Week #33 (19)

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Latest prompt

This week we have an unusual question to answer. The Prompt is:

…why was that hat on the table?…

Things to consider:

  • Is it a special hat?
  • Were you expecting something else to be on the table?
  • Is it a problem?
  • Who does the hat belong to?

The form will close at 23.45 UK time on 8th June 2019




Week ten tasks

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Week ten tasks

This week there are two tasks to complete. If you don’t have time to write your audit post, please just spend 5 minutes completing our survey. We’d really appreciate it!

There is a separate survey for teachers and students.

Teachers, please help us in making sure your students fill in the correct survey (the one for students).

Our graphic summarises the tasks and I explain more in the post.

Happy blogging!

Thank you for all your hard work with the Student Blogging Challenge over the last 10 weeks.

I hope you’ll join us again in October and tell your friends!


Week Nine Tasks

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Week Nine Tasks

This week there are just two tasks. Complete one or both depending on how much time you have.

Our graphic summarises the tasks and I will explain them in more detail below.

Week 9 Tasks STUBC -- Putting it all together

Task 1: Write a quality post on a free choice topic

Use the ideas in the graphic above about what makes a quality blog post (as well as your own ideas) to create a fantastic blog post.

Make sure you proofread it really well and try to make it your best post yet!

You can write about anything you like! If you’re stuck for ideas, why not try:

  • A happy memory
  • If you had three wishes…
  • Your pet (or a pet you wish you had)
  • Your hobby
  • Your dreams for the future
  • Things others wouldn’t know about you

Task 2: Recommend a blog

Have you come across a great blog during the Student Blogging Challenge? (Preferably from someone who isn’t in your class).

Write a post about that blog and tell us what makes it special. Include links to a couple of posts they have written.

Add a screenshot of their blog (remember a quality blog post includes a visual!).

When you’ve published your post, leave a comment on their blog to say you have written a post about them.

Examples:

Visit Others

Don’t forget to try to visit a couple of other bloggers once you’ve published your own post. Making connections is the best part of the Student Blogging Challenge!

Submit Your Post URL 

If you’d like a commenter and others to visit your post, fill in the form below.

This video shows you how to find your URL…

Note, this isn’t a real class blog. Just one I used for testing 


Week Six Blogging Challenge – Music

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Music is something that can connect people, no matter where you live, what language you speak, or how old you are.

This week, we’re going to discuss all aspects of music — what we like, what we don’t like, how we use music and using music legally.

Week 6 of the Student Blogging Challenge is about music

Reminders

Here are a few important reminders:

  • The Google Forms for weeks 1-3 are now closed. You can still submit posts in the Google Forms for weeks 4 and 5 if you’re catching up.
  • Very important — Please keep approving comments quickly. Some teachers are telling us that their students left comments weeks ago that have still not been approved. Try to write a reply to your comments, even if you only have time for a short thank you.
  • Very important — Remember if you’re adding Google Doc/Form/Slide presentations in your post, please check these are public so others can see them. You’ll find the instructions here.
  • I’ve been visiting lots of blogs that don’t have an About page. This is so important. It doesn’t have to be long but please tell your visitors who you are and where you’re from (pen names are fine and you don’t have to be too specific with your location but at least include your country). Revise the steps to creating an About page in our week one post.
  • To become a better blogger, before you publish consider: have I proofread? Is my text broken up in short paragraphs (bullet points can be good too)? Do I have an image?
  • Commenting team leader Sue Wyatt/Miss W is now back from her holiday. Thank you to Sheri Edwards for her help. We look forward to seeing some of Miss W’s photos in the coming weeks.

Let’s Look At Music

What sort of music do you like?

  • Pop?
  • Rock?
  • Classical?
  • Country?
  • Alternative?
  • Jazz?
  • Dance?
  • Hip hop or rap?

There are so many different types of music enjoyed around the world.

As Greek Philosopher Plato apparently said,

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

Music and the Law

Remember back in week 3 we discussed how you can’t just use any image that you find online? Well, the same applies for music.

Most music is protected by copyright. So you can’t use it for your own digital projects without permission or paying for a special license.

