Unit We are bloggers 5.3 Media reviews

1 About this unit Software: WordPress / / learning platform blogging tool or similar (also, GIMP, Audacity®, Windows Movie Maker (Windows XP), Windows Live ™ Movie Maker (Windows Vista and 7)) Outcome: Online blog, comprising a number of posts, some of which include additional media

Introduction and to create a blog from the perspective of a Blogging, and other Web 2.0 tools, has transformed character in a book read in class. the web into a medium that allows all to share their > History: The blog activity could replace a diary insights and experience with a wide audience. or journal activity, e.g. the blog of an evacuee, For school children, this means that the work they chimney sweep, etc. create need no longer just be for themselves, for you, or even for one another; it can have a Every Child Matters worldwide audience. Reading and commenting on > Enjoy and achieve the work of others extends the children’s sense of > Make a positive contribution being members of a learning community beyond the confines of the school. In this unit, children Learning expectations will create their own blog, with images, videos and Children look at examples of blogs and then use hyperlinks, comment on other blogs and respond to online tools to create their own. comments on their blog. By the end of this unit, children will have achieved Assessment the following learning objectives: This unit covers AF1 and AF3. For a more detailed > Become familiar with blogs as a medium, analysis of the assessment focuses addressed and including an understanding of the particular suggestions for progression, please see page 28. features of this as a genre of writing > Create a sequence of blog posts on a particular Curriculum and Framework theme or topic links > Incorporate additional media, such as audio or video Primary Framework > Comment critically on the posts of others > Literacy: Non-fiction – Persuasive writing > Develop a critical, reflective view of a range of media, including text ICT PoS > Finding things out (1a) Variations to try > Exchanging and sharing information (3b) > While the focus of the unit is on text as a > Reviewing, modifying and evaluating work as it medium for communication, this unit might be progresses (4a) successfully tackled using audio or video as alternative media. Suggested subject links > The unit could form part of a wider project > Literacy: If interpreted in a broader context of exploring journals and diaries. media literacy, children could blog reviews of > An alternative approach would make use of books, films, television, drama, computer games blogging as a platform for documenting the or other media. class’s shared experience of school, or within the > Literacy: There are opportunities to explore and context of a particular topic or subject. extend the children’s work in persuasive writing

24 2 Getting ready e-safety Things to do > If your learning platform has a blogging tool, it is > Read the Core section of Running the task on likely to restrict access to other members of the pages 26–27. school or, perhaps, other children within the local > Choose a suitable blogging platform (see Useful authority. If you set up your blogging software links for more information on a range of blogging on a web server or use an external blogging tools). Check whether your school’s learning platform, a range of options will be available. platform includes a suitable blog tool. > Allowing class access only for blogs is safest. > Look at software tutorials. > If you or your class maintain a publicly readable WordPress: http://codex.wordpress.org/ blog, extreme care should be taken to ensure WordPress_Lessons no personal identifying details are made public, Blogger: www.blogger.com/tour_start.g and that comments are moderated by you before If using your school’s learning platform, read or they are published or seen by the children. watch any tutorials provided. > This unit provides an opportunity to discuss > Spend 60 minutes familiarising yourself with ‘digital footprints’ and what sort of information is the software / tools that are most accessible / safe to post beyond the school community. appropriate for use with your class. > The class should also be briefed on how to > Read the Extensions section of Running the task respond appropriately to others’ posts. on pages 26–27. Do you want to use any of the extras provided? > If children’s work is to be accessible on the open web, brief parents on the project and obtain their Think about … consent, if this is required by school policy. > There are many examples of children, classes and teachers engaging in blogging. Use Things you need Search (google.com) and Google Blog Search > Book the laptop trolley or ICT suite, if necessary. (blogsearch.google.com) to find a few interesting > If using WordPress (or a similar platform), arrange examples relevant to your own context. for it to be installed on your school’s web server. > This project would work well as part of a twinning > Ensure that blogging software is accessible or partnership project with another class or to individual children and that any necessary school, perhaps abroad. security / e-safety features are in place. > EAL children could read blogs in their first > If possible, create children’s individual accounts language. (translategoogle.com) on the blogging platform. may be used to provide access to blogs written in > Identify a few relevant blogs for the class to view. other languages. > Install suitable image, audio and video editing > Childrens’ blogs can be maintained from any software, as necessary. computer (or mobile phone) with an Internet > Book or borrow microphones and video connection. recording hardware. > A shared class blog allows you to share the best examples of the children’s blogs while avoiding Useful links the need to provide direct access to them. Before you start, you might want to refer to these weblinks. > WordPress is an open source blogging platform. It may be installed on a school web server. See www.wordpress.org to download. children to have their own Google accounts. > If installing WordPress to a school webserver, Accounts can be created at www.blogger.com. the WordPress Multi Site and BuddyPress It would be wise to disable the ‘random blog’ implementations are worth investigating. button for e-safety reasons if using Blogger. WordPress blogs may be hosted for free at > See your learning platform provider’s homepage www.wordpress.com, www.edublogs.org and for details of their blog service, if available. www.ethink.org.uk, among other providers. > Introduction to blogging in the classroom: www. > Blogger, provided by Google, is free, but requires teachers.tv/videos/blogosphere.

