hard to follow my instructions on commenting. They've blogged, and they've shared 5 comments on other people's posts, and they honestly love doing it. But they get nothing in return for their trouble. So I tell the students to spread the joy. I have them think about how they would feel if they saw no comments on their post, and typically they understand. I'm not necessarily into the self-esteem movement, but I am into my students showing a concerted effort of care for each other. Respect. Obviously, some students will have more traffic on their posts than others, but they know that it's more important to give than to receive.

So there you have it, my thoughts on blog commenting with middle school students. I'd love to hear what works for you! And don't worry, I won't grade you on whatever comments you leave...

Calling Middle School Student Bloggers!

I've been trying to get my 6th grade English Language Arts class at Ripon Christian interested in blogging. I started blogging with students a year ago for multiple reasons:

1. It's more motivating to write for and to classmates (and others) than the teacher.
2. It's an important skill to know in our modern world.
3. Learning to comment appropriately leads to positive interactions with many people you may not know well or at all.
4. It allows kids to feel pride in their hard work when they see their writing published online.
5. It's something new and different for them.
6. Kids have interesting and meaningful stories to share.
7. Students sometimes feel more free to share in writing than in person.
8. It's fun!

Last year we had an student from our buddy class in Australia come visit our small town and school. It was very rewarding for the students. Read my blog post about it here.

With that said, I'm having trouble finding middle school students from other schools to blog with, and a good chunk of that is my fault...my search parameters are very narrow. Let me explain.

I'm reaching out to Christian schools. 

I understand that we need to connect our faith to the larger world, but I decided to play it safe and only reach out to other Christian schools so that the parents of my students feel safe about their children's first interactions online.

I'm considering schools from other countries first. 

I want my students to learn about other cultures within a Christian setting. I want them to learn that they have brothers and sisters in Christ on a global scale. The common bond we have in Jesus is enough reason to begin a relationship. At this point, though, I wouldn't mind connecting with a class from the U.S.--I just want to get my kids blogging with somebody!

I need an English speaking school. 

While I search other countries for connections, my students do not have the skills to communicate with non-English speakers.

Reliable technology is key. 

The school we connect with must have the proper technology to communicate via blog on a regular basis. We have an iPad cart in our small middle school, and I can reserve regular access for us; I just need somebody who wants do and has access like we do!

Use Kidblog as a blogging platform. 

I like Kidblog because I can set the privacy settings and change them over time. I can also set it so that the teacher must "approve" the blog post or comment only after I have read it for appropriateness and/or correctness. I have begun my year with connecting my own 6th graders to each other. They are eager now, however, to connect with some buds across the globe.

Multiple schools would be ideal. 

I want options. We've connected with one class, and it worked well last year, but technical difficulties arise, and conflicting schedules get in the way. (Especially schedules from different hemispheres--while my class goes to Christmas vacation, an Australian class has finished their school year.) My students have not been able to connect with anybody yet this year, and I'm stuck!

If anybody who's reading this feels like they can connect with us, please do! Or tell your friends. And remember my criteria that helps me keep my students safe and parents happy: 

• Christian middle school class (we're 6th graders)
• From somewhere outside (or inside) the U.S.
• Reliable technology for easy access
• Currently using Kidblog, or a willingness to set Kidblog up

I created a website last year for a certification project. It's not completely up to date, but it would help anybody who is starting blogging for the first time. Check it out at blog2buds if interested.

A blog2buds face2face

Mrs. McKenzie's email said that a student of hers was in our area on vacation and wanted to visit our school.

Whaaaaaat?! This wasn't your typical pen-pal operation. We had launched our blog2buds initiative at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year after connecting with Mrs. McKenzie, a sixth grade teacher at Trinity Christian School in Canberra, Australia.

Blogging abroad is a brand new experience for students at Ripon Christian, and my sixth graders get a kick out of me jokingly calling them my guinea pigs...but they've taken the bull by the horns, proving their worth. And it's an understatement to say that I was excited to know they were going to be rewarded for their efforts.