Listening to music

Not so long ago, when people wanted to listen to their favourite song, they had to wait until it came on the radio or buy the CD/cassette/record.

Now there are choices but it’s important to know what you can and can’t do with music.

Using music in projects

Normally, you can’t just use any music you like in something you’re creating — like a video.

However, in most countries, you are allowed to copy music to add to a video if:

a) it’s for educational purposes and

b) you’re not sharing your video publicly (or selling it!)

So, if you have a public blog, you aren’t allowed to put a video on there that you made with copyright music. And you couldn’t show your video at a public event. However, it’s okay if you’re just showing the video to your teachers and parents.

Hopefully you do want to share your work with a public audience. That’s what this challenge is all about! Don’t worry. You can still use music. I’ll share some options below.

Note: This is the case in Australia and the US but if you live in another country you may need to check your own guidelines. 

Paying for music

There are popular sites and apps where you can pay to download music legally — for example, Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Spotify.

You can listen to your downloaded music yourself, but can’t upload it to your blog or to a video or other project you’re working on.

You also can’t use it publicly (e.g. at a school event, store, or public event).

Streaming music

It’s fine to stream music online on sites like YouTube (although remember, YouTube is 13+) but it’s not usually legal to download the audio from a YouTube video as explained in this article.

Also, streaming music in this way is meant for personal use — not for a public broadcast. As Spotify says,

…it’s not possible to use Spotify in public places (such as bars, restaurants, stores, schools, etc.). You may only make personal, non-commercial, entertainment use of the content.

Most streaming services are similar.

Embedding music

Embedding a video from a site like YouTube or Vimeo into your blog is usually allowed.

As Richard Byrne says,

If the host provides an embed and you embed it using their code according to their rules (usually that means not trying to hide branding), you can embed it without violating copyright.

CDs or digital music?

You can also listen to music by buying a CD or borrowing one from the library. Although digital music is becoming a lot more popular than CDs in many parts of the world.

Again, you can’t copy the music from a CD and use it for another project (e.g. upload it to your blog or add it to a public video).

Confused? Here’s a summary of the do’s and don’ts you need to remember

Remember, I’m no legal expert and things are different in different countries so please contact me if you have any extra information. We can all learn together!

Music and the Law Do's and Don'ts. for bloggers

Where to find music and clips that you are allowed to use

Just like with images, there are options for students and teachers who need music or sound clips for a video, slideshow, or other digital project they’re working on.

Let’s take a look at three …

Dig CC Mixter

Dig CC Mixter offers thousands of hours of free music.

The music on this site has different Creative Commons licenses so you need to check whether you need to attribute the music or not (attribute means saying who made the music and where it’s from etc).

Educational Blogger Richard Byrne’s video below explains how to use Dig CC Mixter and filter by license.

BBC Sound Effects

During 2018, the BBC made over 16,000 sound effects available to use for personal, educational, or research purposes.

You can browse by category to find the sort of sound effect you’re after for your project.

You should put a link in your project or blog post to say that your sound effects were from the BBC and link to their site. 

Here is an example of a sound clip. This is the sound of the surf at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia.

Audio Player

Week Six Tasks

This week you can choose from a list of 8 ideas to create a post about music. Or you can come up with your own idea!

Because the topic of music is a new one for the Student Blogging Challenge, we don’t have many examples to share this week.

Week 6 of the STUBC is about music. There are 8 tasks to choose from

8 Prompts For Your Post About Music

Choose one or more of these ideas to create a post about music. Or, you might have your own idea!

1) Create a survey about music (opinions)

Create a poll to survey your readers (Google Forms is a good way to do this or you could use a tool like Crowd Signal).

Alternatively, you could write some questions that you’d like readers to answer in a comment.

Your survey questions could be about:

  • Your favourite music genre
  • Your favourite artists or groups
  • Would you rather? (e.g. Would you rather Ariana Grande or Billie Eilish? Would you rather classical music or rap?)

Idea: When your survey is completed, you could share a summary of your findings. I love a tool called Beam for making simple charts.