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Extensions , Windows Movie Maker (Windows XP), Live ™ ® Encourage children to provide comments on some of the blogs that they read here, particularly if these have been written by other children. Children might find it interesting to compare blogs with other media, particularly for coverage of news stories interest to them. If writing reviews of books or other media, children might be invited to post If children have access to page layout options, they might like explore adding appropriate ‘sidebar’ content to their blog, such as links friends’ blogs. Many bloggers maintain a ‘blogroll’ on their blog of those blogs they regularly follow themselves. Your children may wish to do the same. their reviews to Amazon, or, if the facility is available, school library catalogue. >  >  >  >  e-safety ). Core Step 1 Step 2 3 Running the task – We are bloggers

Software: WWordPress / Blogger learning platform blogging tool or similar (also, GIMP, Audacity Maker (Windows Vista and 7)) Outcome: Online blog, comprising a number of posts, some which include additional media Begin with a discussion about children’s diaries, or other examples of their writing for pleasure. Ask if they know anything about blogging. Provide the class with a few carefully chosen examples of blogs, perhaps related to their interests or from others of age, including class blogs. Ask them to work in groups identify common characteristics, and collate these on the interactive IWB. Discuss how blog authors had a specific audience in mind as they were writing and show how their wording reflects this. Discuss the use of other media, including illustrations, within blogs, and presentation of the blog as a webpage. Ask the class to think of ideas for subject their first blog post.  Model the management of a blog page (perhaps with your personal, or class, blog). Brief children on the e-safety aspects of unit (see  The children write their first posts. Encourage them to adopt a style appropriate for the audience they expect to read their work, and strive interesting, reflective content, which goes beyond the merely descriptive. Stress need for the children to take great care with spelling and grammar.  Show the children how to insert hyperlinks into their posts, and ask them link to appropriate content elsewhere, such as the relevant page on Amazon, or Google Books in the case of a book review. >  >  >  >  > > > 26 Step 3 > If multiple themes or designs are installed, some children might enjoy the opportunity to experiment with the visual presentation of their blog by trying > The children compose further blog posts on the chosen topic. They illustrate alternative themes, or editing the settings, template or CSS (cascading style these with appropriate images. Some may wish to source images from the sheet) of a given theme, if possible. Web (remind children to cite the author or the work). Others may use their own photographs or scanned work (these children should use image editing software such as the GIMP to enhance the quality of their own pictures, if appropriate). Again, the emphasis should be on creating illustrated blog posts that will be interesting to the anticipated audience.

Step 4 > Video might also be uploaded to YouTube, Schools Tube or other video-sharing sites, that provide their own embedded video players (the HTML code for which Explore similarities and differences between blogs, podcasts and video diaries > can be pasted within the blog). Uploading to YouTube or similar sites requires or journals with the children. accounts to be created. (Parental permission may be necessary if children are shown in the videos.) YouTube’s unlisted option prevents videos from being Invite children to outline or script an audio- or video-based entry for their blog. > included in YouTube search results. Once satisfied with their outlines, or scripts, the children should record their audio or video posts and use appropriate editing software (such as Audacity® or Movie Maker) to develop or refine these. (The children might find it helpful to work in pairs or small groups for this step.)