Because of our hemisphere separation, our schools are opposite in seasons. While my students were sad to see Mrs. McKenzie's previous class move on after the Christmas holiday, they're excited to connect with a new bunch of "Year 6 Aussies", a group that began their new school year when we entered our spring season. The idea is to finish up our year with the new group and then have my incoming 6th graders connect with Mrs. McKenzie's current class next fall.

Ben, one of Mrs. McKenzie's new students, had flown into San Francisco with his mom and dad last week and had shown an interest in visiting our school, if possible. When they saw that our school was partway through their direct route from San Francisco to Yosemite, we together determined that it was meant to be. They would arrive Wednesday around 10:30, drop Ben off to experience school with us, and return a few hours later after lunch and recess to pick him up.

The visit was thrown together quickly, but I was amazed at how perfectly it went. When I told my students Tuesday that we were going to have a visitor from Mrs. McKenzie's class the next day, they were stoked! We made some loose plans for Ben and decided to be flexible with our school work.

When they checked in on Wednesday at our school office, it was just before our morning break. I walked over with two boys, Danton and Erik, and met Ben and his parents. After we exchanged our excitement over this unexpected opportunity, Danton took Ben to Band. When Band was over, Ben visited my English class. He wasn't shy to answer questions and share about his life in Australia with us or ask us questions about ourselves. For about 25 minutes he captivated his audience, showing us some Australian money, giving us a few mementos from Canberra, and telling us about kangaroos, school, and much more.

We then headed to the computer lab because we wanted to show him our blogging platform. He buddied with Erik and watched as Erik put his essay up on Kidblog.

My homeroom took a class picture with Ben, we ate lunch together, and then Ben roughed it with a bunch of kids at recess and played a little soccer. He visited Math class for a bit, and then his parents returned to pick him up. And that was it, a whirlwind of a tour!

The wonder of this blog2buds encounter would never have been possible without the concerted effort to reach out to a class across the world. And the wonder continues. As I mentioned, Ben is in the "new" class, so we will be able to connect with him when he returns to Canberra and gets blogging with his classmates. Perhaps we'll even attempt a Google Hangout between classes. It seems that the opportunities are endless.

Ben's mom, Ben, his dad, and me (Mr. T.)

I've set up a website called blog2buds that not only documents the beginnings of our blogging adventures but also gives tips on how to begin blogging with your class. I think the really cool part, though, is the Google Plus page you can link to from blog2buds where you can connect in discussion with other like-minded teachers. Take a look and perhaps you'll be able to connect online--maybe even face2face down the road--with some students abroad. Or use the #blog2buds hashtag on twitter (make sure to tag me @terpsmak) to start talking up your ideas with other teachers who also want to try out blogging with their classes.

4 Excuses of the Tech-Nervous

I recently led an iPad workshop for our elementary and middle school teachers. Valentine's Day was an inservice day at our school mostly for curriculum mapping, but I was given 45 minutes to share how the iPad could be implemented into classrooms K-8. While the middle school teachers have been sharing an iPad cart of 30 since early in the school year with varying degrees of success, elementary teachers recently received 2 iPads per classroom. Some teachers have been researching iPad implementation on their own, but others struggle with where to start. Others don't want the iPads anywhere near them or their classrooms.

I know a widespread issue surrounding technology integration in general, and iPad implementation specifically, is the lack of professional development for the teachers. I think sharing within the workshop was a good first step, and I supplied a resource for iPad implementation that logically takes a teacher from learning the basics of the iPad to full integration into the classroom. You can see it here. But after presenting, I feel some common excuses abound. Before the iPads get shoved into drawers and forgotten, I would like to refute a few of the excuses I commonly hear.

Excuse #1: My current strategies work just fine.

