We have been looking at the issue of Child Labour in class this term, and have learned a lot about what it is and what causes it. Now it is time to start to bring all this together in a presentation that I would like YOU to create!

Imagine that you work for an organisation that is trying to solve this problem, and your presentation is designed to let members of the public know about this issue and what they can do to change it.

The task and helpful links is more fully explained on the link on the sidebar, 'Child Labour Keynote Challenge'.

Good luck! Your final product can be posted on your own blog for a real audience. This is a real opportunity to change hearts and minds and get the message out.

Time is definitely flying by - just three weeks to go before our next holiday!

Last week in class we discussed the importance of planning your blog posts - not just spewing your first thoughts on to your blog, but spending a little bit of time organising them first and seeing what fresh perspective you might take on your topic.

The tool we are using to do this is Bubbl.us. Not only is this a very effective way of getting those thoughts down and organising them, it's also pretty cool making those unwanted bubbles explode! Here is an example based on a discussion we had about blogs at the start of the term:

From now on, when you submit a blog to me for moderation, I'll be looking to see your Bubbl.us brainstorm (you don't need to put it on your blog - I'll check your Bubbl.us account). Remember, you can always add to this kind of mindmap as new ideas come to you.

Our new homework sheet is linked over on the left. Good luck!

Yes, we have Her Majesty to thank, along with the kind teachers who insisted you didn't have to come to school on Tuesday either! (By the way, when Charles is king, will we have King's Birthday Weekend on the same date?).

Anyway, I hope you are all well rested and ready for the week ahead. As you know we will not be seeing much of each other, as you have Technology and Music timetabled this week.

Good to see some new posts coming through on your blogs. When blogging about your interests, it's important to communicate your passion for the topic. Write it as though you are trying to sell your hobby!  When you provide links, always think which links would be most useful for someone starting out in your hobby.

If at all possible, find someone else in the world who blogs about your interest, and read their posts. It may give you some inspiration, and you may be able to link to their blog from yours. One of the best ways to find blogs is using Google Blog Search. From there you can enter your search terms and it will only search the internet for blogs about that topic.  Of course, make sure you check it out before you link to it, to make sure it is relevant and appropriate! If you find something you like, remember to bookmark it so you can come back to it another time (later I will show you a way to be automatically notified when it is updated) and feel free to comment on it too. You never know, they just might comment back!

If you haven't yet put your avatar on your blog, try to do so as soon as possible.

Enjoy your short week, and remember to read your classmates' blogs and comment!

Well done everyone on making it to the middle of another term. It's hard to believe we're at week 5 already, and that camp was a month ago.

I'd really like to thank all of you who were involved in my research project about blogging and completed the surveys. I really appreciate it! I think it's wonderful to see that long list of blog posts on the left that you have written. There's a real range of topics there, from Guinea Pigs, to Evil Doors to Skateboarding, and of course the ubiquitous Twilight blogs!  Please take the time to read some of these and leave comments.

I have posted a link to this week's homework in the links section so please be sure to access it and have a look. This is also the first week of your Gate Pa assignment about the key people at the battle, and about other battles of the NZ Wars. You have four weeks to complete this and I'm quite excited to see what we learn as a class as we do this.

Other things this week include the Cross Country on Wednesday. Although this is a compulsory school event, it is optional for our class because it falls on our Technology day. If you wish to do the cross country you will have an extra catch up Technology session at a later date.

We will also be looking at personalising our individual blogs by adding an avatar that you can design.

And of course the Algebra test Monday morning!

It's great to see so many of you commenting on each other blogs, and to see people graviting towards blogs of shared interests.

Here are some tips for writing comments that I found on Clarence Fisher's class blog that I thought you might find useful:

# This made me think about…….

# I wonder why…….

# Your writing made me form an opinion about…….

# This post is relevant because…….

# Your writing made me think that we should…….

# I wish I understood why…….

# This is important because…….

# Another thing to consider is…….

# I can relate to this…….

# This makes me think of…….

# I discovered…….

# I don’t understand…….

# I was reminded that…….

# I found myself wondering…….

Use these when starting your comments. It will help you think about something to write and help the people you are writing to think more deeply.

I also found this website, which gives really good advice on commenting. It's a real art and has rules you should know about, so spend a few minutes having a look.

You will notice that I have provided a link on the left for ideas for blog posts. This will help those of you who are unsure of what to write about.  This website also has some really good ideas for  blogging topics, which are used by bloggers from all over the world.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

OK, firstly I want to congratulate you on getting this far. Most of you have named your blogs, put in descriptions and done a test post. Some are even starting to draft their current events post.

So what's next? 

1. If you haven't already, click on the link to the survey and complete it. I'll close this off early next week, so it's important that you do that.


2. Have a look at my blog post 'Another Police Officer Killed'. Can you see the link on the left under 'Student Entries' (by the way, that's where links to your blog posts will show up as well when you publish)? I wrote this as an example of a current events blog post, the kind of thing I'd like you to do. Yours doesn't have to be as long (but it could be). Notice that it is about 30% facts and information, and 70% my opinion/thoughts about the facts. Try to get this balance in your posts too. Notice that if I have copied and pasted anything it is in italics, has speech marks at the start and end, and I have said the website I got it from. Also notice that I have ended with a thought provoking question that will encourage others to comment.


3. After you have read the Police post on C3B4Me, leave a comment there, answering my question. This will be good practice in commenting. Remember, your comments won't appear right away because they'll come to me first for moderation.


4. Click here to see some examples of what other NZ students are doing on their blogs. Click here to see some Canadian student blogs. You'll need to scroll down a bit and look on the left where you'll see a list of names. Spend some time exploring and see what you like that others are doing that you'd like to do. This blog is specifically about current events, again written by students your age.


5. Start blogging!!! The current events blogging is something we are all doing, but you can blog over and above this about things relating to what we are doing in class and your learning journey if you'd like to. You may find that you love writing on line and I want to encourage that.

Alright, that's all from me for now. Remember to do the survey, and happy blogging!

Hi There! You found our blog! This is the place to share your knowledge with other students, to publish your best work and most importantly it's a place to reflect on what we're learning.



Blogging is all about working with and discussing new ideas with other people -- THIS is the place to do just that. Use the comment feature below each post, or make your own post on your blog.  The sky's the limit...let your imagination soar and let’s get down to some serious blogging!



Here's your first blogging assignment, focused on Current Events:

We discussed in class the wide range of news stories out there: World, National (including crime, disasters, war etc), Sports, Business, Entertainment, Science etc...

 1. I want you to choose a news story that interests you from the categories above. Make sure it is something you are interested in so you feel motivated to find more about it.

2.  Choose three question that you would like to investigate. Choose at least one from each stage.

 3. Try to find out more about your topic so you can answer your questions. Watch TV news, read the newspaper, look on the internet (see news links on the left) and ask your parent and friends what they think about it. As you read/listen, start to form opinions of your own about the topic. It would be a good idea to take a few notes so you can use them when you start writing.

 3. Write your blog post. This should be a couple of paragraphs, summarising the story/topic and what you found out about it, and giving your opinion about it. Draft this in your Draft Writing or Homework book first. Your writing MUST be original! Do not cut and paste from other people’s work, but you can link to it from your blog.

 4. End with a thought-provoking Stage 3 question that will encourage other people to leave a comment on your blog.

When your post is ready for publication, click ‘Publish’ and it will come to me for comment. I might suggest a few changes and send it back to you, or I will publish it, and that’s when you go LIVE!

If you take this assignment seriously now and invest some real time and energy into it, you'll probably develop into an excellent blogger!

Have Fun!