2) Create a quiz about music (facts)

Quiz your readers about anything music related. Perhaps your quiz could include questions like:

  • Facts about artists (year they were born, or first number one hit)
  • Facts about instruments
  • Music theory
  • Questions about a certain genre or period of time (e.g. 1980s music)

Google Forms is great for making quizzes but please make sure it’s public. You could also make a Google Slides presentation. The question could be on one slide, and the answer on the next (or all the answers could be at the end of the presentation).

Remember to please make sure any Google Forms/Slides/Docs etc. are public.

3) Tell us about an instrument

Do you have a favourite instrument? Or perhaps there is an instrument that fascinates you and you might like to do some research and write a post about it.

You might include things like:

  • Construction or appearance
  • History
  • Technique or how to play it
  • Famous works or artists
  • Classification or family of instruments (e.g. strings, or percussion)

Don’t forget to include an image or embed a video.

ExampleAsh wrote a post about the ukelele for her free choice post in week 4.

4) Research a famous artist or group

Find out more about a singer, songwriter, musician, or group. This might be someone who is popular now or performed long ago.

Share some interesting facts in a post.

Bring your research to life with an image or video.

5) Make a playlist

Music lovers have enjoyed making their own playlists for years. A playlist can celebrate a certain artist, genre, or mood.

Write a blog post that includes a playlist of your favourite songs. Don’t forget to explain why you like each song and why it’s part of your playlist.

Example: Principal Meredith Akers made a playlist by embedding YouTube videos into her blog post.

6) Discuss music and the law

Many people don’t realise that by using music illegally, you are putting artists at a disadvantage because they are not getting paid for their work.

Do some research and write an article about the downsides of using music illegally.

Alternatively, you might like to write a post about do’s and don’ts of using music legally. You might be able to teach others who aren’t aware that there are rules we need to abide by.

7) Guess the artist, song, or instrument

Guessing games are fun!

Give your readers some clues as they scroll down the page and have them guess the artist, song, or instrument.

You could put each clue on a slide of a Google Slides presentation if you prefer (just remember to make sure your Slides presentation is public).

Invite your readers to put their guesses in a comment.

8) Make some music

We don’t just have to talk about music or listen to others’ music. Why not make your own. There are lots of apps and websites where you can make music.

One suggestion is Google’s Song Maker 

Play around with it to make a tune and then click Save in the bottom right-hand corner.

Next, you can copy the embed code. Another option is to copy the link to your song if you don’t want it embedded in your post.

In your blog post, go to Add Media > Insert Embed Code

Paste your embed code and press Insert Into Post

Your song will appear!

Another music creation tool that is popular and free for all ages is Incredibox.

When You’ve Published A Post, It’s Time To Visit

As always, an important part of the challenge is to connect with others. You never know what you might learn or who you could connect with!

When you’ve finished your post, choose a couple of blogs to visit and leave a quality comment.

Remember to ask a question and check back to see if they replied to you (most platforms have a box to tick so you can get an email when there is a follow-up comment).

You will find the link to the week 6 participants’ posts on the sidebar of this blog on Tuesday.

Submit Your Post URL 

If you’d like a commenter and others to visit your post about music, fill in the form below.

This video shows you how to find your URL…

Note, this isn’t a real class blog. Just one I used for testing 

 

This graphic below should help you understand what a post URL looks like if you’re using Edublogs/CampusPress/WordPress

Examples of post URLS for STUBCThe Google Form

Edit: Enter your details in the Google Form below or click here to open it in a new tab.

Teachers, feel free to put the Form URL on your class blog if it’s easier for your students to access.

https://forms.gle/Q2ZiuxfrfWBSo8iS8



Week Five Tasks

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Week Five Tasks

This week you can choose from a list of 8 ideas to create a post about school. Or you can come up with your own idea!

Thanks to Sue Wyatt who came up with many of these ideas for previous challenges.

Week five of the Student Blogging Challenge looks at school around the world.

8 Prompts For Your Post About School

Safety First!

Remember it’s important to think carefully about what information we publish online.

  • Students should check with their teacher about whether it’s okay to mention their school name. If not, you might just like to tell people your state/country.
  • Another thing to consider is writing about your plans (e.g. instead of saying “I have karate lessons at the town hall at 4pm on Thursdays” try “I enjoy weekly karate lessons”).

