Parent+Letter

FROM THE DESK OF JAY MCCULLOCH ENGLISH TEACHER, MARINE CITY HIGH SCHOOL

HELLO THERE!

I wanted to touch base again with some news from my Ninth Grade English Language Arts Classroom AND my 12th grade Creative Writing classroom. In an effort to find new ways to instruct students and make that instruction more meaningful and relevant to their lives, I have begun the use of weblogs, or blogs as I will refer to them, in both of my classes. Blogs work very much like my daily journals that students have been doing in my classroom. As you may recall, students have been doing daily writings in their composition journals each day in my class. They date, number, and title their entries before tackling whatever topic I have posted on my board. Blogs work very much the same way but are done via an "online type of journal." Just like the handwritten journal entries, blog entries are approached as journal entries, allowing for titles and automatic dating. Still, there is so much more to blogging than being able to just TYPE their thoughts to an online journal web space. Students can post pictures, sound clips, and videos connected to the topic of their blog entries. They can also participate in the beauty of COMMUNITY as they read and comment on each other's blog posts. Already being in the computer lab will allow students to do online research and connect to the world to pull up facts about Shakespeare or find a poem that may become the inspiration for a student's own original composition. Using blogs more is about collaboration, building community, having a larger audience (after all other schools and classrooms could view the work posted there), the ability to use multimedia to express one's self, and the efficiency of doing online research. Finally, the more a student works at a skill, like writing, reading, and research, the better he or she will become. Blogging provides this opportunity in a way that most students already are immersed in.

I have listed my own blog web pages where students will receive assignments, see video clips I post that need to be viewed, links to interesting web pages, and posts about the work I am enjoying and find exceptional from the various blogs. These links are posted below in the section marked RESOURCES. These websites will serve as an online bulleting board/chalk board to each class.

BOTH CLASSES will use Blogger ([|www.blogspot.com]) to create and post their blog entries.


 * SPECIFIC PROJECTS FOR CLASSES-**

While each student will contribute personal entries to the group blog, they will often work together to present their united thoughts on topics related to this famous dramatic tragedy. Students will also comment on each other's blogs providing additional thoughts and reflections.
 * NINTH GRADE-** Students in my ninth grade English Language Arts classes will be participating in the more structured and accountability-based GROUP BLOG. Instead of creating a blog for each student, a group of four to five students will share a blog space to contribute to. Students will be blogging about themes and issues they find interesting from William Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET.


 * CREATIVE WRITING-** Students in my 12th grade Creative Writing class will meet at my own blogspot to receive instruction or writing prompts for poems. Sometimes, the free writes (or initial journals) will be required for posting, but students will create individual blogs with express purpose of PUBLISHING their OWN, ORIGINAL WORKS and to comment on each other's poems. Posting comments will allow for a light form of peer editing but also will work as a great tool of encouragement to student writers.


 * KEEPING YOUR STUDENT SAFE-**
 * I will be teaching your students about being safe and respectful to others while working online.
 * I will be reviewing with your students what is considered appropriate use, viewing, and posting of online multimedia, including pictures and videos.
 * I will be monitoring comments and post made to each student's/group's blog. Any alarming information will be discussed with you, your student, and Mr. Jedele or Mr. Seddon.
 * Students will be instructed to alert me to any concerning comments or slander by other students posted to their blogs.
 * Unless authorize by you and the student, the only personally identifying information included in the blog will be their first name.
 * There will be no mention of our school name or our location.
 * Students are allowed to post their interests and opinions
 * Students are **__NOT__** allowed to post information on or about-
 * Their age
 * Their email addresses
 * Photographs of themselves
 * Other sensitive information.

- CREATIVE WRITING HOME BASE FOR BLOGS [] - NINTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS HOME BASE FOR SHAKESPEARE GROUP BLOG PROJECTS []
 * RESOURCES:**


 * GRADING:**

Students will receive a rubric that will be applied to blog posts created. Most blog post will be worth 10-20 points and comments made to blog post will be worth 5-10 points.

Before your student starts "blogging", I am requesting that you and your student discuss and sign the following form which outline a common set of guidelines used by many teachers when using blogs and other online content within the classroom.
 * PERMISSION:**

Please return the form to Mr. McCulloch by _.

Blogging Terms and Conditions
 * ( from** [])

1. Students using blogs are expected to keep personal information out of their posts. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, user name, email address, home address, school name, city, country or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas and preferences. 2. Students using blogs agree not to share their user name or password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student. 3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for your blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school. 4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the various requirements and rules of classroom teachers. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject. 5. Students blogs are to be a vehicle for sharing student writing with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog who leave comments will leave respectful, helpful messages. If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell your teacher right away. Do not respond to the comment. 6. Students using blogs take good care of the computers by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions. 7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in this project.

I have read and understood these blogging terms and conditions. I agree to uphold them.

STUDENT SIGNATURE: ______________________________________________ DATE: _____

PARENT SIGNATURE: _______________________________________________ DATE: _____ I am anxious to see how this new endeavor will turn out. Feel free to connect to your student's blogs via the links found on each of my HOME PAGES created for each class. You may even wish to leave him or her a comment.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me at (810 ) 676 1992 or through email at jmcculloch@ecsd.us

Blessed with life,

Jay McCulloch English/Theater Instructor at MCHS