Unit We are bloggers 5.3 Media reviews 1 About this unit Software: WordPress / Blogger / 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 Google 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. Google Translate (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. 25 26 3 Running the task – We are bloggers Software: WWordPress / Blogger / 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 Core Extensions Step 1 > Encourage children to provide comments on some of the blogs that they read > Begin with a discussion about children’s diaries, or other examples of their here, particularly if these have been written by other children. writing for pleasure. Ask if they know anything about blogging. > Children might find it interesting to compare blogs with other media, particularly > Provide the class with a few carefully chosen examples of blogs, perhaps for coverage of news stories of interest to them. related to their interests or from others of their age, including class blogs. Ask them to work in groups to identify common characteristics, and collate these on the interactive IWB. Discuss how the 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 the blogs, and the presentation of the blog as a webpage. > Ask the class to think of ideas for the subject of their first blog post. If writing reviews of books or other media, children might be invited to post Step 2 > their reviews to Amazon, Google Books or, if the facility is available, the Model the management of a blog page (perhaps with your personal, or class, > school library catalogue. blog). Brief children on the e-safety aspects of the unit (see e-safety). If children have access to page layout options, they might like to explore adding The children write their first posts. Encourage them to adopt a style appropriate > > appropriate ‘sidebar’ content to their blog, such as links to their friends’ blogs. for the audience they expect to read their work, and to strive for interesting, Many bloggers maintain a ‘blogroll’ on their blog of those blogs they regularly reflective content, which goes beyond the merely descriptive. Stress the need follow themselves. Your children may wish to do the same. for the children to take great care with spelling and grammar. > Show the children how to insert hyperlinks into their posts, and ask them to link to appropriate content elsewhere, such as the relevant page on Amazon, or Google Books in the case of a book review. 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).