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Permission To Blog Letter
Dear Parent/Guardian and Student:
From now until the end of the year, our biology class will be taking part in a writing for science pilot program designed to develop student's inquiry skills by communicating scientific ideas and research with a real audience. Students will be using peronal Weblogs to post their writings on the internet.
A Weblog, or blog as it is commonly called, is a special type of Web page that can be created and easily updated using a Web browser. Each new entry has its own date stamp. Each entry has a comments section whre visitors to the blog may leave comments for the author.
HOW IT WORKS:
Each week our class will respond to a writing prompt. This prompt will be one of many forms: journal articles, news, research conducted by students in class, and lab excersises performed in class. The emphasis is on the quality of writing, and scientific evidence that they use to back their argument. They will have the teacher edit their writng before it posted ot the interent.
Students will be given in class time most weeks to complete their blogging assignments. Students may also work from home. All that is required is an Internet connection and a Web browser. Students are able to save their work as drafts before publishing it to their blog. Directions for working at home will be provided.
Having a real audience is one of the key components to this program. This will provide students an opportunity to experience what scientists go through when being published. Students will receive feedback from other classmates who visit their blog. Parents are also invited to visit the blogs and respond to the postings. Potentially, anyone on the interent could respond to our blogs, however, it is not likely that the world at large will stumble across them.
SECURITY:
This blogging project is designed to minimize the risk to your child. The only personally identifying information included in the blog will be their first name. There will be no mention of our school name or our location. Students are allowed to post their findings, interests, hypotheses, and ideas on other research, but not their age, e-mail adress, photographs of themselves, or other sensitive information.
ASSESSMENT:
The weekly assignments will be part of your childs over all grade this semester. As with other projects they completed this year, students will receive a scoring rubric that explains expectations for these assignments. The rubric will include a section for comments that they leave on other students' blogs.
PERMISSION:
Before your student may start posting to their blog, we ask that you and your child discuss and sign the following form. Please return by September 7, 2012.
BLOGGIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
1. Students using blogs are expected to act safely by keeping personal information out of their posts. You agree not to post or give out your family name password, username, e-mail address, home address, school name, city, country, or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas, and preferences.
2. Students using blogs agree not to share thier username or password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student.
3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blog spaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is inappropriate for your blog. While we encourage you to engage in questioning, debate, and conversation with other bloggers. We also expect you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.
4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the various requirements and rules of a classroom teachers. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject.
5. Students blogs are a vehicle for sharing student learning and understanding of scientific concepts with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog will leave comments that are respectful, helpful messages. If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell your teacher rimmediately. Do not respond to the comment.
6. Students using blogs will be expected to take care of computers by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions.
7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lost their opporutnity to take part in this project and will receive a zero.
I have read and understood the blogging terms and conditions. I agree to uphold them.
Student's Signature: _______________________________ Date: ___________
Parent's Signature: _______________________________ Date: ____________
Calendars
Calendar
- Thu July 26 - Rusti's Orals Defense 10 am Sharon's Orals Defense 1 pm
- Sat July 14 - Cheney Rodeo
- Sun July 15 - Cheney Rodeo
- Thu July 19 - Learning Space Due
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