Now onto the ideas…

1) Survey your readers about school

Create a poll to survey your readers (Google Forms is a good way to do this or you could use a tool like Crowd Signal).

Alternatively, you could write some questions that you’d like readers to answer in a comment.

Your questions could be about:

  • How people get to school (or work)
  • School starting/finishing time
  • School holidays
  • School uniforms
  • School subjects
  • Anything else that interests you

Idea: when your survey is completed, you could share a summary of your findings. I love a tool called Beam for making simple charts.

ExampleEmma made a survey using Google Forms.

2) Share your school day

Write about your school day or make a slideshow or video to explain it.

You might include things like:

  • How do you get to school?
  • What is your timetable like? Do you have set subjects at certain times?
  • Do you have one teacher or many?
  • What time do you begin and end school?
  • Do you get to choose what you learn?
  • What technology do you have at school?

Remember to explain abbreviations you might use e.g. LOTE, STEM, or ELA

ExampleKayden wrote about her favourite school subjects

3) Do some research

Do a little bit of research for a new post.

Here are some ideas:

  • Research the history of your school and create an “About my school” page.
  • Research a famous person who attended your school.
  • How has schooling changed over the years? Interview parents or grandparents and ask questions about schooling. You could make a written interview, make a video, or make an audio recording (Anchor is a great tool for making audio recordings).
  • Find out more about someone at your school who you don’t talk to very much. Maybe you could interview a student who is older/younger than you. Or you might interview your cleaner, crossing supervisor, canteen worker etc.

ExampleFarrah asked her parents about how school has changed.

4) What happens at break times?

Tell us what you do at break time or what’s popular at your school.

You might write about:

  • The food you eat at school. Do you take your own lunchbox or do you buy lunch? Include some photos if you can!
  • What do you do at break time? Are there any popular games, sports, or activities at your school?
  • What precautions do you have to take from the weather at break times? Hats? Sunscreen? Snowsuits? Is school ever cancelled or do you ever have to stay inside?

ExampleVan Anh explained how to play a traditional Vietnamese game.

5) Describe your school grounds

Tell us a bit about your school grounds. You could even draw a map, or make a slideshow or video that gives readers a tour of your school.

  • Is your school big or small?
  • What sort of play areas do you have? Playgrounds? Fields? Courts?
  • What special buildings do you have? A gym? A library?

Example: Mrs. Yollis class made this great school tour video when I worked on a projectwith her for International Dot Day.

6) Tell us about your special events

Does your school hold any special events? Maybe a fair or fete, a dress up day, a fundraiser, camps or school trips?

Share the details in a post!

ExampleJueun wrote about a sports event held in his district.

7) Compare your school with another

Find a video, photo, or article to shows what school is like in a different part of the world.

Feel free to use the resources I added above.

Write about the similarities and differences as well as the questions you’re pondering.

Alternatively, if you’ve been to more than one more school you might be able to compare them in a post.

ExampleYuyang compared his school experiences in China and Senegal.

8) Share your opinions about school

No doubt you have some opinions about school and we’d like to hear them:

  • What’s your ideal school? You could even include a map of what it would look like.
  • Share your opinion on uniforms, school starting times, homework, recess, or another controversial issue.
  • What do you dream of doing once you finish school?
  • If you were principal for a week, what would you do?

If you have any other ideas, that’s great! Write about anything that relates to schooling around the world.

ExamplesFran wrote about his plans for when he finishes school while Van Anh shared her opinions on school uniforms.

When You’ve Published A Post, It’s Time To Visit

An important part of this topic is to find out about some other schools. You never know what you might learn or who you could connect with!

When you’ve finished your post, choose a couple of blogs to visit and leave a quality comment.

Remember to ask a question and check back to see if they replied to you (most platforms have a box to tick so you can get an email when there is a follow-up comment).

You will find the link to the week 5 participants’ posts on the sidebar of this blog on Tuesday.

Submit Your Post URL 

If you’d like a commenter and others to visit your post about school, fill in the form below.

