Blog

Essential Question: What is Tradigital Learning?

 * What are 21st Century Literacies?
 * How do they compare to 20th Century Literacies?
 * How can I equip my students for success?

What Will I Learn about Blogs?

 * How to create a blog
 * How to write a post
 * How to add images
 * How to embed a video
 * How to add gadgets to my blog sidebar
 * How to manage comments
 * How to create a class blog

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Directions

 * 1) Each team will explore the hand-outs and the resources below to learn about their assigned NETS standard.
 * 2) Each team will publish a blog post to the class blog to share their learning.
 * 3) Individuals will then read and comment on the other teams' posts.

** Step One: Explore the sites below to define your group's assigned standard and to explore ideas for addressing the standard in the classroom with your students.**
 * National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for [|Students] (Hand-Out)
 * NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacy
 * [|Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Maps]: Illustrate the intersection between ICT and core academic subjects
 * Comparison Chart: 20th Century Classroom vs. 21st Century Classroom

** Step Two: Discuss your findings with your group. Use the essential questions atop the page to guide your conversation.**


 * Step Three: Working together, compose a blog post to share your learning.**
 * Your blog post should...
 * Summarize the skills/strategies outlined in the standard.
 * Explain why these skills are important to help students succeed beyond K-12 school.
 * Give specific examples of activities/lessons you could undertake to help your students develop these skills.
 * Include an image that compliments the content of your post.
 * __TIP__: You can search Flickr to find images that are licensed with Creative Commons--non-copyrighted images that the author gives you permission to use. Type your search term in the box at top of page, scroll down and check the "Search Creative Commons Only" box, then click search.
 * Once you locate a photo, right-click on the photo. In the pop-up box, click "Properties" and copy the URL address in the "Location" line.
 * When you are writing your post, add the image to your blog post by clicking on the picture icon in the toolbar. Click the bubble by "Web Address (URL)" and then paste the URL address you copied in the "Image URL" box. Click "OK" at the bottom of the box. You should see the image in the composing box.
 * Don't forget to credit the source by naming the author (in the right sidebar at Flickr) and hyperlinking to the original photo. You can simply add the image source information at the bottom of the blog post.
 * Publish your post to the class blog. I've invited each of you as authors though only one person from each team needs to actually log in to compose the post. Check your Gmail account for an invitation.
 * Use the tutorials in our hand-outs and in the links below for step-by-step instructions.

** Step Four: After your team publishes its blog post, read the other posts published by the other teams and post comments to each.**
 * Commenting on a blog is like entering a conversation. Feel free to...
 * Pose questions to challenge or extend the thinking,
 * Add your own ideas to deepen the authors' ideas,
 * Share a related resource or idea of your own,
 * Enrich the conversation by piggybacking on another comment.

Blogger Tutorials

 * How do I create a blog and start blogging?
 * How do I customize my sidebar? (Scroll down to the //Customizing Your Layout// section.)
 * How do I create a TEAM BLOG (class blog)?
 * How do I enable comments?
 * How do I moderate comments to my blog?
 * How do I post images?
 * How do I add a video?
 * Blogger's list of tutorials