> The children upload their media to their blog, using embedding tools, if available, and provide some further discussion about the content of their audio or video entries.

Step 5 > Encourage the children to add further entries and comments from home, if a > The children should spend time reading and commenting on one another’s computer is available. posts. Children could begin comments with a positive statement before asking a question to move the conversation within the blog forward. > Invite children to suggest which of their posts could be copied into a ‘best of’ blog for the class as a whole, which would then be made publicly accessible. > Encourage children to write further posts for their own blog, commenting Ask children to suggest any aspects of the content that might need to be in greater depth on the ideas of others and including hyperlinks, where altered for a public audience. appropriate. They should also respond to the comments they receive. You should provide some comments yourself as feedback and for target setting, > Depending on the school’s e-safety policy, children might like to comment on perhaps drawing on the Assessment guidance (see page 28). posts authored by others beyond the school community.

> Children respond to the self-assessment prompts on the Pupil Task Cards. 27 4 Assessment guidance Use the text below to relate the ICT skills children demonstrate to the assessment focuses and National Curriculum levels.

AF1 Planning, developing and AF3 Finding, using and evaluating your work communicating information

Children working at LEVEL 3 should be able to:

> Plan their blog posts, taking into account the > Find related content, such as images, using characteristics of the medium straightforward searches

> Comment on others’ posts > Present information using text, images and audio or video > Edit posts and media to refine and develop ideas and their presentation > Read and comment on others’ posts; respond to comments on their own posts > Describe the common characteristics of blogs, blog posts and comments > Contribute to a discussion about e-safety in relation to blogging

Children working at LEVEL 4 should be able to:

> Create a blog which effectively combines > Search for other content or additional different media, such as text, links and images information for their blog posts, checking this for plausibility and considering its > Reflect on the quality of their own posts and appropriateness for their own blog provide feedback to others through comments > Present their blog in a way likely to engage the > Explain some of the differences and similarities interest of a reader in the target audience between their blog posts and those of other writers outside of school > Use feedback from others to improve the quality of subsequent posts

> Take e-safety issues into account and thus minimise risks when creating posts

Progression

The following units will allow your children to develop these skills further:

> Unit 6.1 – We are explorers > Unit 6.6 – We are publishers

28 5 Taking it further

When you’ve finished, you might want to extend > Blogs have wide applications across the the project in the following ways. curriculum, and the blogs created by children as part of this project might also be used for other > There’s much to be said for integrating the units on a regular basis, or just as required. blogging task with other aspects of life within > Consider adapting the class blog created as an and beyond school. The media review task lends extension to this unit, or create a new blog, to itself to this, with children providing reviews serve as an online newsletter or shared portfolio of fiction and non-fiction books used across of the children’s work. the curriculum, as well as of videos watched > A school residential visit could provide material together, of websites used as a resource for for a blog, allowing parents to read about their learning across the curriculum, or of any other children’s activities as they take place. media. This unit, if approached within the context > Children might be encouraged to maintain their of media reviews, seeks to encourage children blogs independently, particularly to maintain a to develop a more critical attitude towards the portfolio of their independent learning within and media to which they are exposed. beyond the school’s curriculum.

6 Cross-curricular ideas

Practical suggestions to bring this unit alive in Visits the classroom. > A relevant educational visit might provide useful source material for a blog post, or a series of Classroom ideas posts. > Printouts from the children’s blogs might make an interesting display, although it may be better Books to copy and paste content from the blog to a > Mack, J. (2009). Journals and Blogging. Raintree. word processing or desktop publishing program > Mackall, D. D. (2006). Just Jazz (and other titles to obtain better control of print layout. in the Faithgirlz! / Blog On! series). Zonderkidz. > Children’s blogs might be incorporated into a > Royston, A. (2010). Space Blog. A. & C. Black display of other media, including media reviews Publishers Ltd. from the press or diaries. > Extracts from blogs might make interesting content for a class assembly. > The images, audio and media included in the blogs might be based on other classroom activities.

Weblinks A range of weblinks to fuel future blogs: > Current affairs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ cbbcnews/. > Film: www.bfi.org.uk. > Children’s books: www.walker.co.uk/kids-den.

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