Writing

Resource:

I found this resource by searching through the hashtag #edtech on Twitter. It is a blog post that gives 7 strategies that teachers should teach their students on how to post on social media. It talks about what students should and shouldn’t write about or share online. It talks about how students need to think before they share their feelings online, because they may regret it later on. However, it also states that students can change the world with what they share (in a good way).

Geoff Livingston. (2010, March 2). Like and Dislike [Photograph]. Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9397412@N06/6946516369

Ontario Curriculum:

I think the third overall expectation from the Ontario Curriculum: Language for the writing strand best applies to this resource. It states that students will: 3. use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively. Using this resource, students can practise editing and publishing their writing on social media to present their work online. This is a useful resource for literacy teachers because they can use it teach their students about their digital identity, while also improving their writing skills.

Gideon Burton. (2009, January 1). Online ID dog-tag [Image]. Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wakingtiger/3157622308/ 

What now? 

I could use these strategies in my placement by having my students write and post something on social media. They could write an insightful tweet or blog post about something meaningful that they learning in class, but before they posted it online they would have to edit and reflect on it. I would also have them get a peer to review their work before publishing it online. 

My Associate Teacher just handed out a form to all her students to get signed by their parents, to give them permission to be posting online. This letter outlined the assignments that the students will be completing, and which media platforms they will be using. My Associate Teacher wants to keep the parents informed, and involved in their children's schoolwork. The parents are encouraged to read over everything their children post online (not just for class). In my own classroom I will use this form to communicate with my students' parents, and to get others to edit their work. 

Digital Identity

Woolley, E. © 2015

I will teach my students about digital identity before they start sharing their work online. Above is an image I created to illustrate my digital identity; it is an avatar of myself. Students can create their own avatar using various sites to generate these images. This is a good method to protect students' identity, so they do not have to share a photo of themselves online. 

Next, I would go over Internet safety using the 6 Internet Safety Games To Help Kids Become Cyber Smart. I want my students to use social media, but I want them to be smart about it and be safe. This site also gives detailed information and provides good examples of interactive games that kids can play that talk about Internet safety, so that the students can learn, but still have fun. I would use the games provided from this site to explain to my students the importance of being smart and safe when using the Internet. It teaches ways to stay safe on the Internet, like keeping a password secure and how to keep personal information safe.  Before my students actually get to post online, I would have them write an initial blog post on what they have learned about Internet safety, that I would review before they posted it online. 

Paul Klintworth. (2008, June 4). Internet safety [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/27340884@N07/2550796119  

Netiquette

I would also teach my students the etiquette rules that everyone should follow when posting online. This is called Netiquette, and these unwritten rules are the acceptable ways of communicating on the Internet. Let’s look at a few major ones to know if you’re going to post on the Internet:

• If you wouldn’t say something to someone’s face, don’t say it online. Some things are better left unsaid, especially if it is something nasty.  
• It’s okay to disagree with other people’s opinions, but be respectful. You’re entitled to your own opinion, but there’s no need to be rude or offensive towards someone else
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and use appropriate language. Remember, everything on the Internet is there for the world to see, so be cautious of what you put out there. Future employers, teachers, and family members can see what you say, so be kind! 
• Never post someone else’s work/words without their permission. Give credit where it is due. If you like what someone else has said or have created, feel free to share it, but let everyone know who the creator is

These are the criteria students should know so that they can edit their work before they publish it. 

Classroom Practise 

Finally, I would get my students to start writing and publishing their work online. A few of the sites that they can post on includes, but are not limited to, are Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger. Using Twitter and Facebook my students will need to be concise with their texts, and be sure to edit their ideas based on the Netiquette criteria. I would have them post questions on these sites to see what their peers and other people have to say on their ideas. I could have them start an inquiry or short stories on these sites. On Blogger they can post much longer texts such as critical reflections or their own stories. 

Another fun way to get students to publish their work as a newspaper article. This site allows students to copy and paste their writing and it turns into a newspaper clipping. Below is an example of an assignment I made that I created in my Tech class a few weeks ago

Woolley, E. © 2015