Sunday, April 28, 2013

Student Blogging Challenge - Guest post by Mrs Coffa

At the moment we have our third group of Senior students working their way through the Student Blogging Challenge.  Last year in March and September and again in April this year, almost 50 of our students have created their first blog, personalised their pages, written posts, added widgets, and responded to others by way of comments.  They have learnt so much!  They have connected to so many other bloggers and created wonderful blogs.  I have had the privilege of mentoring students from other schools (and countries) who are also participating in the challenge.  

As part of Challenge 8, I have been asked to mention a few posts from this round.  It was really hard to pick just a few as so many students are working so hard, so I just randomly went through the participants list and chose a few. 

Tarah's Blog post on Challenge 3 about the Three R's based on the Earth Hour theme.  Tarah write clearly, explaining herself very well and used an attributed image . 

Hailey's Post on Basketball for Challenge 2 in the Free Choice section.

Amrita's response to the Secret in the forest Challenge No 5.

Amber's creative use of a spare sock and use of ToonDoo for Challenge 2.

I was also really impressed by Simon's post last year as he shared his first draft of his writing - asking for ideas, before it was finished.  I really like the idea of blogs being used to ask for help and not just showcasing our finished work.  Simon was lucky enough to get some great ideas from an author who read his draft ! 

Conor wrote a very emotive piece in last years challenge on a 'My Place' theme and I loved the comments he received. 

This process made me think about "What makes a good blog post?" My list would start with the following :

  1. Characterful - letting the author's personality shine through
  2. Easy to read - not too much or too little writing and of course correct spelling and punctuation
  3. Sharing - whether it be an idea, a piece of writing, artwork or a question - blogging is about connecting with your reader, so a good post shares something
  4. A simple graphic or image to make it appeal to the eye (of course the owner will be attributed!) 
What would you add to my list ? 









8 comments:

  1. Thanks for that list Celia, when I look at some of my previous posts, I realise that a few of them have too much writing. I need to get to the point, or only choose a few student responses, which as you know is quite difficult! We can all learn from your expertise and experience. Thank you for sharing.
    Mrs Bellesini

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  2. Love those criteria for a good blog post.
    Authors need to share of themselves, especially in the way they write and the use of language that displays their intention and their passion for a topic.

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  3. We think your list covers everything.
    We can't think of anything we would add.
    But we do agree posts can be too long and that this is sometimes a mistake we make.
    We agree strongly about sharing, as making a connection with the reader and finding something in common is very important.
    You mention that your students have worked hard on their blogs and that they have added widgets. We think widgets are one of the best things about blogging. It makes them really fun. That and making connections with other bloggers all over the world is the best think about blogging.
    2nd Class Room 6 (Ireland)
    www.merrybeau.edublogs.org

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  4. We agree with your criteria and couldn't think of anything to add. We have often made the mistake of writing posts that are too long. We strongly agree about sharing. If you can make a connection or find something in common with your reader, that is important.

    You mention your students worked hard and added widgets. We really love adding widgets. We had a virtual pet at Easter; a little chicken but it was very noisy so we sent it back to the virtual farm. Flipper looks much better behaved ;)

    With every good wish,
    2nd Class Room 6 (Ireland)
    www.merrybeau.edublogs.org

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  5. I think your ideas cover most of the requirements for a good post, but I think it is important to have an engaging topic and not to stray too far off topic. Otherwise, you have covered it all.

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  6. This is an amazing blog. I really enjoyed reading your post. I hope to here from you soon on my blog. Here is the address:
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  7. I think you ideas are very good!You cover a lot of the requirements for a good post! I think that is a very good post!

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  8. I think your blog was great. You covered it all. I don't think you did anything wrong in my mind.

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