Now, if you're okay with "fine", I can understand where you're coming from. A few years back I was on cruise control. I taught Spelling, English, Reading, and Social Studies in the sixth grade, and I had fine-tuned an efficiency standard for myself and my students. I taught well, the kids learned well, and I merely tweaked lesson plans from year to year. While I still feel I had designed above average lessons for my students that taught depth of reading and writing skills, there was something missing. The something that was missing was a focus on student learning style and strength; I relied on my strength as a teacher. Students learned the way I taught, but since then I've discovered that I need to teach the way students learn, and technology is a huge piece of that process.

credit: www.usm.edu

One thing I hate to see on my iPad is the little red notification on my app store icon that shows how many of my apps are in need of an update. The higher the number the more frustrating it is. One thing I love, though, is how simple it is for me to tap into the app store and press "update all". App developers are always looking for ways to improve their particular apps, and they listen to the critiques of their customers by using the reviews we submit. What an ideal situation for the classroom! What do our students and constituency need? What do they want from me? Am I willing to change with the times? Am I willing to ask my students or their parents what they desire? Check your current strategies and see if it's time for an update. I am willing to bet that using your iPad(s) or other tech tools will add to the students' learning.

Excuse #2: The 3 R's R all we need.

Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic. I teach the reading and the writing in my role, so you're preaching to the choir if you say these things are important, but I have two things to say about the 3 R's. First, I think we need to be careful about how we approach the 3 R's in education. Instead of a focus on the actual reading, writing, and math skills as an end, the 3 R's must be taught through discovery using critical thinking and problem solving. Second, we've got some new literacies to deal with. Since the explosion of the Internet into our culture, new purposes for reading and writing and even mathematical thinking have emerged. Students access the Internet daily and sometimes exclusively. The reading skills we need to teach students include interpreting and discerning the mass of information on the web. Information on the Internet is much more current than the textbooks we keep referring to in classrooms year after year; literacy education has changed dramatically. Students must be taught how to navigate the types of writing that appear online; it's our task to put the proper tools in students' hands in order for them to understand the world around them. Writing has also changed. I am teaching my sixth graders to blog--see my blog2buds site--for the first time this year, and their purposes for writing have expanded greatly with a chance to connect with others across the globe. Teaching proper responsibility while posting and commenting online is necessary when understanding the new literacies that result from an always connected culture. Additionally, mathematical thinking in our digital age will likely produce the computer programmers of tomorrow. Times have changed, so our teaching must as well.

Excuse #3: The technology is too overwhelming.

This one, I believe, takes a change in mindset. Do you remember when you were in college earning your education degree, or afterward earning your masters' degree or taking classes, going to workshops, perhaps earning a certain certification? I've done each of these things, and I constantly fight the temptation to achieve a letter grade and then fall back into my old routine, the one that I was so comfortable with before I was challenged within the classes I took. I have to battle the mindset that my continuing education is a series of hurdles to leap over in order to finish the race. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to finish, take a breather, and celebrate. But what if we could change our view so that we're not jumping (or stumbling) over hurdles. Instead, we could choose to see those hurdles as gateways, and with each pass, the new opportunities that abound.

When I was in school at Calvin College (Go Knights!), the catch phrase in the education department was that we were preparing to become "reflective practitioners". Instead of taking a course or workshop to earn a required credit, we must use the courses we take to carefully reflect on our current teaching and learn new strategies for quality implementation. The same is true for technology integration. You've been handed an iPad--now what? It will take time and research to figure out how to use it to the students' advantage within the classroom, but isn't it worth the work load? Have you seen the student outcomes when you try a new cutting edge technique? Have you seen the student engagement? Do you have class management issues that have disappeared? I have. The students are excited to try new things. Please continue to be a "reflective practitioner" in your teaching and don't fall into the trap of efficient routine. Energize your teaching with some engaging possibilities, including tech, and I think you will find new joy in teaching rather than focus on how overwhelming your job is.

Excuse #4: I'm too afraid to make mistakes.

