Latest prompt
…Gerald just couldn’t stop laughing…
Latest prompt
…Gerald just couldn’t stop laughing…
Latest prompt
This week we have 5 words that all need to be in your writing but they can be in any order. They are:
SALT BROWN MELTED GIRAFFE GREASY
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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.
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:
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.
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!
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
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.
Here are a few important reminders:
What sort of music do you like?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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 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.
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).
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!
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 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.
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
Click on the link below to take you to this weeks google form. Remember to complete each task as a new post on your blog and copy the blog post URL address onto the form below.
Google Week 5: School Around The World This form is only for week five tasks about school.
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.
Remember it’s important to think carefully about what information we publish online.
Now onto the ideas…
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:
Idea: when your survey is completed, you could share a summary of your findings. I love a tool called Beam for making simple charts.
Example: Emma made a survey using Google Forms.
Write about your school day or make a slideshow or video to explain it.
You might include things like:
Remember to explain abbreviations you might use e.g. LOTE, STEM, or ELA
Example: Kayden wrote about her favourite school subjects
Do a little bit of research for a new post.
Here are some ideas:
Example: Farrah asked her parents about how school has changed.
Tell us what you do at break time or what’s popular at your school.
You might write about:
Example: Van Anh explained how to play a traditional Vietnamese game.
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.
Example: Mrs. Yollis class made this great school tour video when I worked on a projectwith her for International Dot Day.
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!
Example: Jueun wrote about a sports event held in his district.
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.
Example: Yuyang compared his school experiences in China and Senegal.
No doubt you have some opinions about school and we’d like to hear them:
If you have any other ideas, that’s great! Write about anything that relates to schooling around the world.
Examples: Fran wrote about his plans for when he finishes school while Van Anh shared her opinions on school uniforms.
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.
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
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.
This week’s tasks are simple but I’ve offered a little elaboration below the summary graphic.
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:
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.
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.
Have you ever played Kahoot? Get some friends together and test your blogging knowledge with our 15 question quiz!
How Kahoot! works:
Our Introduction To Blogging Kahoot goes over some of the key terms, vocabulary, and uses of blogs.
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!
Feel free to leave a comment on this post and tell us if you tried the Kahoot!
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:
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!
Yesterday the students from Room 10 went to Lab in a Box in the hall to learn about brain development and kidney function.
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.