Welcome to Honors English Online: 2006
Howdy folks!
What you are now reading is called a blog, which is short for web log. If you want to earn honors credit for your ninth grade year, you will be writing about 500 words per week in a blog of your own. Because the class is online and many of you are not actually in my English class during the school day, blogging is the best way to submit assignments for the class. There are many advantages to this paperless world. For one, everyone in the class gets to look at your work each week. I will set up a web site with links to all of the class blogs, so if you are ever having a hard time coming up with something to write, you can "borrow" ideas from your classmates. (Of course you will have to phrase them in your own words, but at least you won't have to dream them up completely on your own.) Another good thing about blogs is that you can edit them at any time. If you notice a spelling error after you have posted your work, you can just log in again, fix the error, and repost--no wasted paper! Also, your classmates and I can post comments on what you write. If I suspect that you could include more details in an essay you have written, I can request that you revise the blog and post it again. Blogging is quick, legible, easy to respond to, and easy to fix. These qualities make it a perfect arena in which to conduct part of our class. But first you have to get set up with a blog of your own.
Creating your own blog is easy. We will do it all together after school on September 8, 2005. I recommend you wait until then to set up your blog because there are certain precautions we need to take to keep the blogosphere safe for academic pursuits. Since blogs are on the Internet, it means that anyone on earth with Internet access can read them. There are things you can do to maintain your own privacy and be sure your blog does not attract unwanted hackers, spammers, or commentators. I will show you these things at our meeting. Don't miss it!
Just to give you an idea for the sorts of things your predecessors wrote about in their blogs, here are a few I recommend reading:
Trey on the beginning of 9th grade
Erynn on Bling Bling
Brooke on helping others
Lindsay on technology
Alex on Utah vs. California
Jessica on the pitfalls of public restrooms
Mr. Thompson's advice to 9th graders
Get the idea? Now get started on some of your own!
What you are now reading is called a blog, which is short for web log. If you want to earn honors credit for your ninth grade year, you will be writing about 500 words per week in a blog of your own. Because the class is online and many of you are not actually in my English class during the school day, blogging is the best way to submit assignments for the class. There are many advantages to this paperless world. For one, everyone in the class gets to look at your work each week. I will set up a web site with links to all of the class blogs, so if you are ever having a hard time coming up with something to write, you can "borrow" ideas from your classmates. (Of course you will have to phrase them in your own words, but at least you won't have to dream them up completely on your own.) Another good thing about blogs is that you can edit them at any time. If you notice a spelling error after you have posted your work, you can just log in again, fix the error, and repost--no wasted paper! Also, your classmates and I can post comments on what you write. If I suspect that you could include more details in an essay you have written, I can request that you revise the blog and post it again. Blogging is quick, legible, easy to respond to, and easy to fix. These qualities make it a perfect arena in which to conduct part of our class. But first you have to get set up with a blog of your own.
Creating your own blog is easy. We will do it all together after school on September 8, 2005. I recommend you wait until then to set up your blog because there are certain precautions we need to take to keep the blogosphere safe for academic pursuits. Since blogs are on the Internet, it means that anyone on earth with Internet access can read them. There are things you can do to maintain your own privacy and be sure your blog does not attract unwanted hackers, spammers, or commentators. I will show you these things at our meeting. Don't miss it!
Just to give you an idea for the sorts of things your predecessors wrote about in their blogs, here are a few I recommend reading:
Trey on the beginning of 9th grade
Erynn on Bling Bling
Brooke on helping others
Lindsay on technology
Alex on Utah vs. California
Jessica on the pitfalls of public restrooms
Mr. Thompson's advice to 9th graders
Get the idea? Now get started on some of your own!
posted by MRT at 6:07 PM
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