Problems using the computers in the Learning Center

Grazi and I have been having problems accessing BRMA using the passwords provided in Marilena’s e-mail. It flags us as unathorized users. However, I was preparing the computers here at Itaim for my group’s visit next Monday, and I had no problems accessing the WordPress site using ALUMNI / ALUMNI as user and passwords. I do not know if you guys are running into the same glitch, and I was wondering if you guys have had any problems using the site at Alumni because of the limits imposed by CDP on some electronic addresses. Thanks. Rick.

Rick’s Inter Teen 2 Blog

I have just created my group’s blog (www.it2itaim.wordpress.com, just for the record). I told my students to think of a couple of things to say about themselves as an introduction of the group members and wrote one myself as a sample for my students to follow. I know that introducing themselves is an easy language task, but the purpose is for them to get used to writing a blog. Plus, I don’t want to discourage them with all the bureaucratic procedures of signing up at WordPress, etc. Also, I wanted them to have the sensation that this is going to be a light activity and not another way of assigning homework.

My plan is, once they all sort of introduce themselves, including their likes and dislikes, is for me to start commenting on their hobbies, and to encourage them to start doing the same. Next week, I am finishing a short video activity I have prepared on the Little Mermaid, where King Triton asks Sebastian to keep tabs on Ariel, which ties Northstar Unit 7 to a teen reality. I was thinking of making this blog a discussion forum for the topics we discuss in class. Many times, some students withdraw from class discussion for being shy and fearful of group pressure, but that on-line, may feel more at ease at sharing their thoughts.

I am not so sure we are supposed to be using the blog as an extension of our class discussions, or if it is supposed to be a looser, freer way for them to express themselves in English. Most of their posting should be done next Wednesday. At the end of next week, you guys will be able to see how our blog is going and I am really open to feedback

Grazi’s T9

My students and I went to the LC last week and they created their blogs. Also, they registered me as an editor. For some reason, one of them wasn’t able to do, but we’ll try again tomorrow

They enjoyed it a lot! They were all excited about changing things around and personalizing the looks of their blogs. One of them even got a picture from google because she wanted something different for her blog.

I asked them to explore their blogs over the weekend but they haven’t done much…

I’m planning to go back to the LC tomorrow and assign them a task from the 43’s. If time allows, I want them to get into Renato’s IT1 blogs.

Blog Activity Prepared

I have just added a blog activity to www.alumni.clearwiki.com.  It took some time to explore and experiment, but I think it will go well with my students.  There is a lot to do in the activity, but it can always be made into a 2 day activity. 

Feel free to use it, but tell me how it works.

Renato’s IT1

Today was my students’ second visit to the computer lab so they could work on their blogs. We had some housekeeping to do, like adding their partners as administrators so they can each post under a different username and changing some options in their blogs in order to allow all posts to be uploaded without their having to allow each and every one. One of my students did not agree to the latter, she wants to be in control of everything that gets posted on her blog…

Anyhow, after all of that stuff was done I had them go to www.43things.com and register their blogs there, but not everyone managed to because some of the computers were too slow, so I asked them to play around the site at home and finish it for homework. I was surprised to see that some students had already accessed their blogs, posted some stuff, and visited their peers’ blogs too.

How are you guys doing with your groups? Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

getting ready for week four…

Last week was really productive for my groups.  They created their blogs and began exploring them.  As expected, everybody wanted to change their themes to have a different look.  We went through the steps to do this and they loved it. 

I wanted them to make their first posts to have an idea of how to do it.  These guys learn really quick, and I imagine that they will eventually be telling me how to do certain things!

To see my groups, go to my static page here to the right.  There are links to all their blogs.

 I also put Renato´s groups up on his page.  I was really pleased when he told me his group insisted on doing it in pairs.  Of course he agreed and they are working in pairs (with one triad).  I am glad to see students responding to the project and giving feedback.

I am planning an activity for my students this week where they will be writing about someone that they would like to meet.  First they will explore www.43people.com and find a person that they would like to meet.  They will then post at 43 places and send it automatically to their blogs. 

I have done this on my own blog with the post about Irvine Welsh.

Keep an eye for my activity at the Alumni Wikispace under Blog Project.

User roles in WordPress

You can have many people contributing to a single blog.  This blog is a great example of this, although I am the only one posting.   Each user has a role and can do certain things on the blog:

What are the different roles?

There are four roles: Administrator, Editor, Author, and Contributor.

Here is what they can do:

Administrator (for class blogs, this is the teacher and for individual blogs, this is the student)

The Admin can do everything. Complete power over posts, comments, settings, theme choice, import, users – the whole shebang. Nothing is off-limits.

Editor (class blogs – students; individual blogs – teacher)

They can publish any posts, edit any posts, edit any published posts, edit any pages, moderate comments, manage categories, manage links and upload files. They can also delete any posts and any pages. They can read, edit and delete private posts.

Author

Is able to edit their posts, publish their posts and upload files. And they can delete their posts too.

Contributor

They can edit their posts but cannot publish.

Advice
Be careful what roles you give people, especially if you want them to be an Editor or joint Administrator. Promoting someone is easy – removing a role is much harder.

If you have a class blog (Jeane, Rick and Lucia) you will create a blog and add the students as editors by having them register an account at WordPress.  If you have individual blogs (Grazi and Renato), you will as the students to create the blogs and then add you as an editor.

Alumni Blog Project underway!

I have just added pages to our blog (the menu to the right) for all our classes.  Feel free to edit the pages.  It is your space to let us know what you are doing.  When you have finally created your class or student blogs, put the links there.  Then we all can see your students´work.  If you have any questions, let me know!

Old, but still good

Back in 2004, Anne Davis wrote about some ways to use weblogs in education.  Some of the main points:

Class Blogs

• post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework, etc.
• post prompts for writing.
• publish examples of good student writing done in class
• create a dynamic teaching site, posting not only class-related information, but also activities, discussion topics, links to additional information about topics they are studying in class, and readings to inspire learning.
• create an online book club.
• ask students to create their own individual course blogs, where they can post their own ideas, reactions and written work.
• link your class with another somewhere else in the world.

Individual Student Blogs

• complete class writing assignments.
• create an ongoing portfolio of samples of their writing.
• express their opinions on topics you are studying in class.

Shared Class Blog

• complete project work in small groups.
• showcase products of project-based learning
• complete a WebQuest.

Welcome!

I am really looking forward to our experience this semester.  Let’s make it work so that we can continue for much more than a semester.  I will be posting my experiences and any news that comes from our blog project.  Hopefully you will find it worth reading.  I encourage you all to post your ideas and make comments on others’.