This video shows you how to find your URL…

Note, this isn’t a real class blog. Just one I used for testing 

 

This graphic below should help you understand what a post URL looks like if you’re using Edublogs/CampusPress/WordPress

Examples of post URLS for STUBC

The Google Form

Edit: Enter your details in the Google Form click here to open it in a new tab.

Teachers, feel free to put the Form URL on your class blog if it’s easier for your students to access.

https://forms.gle/mmEmLqDeMJfDvEmH7


Week Four Tasks

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Week Four Tasks

This week’s tasks are simple but I’ve offered a little elaboration below the summary graphic.

Week four of the Student Blogging Challenge allows you to catch up or write a free choice post.

Task 1: Catch Up

You might not have had the chance to complete a task for week 1-3. Or you might like to complete an additional task from the choices on offer. Go for it.

Here are the links (you’ll also find them on the sidebar of the challenge blog).

Note about Google Forms:

  • The Google Form for week one tasks is closed.
  • If you’re catching up on a week one task, you can add it to the Google Form at the bottom of this week four post.
  • If you complete a week two or three task, please go to the correct Google Form as these are still open.

Task 2: Free Choice

sign saying go

What’s something that interests you? Write about it!

Stuck for ideas?

If you write a free choice post this week, submit it in the Google Form at the bottom of this post.

Task 3: Visit

You might have a bit of extra time this week so it could be a good opportunity to visit at least one other blog and leave a quality comment.

Remember to ask a question and check back to see if they replied to you (most platforms have a box to tick so you can get an email when there is a follow-up comment).

>> Click here to take a look at the posts our participants are writing for week 4.

Task 4: Kahoot!

Have you ever played Kahoot? Get some friends together and test your blogging knowledge with our 15 question quiz!

How Kahoot! works:

  • The multiple-choice questions appear on the screen in the classroom and students submit their responses in real time using their computer, tablet, or mobile device.
  • Students can work in teams and can work for points (most correct answers and quickest responses).

Our Introduction To Blogging Kahoot goes over some of the key terms, vocabulary, and uses of blogs.

How To Play Our Blogging Kahoot!

  • To access the Kahoot, click on this link.
  • You don’t need an account to play, however; you will need to log in if you want to edit the quiz (teachers can adapt it for your own students if necessary).
  • You also need to be signed in to save results.
  • You’ll have the option for your students to play against each other individually (classic mode) or in teams.

Play as classic or team mode Kahoot

You’ll also have a variety of game options you can play around with (see below).

Once you finalize your selections, a game pin number will show up. Students will go to the Kahoot app on their device, or to https://kahoot.it/ and enter the pin number to begin!

Game options for kahoot

Feel free to leave a comment on this post and tell us if you tried the Kahoot!

Submit Your Post URL 

If you write a free choice post and would like a commenter and others to visit, fill in the form below.

Do you have a post on your class blog and student blogs? Awesome! Feel free to submit the class blog post and student blog posts.

You need to submit the URL of your post. You can submit the URL of a page if this is what you’re working on but make sure comments are enabled. 

This video shows you how to find your URL…

Note, this isn’t a real class blog. Just one I used for testing 

Remember:

  • Click on the title of your post/page and then copy the URL from your address bar.
  • This graphic below should help you understand what a post URL looks like if you’re using Edublogs/CampusPress/WordPress

Examples of post URLS for STUBCThe Google Form

Edit: Enter your details in the form below or click here to open it in a new tab.

Teachers, feel free to put the form URL on your class blog if it’s easier for your students to access.

https://goo.gl/forms/gdOIFHmKm3xQv46i1


Next week’s topic: School Around The World!


Lab in a Box

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Yesterday the students from Room 10 went to Lab in a Box in the hall to learn about brain development and kidney function.

Ph Sampling

Brain Cells

 

Vision Googles – changing brain signals 

The students learnt about the Ph sampling using imitation urine samples, how the brain works, brain signals, and acid and alkaline levels in different substances.

The workshop was run by the University of Otago and provided a hands-on approach to science. Please see the student blogs for their recount/reflection about visiting Lab in a Box.

How our brain operates