I am an analytical person, and I like predictable outcomes, but this school year after completing the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate (IEASC) through Fresno Pacific University (FPU) and Computer Using Educators (CUE), as well as receiving an iPad cart in our middle school, I've chosen to let go of the reins (mostly) and allow the students to run out of the gates so that I can feel out where their strengths lie. Interestingly, I found that toward the beginning of the year many students were wary of my new approach. Though sixth grade is typically quite a transition anyway, a lot of kids still weren't prepared when I handed them a Google Apps for Education (GAfE) email, and only now they are beginning to better understand the power behind the Web 2.0 tools I've presented. It was slow-going at first, but now my students are coming up with their own solutions to problems that occur.

They and I have made mistakes along the way, and we've found that failure is a completely natural piece of the educational process. My students have seen me try to present something (with or without technology) that failed to work, only to see me make decisions to alter my approach. From there, they settle into taking their own risks with the iPads I hand to them on particular days. Similarly, I've heard stories from frustrated parents who have had tech breakthroughs at home because of the problem solving they've had to spend time on related to course work I've assigned.

Every day we ask our students to take risks and to try things that are uncomfortable for them. Why won't we?

What now?

In my previous post, I played with the phrase "failure's not an option" and instead titled it Failure's Not Optional. I just re-read the last part of it, and one of the sentences I shared about students was this: "Let them loose." I guess a related idea would be, "Let them lose." And by losing, by failing, students learn to approach the problem from another angle; isn't that what learning is?

So what about you? Have you used one of the above excuses when considering technology? Do you visit the teachers' lounge and complain about what is required of you regarding the technological nuances you face? Do you find that your established routine is paramount to your teaching? I would encourage you to step away from your comfort zone.

View the hurdles in education not as an obstacle to overcome but as a gateway toward further success. Perhaps your change in mindset will spark a movement in your classroom or school. Collaborate with your colleagues, check with your PLN on social media, and get on the cutting edge.

blog2buds

Well, I finished the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate, the IEASC, an online educational technology certification through Computer Using Educators (CUE) and Fresno Pacific University. I can say to everybody who cares that it has transformed how I teach. It was quite a ride: I was able to succeed in completing 18 units in 6 months from April to October. Completely done.

From learning Google Drive...to exploring numerous Web 2.0 tools...to implementing iPads...to taking the plunge into classroom blogging with my sixth graders, using technology as a tool to help students create deeper meaning has become an expectation I have of myself, and I hope to spread the joy within my sphere of influence.

As a class, we have published our first blog posts to our Australian

photo credit: Lisa Nielsen

friends. In the welcome paragraphs that the students shared with the Australian class, they made sure to begin with a jovial greeting, continue with some information about themselves, and end with a few questions for their buds across the globe. After a 2 week term break in Australia, we eagerly await responses within the blog comments. This will be our first real communication with our buddies who live almost 8,000 miles west of us!

We have just completed one quarter of our school year, so you could say that our road has been slow-going. But I believe it is extremely important to do something like blogging for the very first time in a deliberate manner. We laid the groundwork in August, September, and some of October, and now we will continue our journey and see what's around the bend.

As a teacher who just completed an intensive series of courses to earn the title "Innovative Educator", I feel as if a journey is ending, but if I'm completely honest with myself, I know my journey is far from over. And I want to take as many as I can along for the ride.

Part of the requirement of the IEASC program was to create a project that could innovate education and be effective on a global scale. As I took an elective course as part of the program through FPU called Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom in June and July, my eyes were opened to student blogging, and I decided then that I wanted my Language Arts students to blog their way through sixth grade. I didn't quite know where to start: some pieces fell into place and some had to be pounded into the proper shape, but my final project became blog2buds. It is a website that documents my blogging journey with my students, offers suggestions for other teachers who would like to start blogging in class, and connects educators by using my blog2buds Google Plus global community.

If you haven't already clicked on the link above, you should check out blog2buds now!

This is an unveiling of sorts. It's the road I'm taking. As I travel, I hope to see you along the way. Perhaps we could travel together for while and get to know each other and share some stories as we walk along toward our destinations.

Climbing

Question: How many bloggers does it take to change a lightbulb?  

