Blogging and Feedback

Once again, I am reminded of the power of the blog and the comments feature. Ranit recently shared a piece of his writing with me. I provided him with some feedback and he responded with this beautiful sentence; well structured and correctly punctuated.

This would not have happened with the traditional pen and paper (could have, but unlikely). I would have had to be in Ranit's class, or he would have had to bring his writing to me.

The other reminder is that quality writing can be developed through commenting on blogs. The children are provided with a scaffold for commenting on blogs and there is clear evidence of this in Ranit's reply to me.

Comments
Please structure your comments as follows:
Positive - Something done well
Thoughtful - A sentence to let us know you actually read/watched or listened to what they had to say
Helpful - Give some ideas for next time or Ask a question you want to know more about

Read Simon Scott's (our DP) thoughts regarding blogging.
Simon's blog post

Blogging

Ako Ngatahi (Yr5-6) are connecting with Room 22 from Owairaka District School in Auckland and commenting on their awesome blogs.

"This is a great writing task with a purpose and an authentic audience, " say classroom teachers Kate Mclachlan and Simon Scott.

Children are more motivated and engaged when they can see a purpose for their writing, and especially when they know that others will be looking and commenting on their work.

So what is blogging?
"A blog is a frequently updated online personal journal or diary. It is a place to express yourself to the world. A place to share your thoughts and your passions ... Blog is a short word for the word weblog ..."
http://blogbasics.com/what-is-a-blog/

Two examples:
"Hi Room 22, my name is Sharlisa. I am in Ako Ngatahi at Hornby Primary School. That curry potato looks delicious. What are your favourite foods from the garden? I would like to see more posts. Keep it up!"
Sharlisa

"Nice work Room 22. I really like how you put your pictures into an apple, it is cool how you are using your pictures creatively. We have something a little like that and it is called Book Creator. My questions is, do you take different photos or do you use the same?"
Dakota