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Monday, March 28, 2011

Mr. McClung's World - Special Instructions for C4K Due 4/3 and for SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT Due 4/10

Mr. McClung's World logo
Last week you read Mr. McClung's post in which he reflects on his teaching. Now we take a look - in depth - at his class blog.

As you do this assignment think about a) how Mr. McClung uses his blog Mr. McClung's World; b) how he has put his blog together; c) what you know how to do with your blog; d) what you do not know how to do with your blog; e) how Mr. McClung's students interact with his blog; g) how others (parents, teachers, administrators, students like you) can interact with and make use of his blog. Also think about how this 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs. These questions will form the basis for a SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT described in more detail below and due 4/10.
First:
Look at the links that are at the top. Click on Welcome. Read it.
Click on Mr. McClung. Read what he says about himself. This will expand on what you learned about him last week.
Click on Class Rules - read them and reflect about what they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students. Think about your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as a teacher.
Click on Syllabus. Note the first thing under Everyone needs. Why do you suppose that is the first requirement? Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog.
Click on Useful Links. Review them all. Click on at least two and explore.
Return to Mr. McClung's Home Page and click on Internet Safety. Read carefully the rules he sets forth for safely using the internet.

As I pointed out in the last sentence of the before the set of instructions starting with First, these questions will be used in a SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT due 4/10 which is described in more detail below.

C4K#7 Assignment
Now we turn to your C4K#7 Assignment. Note that most posts have a "read more..." button. To get the entire post you will often have to click on Read more... We are starting with the post for March 28: Prosser's Gabriel. Note that all posts are Filed Under some category. Prosser's Gabriel is filed under Band of the Week. Other posts are filed under topics such as Lessons Learned, Social Studies, Videos, etc.

In the Google Docs you are assigned to a specific post. In some cases the post has many parts and you are assigned to a specific part of a specific post. For example you might be assigned to Lessons Learned: Three 9:23. You find the Lessons Learned Post that has this subsection. You read the subsection assigned to you. You leave a comment on the post BUT you must also say what part you are responding to. Another example would be Talent Show: T-Man. That happens to be the first video under Talent Show. Watch it. Comment on it in the comment area for that post and indicate you are commenting on T-Man's performance.

To summarize:
Find your assigned post or part of a post.
Read/watch it.
Leave a comment on the post and if there are multiple sections indicate which section you are commenting on. Be sure you identify yourself as being in EDM310.
THEN click on one of the categories under which your post is filed. Look at other posts filed here. You will use your observations in the Special Assignment discussed below.

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT
We are conducting an in depth examination of Mr. McClung's World. After you have completed your C4K#7 assignment, do this Special Assignment.
In a post on your blog due no later than midnight 4/10, answer these questions:

1. What do you know (or have you found out) about Mr. McClung that is reflected in the way he has constructed his class blog?
2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator.
3. I asked above that you read Mr. McClung's "rules" and think about them. What do they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an aspiring teacher?
4. What was the first thing under Everyone needs? Why do you suppose that is the first requirement?
5. Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment.
6. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher.
7. I asked you to review at least two Useful Links in depth after reviewing all of them. Which two did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClung's list.
8. Under Internet Safety I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safely using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract.
9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which you assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me.
10. Mr. McClung uses Edublog as his blog host. In some ways it may seem more "advanced." But Blogger has many abilities that we have not covered in EDM310. This leads to this question: Is there anything (or things) that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do in Blogger?
11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others?
12. How does Mr. McClung's 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think?
13. Add any additional comments you think would be useful in analyzing Mr. McClung's World in depth.

13 comments:

  1. I've already posted on my blog about Mr.McClung. This new project must be an add-on. Can't wait to see. Waiting on further instructions.

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  2. I too, have posted about Mr. McClung, which was blog post 9. Are you trying to confuse me again? Just kidding!

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  3. The comments by Woodie and Kelly were made before I had completed the assignment. Now they know the rest of the story...

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  4. As the old saying goes,"be careful what you wish for" cause i got it. :)

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  5. IMO you could not have picked a better class blog for your students to visit. Joe has done an amazing job.

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  6. Wow....I didn't realize I was that deep! Nevertheless, thank you for the exposure Dr. Strange (and your comment Bill). Also thank you so much for your recent donation to Susan G. Komen....I plan on thanking you more formally soon.

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  7. Woo Hoo! Let's do this!

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  8. First Impression: Wow, Dr. Strange, this is probably one of the biggest critical thinking assignments I have had in a while! I must find my brain before I can get started!

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  9. I'm lost. There was a video for Mr. McClung last week? All I saw was the blog post we were suppose to read. I even went back and checked again after reading this yesterday.

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  10. I really enjoyed diving that deep into Mr. McClung's blog and I must be honest, did NOT want to even go there at first. But now that I have I'm inspired and ready to blog-it-out! Thanks Dr. Strange!

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  11. What an awesome example of maximizing the potential of blogging in the classroom. This assignment helped me realize the potential blogs have to enrich learning, communication, and collaboration. Thanks Dr. Strange :)

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  12. Where can I find the internet safety section at?

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  13. I really enjoyed this assignment. I really enjoyed reading Mr. McClung's blog and seeing how much he cares about his job and students.

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