C4K Starts Today

I think C4K is one of the most important parts of EDM310. You will be commenting on kids blogs throughout the world. But you must PREPARE for this activity before you undertake it. Here's how:

1. Read/watch all material for which links appear in the section for Projects#3, #4 and #7 in the Projects Manual, p. 18
.....a in the opening paragraph
.....b in the General rules numbers 1-5 (on p.18) and 6c (on pp. 19-20)

2. If your C4K assignment has a Class Blog, look it over. see what you can find out about the class and the assignment. For Week 1 I have done a bit of that for you. Where possible I have listed the teacher's name, the school, and the grade. But YOU must explore every week. Don't just treat this as a quick assignment. Think about the way the teacher is approaching instruction, how she uses blogs and for what purpose.

3. PROOFREAD your comment. Do not have it rejected because of your failure to use good grammar, to spell correctly, or to avoid texting techniques.

4. In this first iteration, C4K will take more time than it will later in the semester. Invest quality time in this assignment. I assure you it will be beneficial to you in the future.

Your C4K Assignments will be in your Google Docs later this afternoon (Monday February 6, 2012)

Some Additional Reminders:

Many of these students have been blogging since September. The students at Pt. England School probably have been blogging for 3 or more years! They know more about blogging than you do.

Some of you will comment on Mr. Avery's student blogs. His Twitter name is @mr_avery if you have questions.

Some of you will comment on Mr. Chamberlain's student blogs. Mr. Chamberlain is my hero. He taught me the importance of commenting on blogs when I was in the initial stages of designing EDM310. He has been a great friend and member of my Personal Learning Network (PLN). His students have been blogging for at least 5 months, maybe more. His Twitter name is @wmchamberlain There is a William Chamberlain Fund here at South which awards prizes each year to EDM310 students.

Some of you will be commenting on Mrs. Ripp's student blogs. Her Twitter address is @pernilleripp When I told her EDM310 students would be blogging she Tweeted back "@drjohnhadley oh hooray - my students will be so excited".

Some of you will be commenting on Mrs. Diaz's students. I got her name from the #comments4kids stream on Twitter. Her Twitter name is @MrsDiazClass

Some of you will be commenting on Mrs. Bark's student blogs. Mrs. Barks teaches at Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand. You should have read about Room 10 at Pt. England School. This is one of my favorite schools and has been for a long time. These students have been blogging for at least 3 years. We will visit Pt. England School quite often. The students have just returned from their summer break. They are just returning to their blogs. Look at some of their previous blogs. You can comment about other blogs in your comment on their first blog after their summer vacation.

Two Special Reminders
1. If the student to whom you are assigned does not have a post, choose another student and notify me (at strange.john@gmail.com) of the student you selected instead.

2. You must keep track of the link to your student's blog for each C4K assignment. The assignments that you see in the C4K Doc will disappear each Monday morning when new assignments are issued.