Answer: 50. 1 to actually change the bulb and 49 to take a picture and post it on Instagram.

Regardless of who’s changing the lightbulb or how many people it takes, the truth is somebody’s got to get climbing to reach it.  We, as sixth grade Language Arts students, are working to reach our “lightbulb”.  The bright idea for which we’re reaching is successful blogging, and we’re getting there.

I wanted to take some time to post about the steps we’ve taken to get where we’re at right now.  I also want to show you where we’re going.  When school began, we talked a lot about what blogging was.  I don’t know if a lot of the sixth graders really understood the various purposes why people blog.  I have a friend who blogs about her day in order to practice her writing and to comment on life as she knows it.  Another friend blogs about family life.  My wife blogs about the blessings she sees in an insanely busy time in our family’s life.  Some people blog about cooking.  Others blog about their own personal hobbies.  I have a buddy who reads some stranger’s blog because each new post is the next chapter in an intriguing story that’s being written.  I’ve only started blogging recently.  I had one blog that documented my reflections about Web 2.0 tools in the classroom for a course I took. Another blog I have is used for taking notes and turning in assignments to another instructor.  The purpose of this blog is to keep you updated on how and what we’re doing in class.  I have plans for another blog that will be more instructional for other teachers who want to begin blogging with their classes.

The first blog post students wrote with their Kidblog account was to identify the purpose of their blog. I gave them the first few reasons that they should have used in their welcome blog: 1) to write final drafts for the teacher, and 2) to share their ideas with others.  I allowed them to choose a third reason of their own for times when I allow them to “free write”.  Their post was titled “Welcome to My Blog”, and they practiced the writing process on paper--planning, drafting, revising, editing--and then typed the final paragraph on their Kidblog.

For the second blog post, students were tasked to work through the writing process on paper again and then type the final into their blogs.  Their topic this time was simply, “What do you want to write about when you’re free to choose your own topic?”  It basically was an extension of the third reason from their first post.  Both these posts were purposed to orient the students to their Kidblog, and I think they now have a handle on the technology.  We’re still working out a few kinks, but it’s looking up.

These first two posts were completely private, meant to be viewed only by the teacher. I wanted the kids to find a comfort level with the whole process.  Now that we have formed that connection, I plan to open up their third post to the entire sixth grade.  I want to move the students from writing only for their teacher (for a grade) to writing to share their ideas with each other.  I figured that writing a sequel full of mystery, humor, and suspense related to Chris Van Allsburg’s The Garden of Abdul Gasazi would be a wonderful way to begin to share stories with each other.

Not only that, but students will now get to comment on each other’s stories.  We have spent much time in class forming our 3 star commenting procedures.  Comments must 1) be in sentences, 2) be thoughtful and positive, and 3) add to the conversation. While we had some trouble with this process during the learning stage, the students should now understand the “how”.  Now we have to make sure it happens.

If you think about what we’re doing here, students now write for a real audience--their peers.  In the past, I would try to find time for students to read their stories in front of the class.  Whenever we managed the class time, it was definitely worth it, but I couldn’t ever get to everybody’s stories in front of class.  Now, though, the students’ stories are published for their peers to read at their leisure. While there will be requirements on the number of stories to read and comment on, I hope that this will lead to a genuine interest in each other’s writing.  I want to also motivate the students to do their best for the audience that’s waiting for them on the other side of the computer.

Soon, very soon, I plan to open up the students’ blogs to our buddies in Australia.  I have connected with two teachers at a Christian school in Canberra who serve 54 students.  This will link nicely with our 56.  We are very excited to begin to share our stories, experiences, and ways of life.

Our class is getting there.  We’re climbing the wall, but it’s still a long, steep climb, especially for those who are new to sitting in front of a computer, and for now there’s nowhere to go but up.  The risks are still low...by design.  I pray that the students begin to reach new levels with this whole blogging concept.  I plan to teach them how to interact with each other and with their world.  I know their buddies in Australia are waiting for them to get on that wall, too.