Comments For Kids

Earlier this week I got this email from Dorothy Burt, Director of eLearning at Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand:

Hi there

We are LOVING the podcasting comments coming through from your students. Thank you for sending them our way again :)
We have a 'new' mantra this year for commenting. We came up with it for the kids, but it works just as well for us teachers.

We ask, Is it Positive, Thoughtful, Helpful?

Positive - the obvious positive affirmation
Thoughtful - engaging with the content of the post in some way
Helpful - this is the feedback/feed forward aspect. Discerning the learning intention and trying to be helpful.

Your students are doing a great job of this without having our 'mantra' in front of them.

In another email which Ms. Burt sent to her colleagues she especially praised Alana Carpenter's comments left for the students at Pt. England School. She said:

Isn't this a great comment from one of Dr Strange's students? I am thinking I will save this as an exemplar - for myself :)

Alana Carpenter has left a new comment on your post "KPE Episode 276: "Duster"":

Hi girls, I am from Dr. Strange's class, too. I was most impressed by your use of "first, next, then, and finally." You are showcasing some excellent sequencing skills. In addition, your dialogue was very fluent. You made the story come to life as you incorporated personal experiences with your own dog. I wish I could meet Duster. I guess I will just have to read the book. It is so awesome to see you using technology at such an advanced level. I say advanced because I am just learning how to utilize podcasting and other technical tools. If you would like to see some of the things we have been learning here is a link to my blog. My Blog

Dorothy

It is wonderful to get praise like this, especially from a person who directs the best school wide educational technology program in the world!

So students, keep up the good work. And remember:

We ask, Is it Positive, Thoughtful, Helpful?

Positive - the obvious positive affirmation
Thoughtful - engaging with the content of the post in some way
Helpful - this is the feedback/feed forward aspect. Discerning the learning intention and trying to be helpful.

I would also remind you that you should NOT ask the students about themselves or the other students. If you have a question about the class, the teaching techniques used, or the students in the class ASK THE TEACHER! You are learning to be a professional. That is how professionals interact with students and teachers.