Key Stage 2 children will be investigating how blogs can be used to communicate respectfully and responsibly in the digital age. Below are some of the resources that will be used in the introductory sessions as they begin to create their own posts.
To ensure pupil safety online, though they are able to create a post independently they need teacher approval before it can be published onto the blog. Teachers are expected to ensure that the quality of the writing showcases the children's abilities and that the information they provide is in line with school policy and does not jeopardise either the safety or privacy of any school members.
When you are satisfied with your pupil's blog, follow this guide to allow them to go live on the site. Should you have any questions about the suitability of a post then please refer these to the appropriate member of school staff. All comments on posts require approval, so please discuss this with the Computing Leader prior to using these as a method of self or peer assessment to ensure the effectiveness of this activity.
Should you need to make changes to a post, either before or after it has been published, this brief guide will walk you through the process. The same steps are true for pupils if they have not had their post published.
This year we have slightly adapted the way that both Edmund Waller and Holbeach are going to blog as classes.
As with last year, each class will have its own blog linked to the school homepage but these shall simply be filtered results from the main school blog. Posting information will be the same as it was on the free WordPress blogs used last year but staff will need to select the appropriate category in order for it to appear in the correct section. The key benefit to using the main site is that it will be far simpler to upload additional content, such as videos, weblinks and documents. To help ease the workload this year, pupils in Key Stage 2 will have a series of Computing lessons to learn how to blog and be allocated their own personal WordPress logins to be able to independently create their own posts. To ensure online safety, these posts will be submitted for review and require a teacher to confirm their posting. To ensure that blogs are fully utilised teachers must post: termly curriculum newsletters for parents (preferably as an uploaded PDF), class assemblies, educational visits, and memorable events Last school year some classes were very successful in posting information for home learning and additional letters for parents, along with detailed blogs on the various school journeys that the schools participate in. It would be great to see some new ideas used this year, such as home learning carried out on the blog and the 100 word challenge. This link is to some research about the impact that blogging can make on children's writing but, at a recent conference, Sarah Horrocks has highlighted the importance of high standards for grammar and spelling as well as content. This was something that she felt really held back the research study, despite its success. |