The teacher reflected on setting up and using a class blog over 5 weeks. In the first weeks, the teacher discussed ICT policies, identified classroom resources, and planned how to link the blog to the curriculum. The teacher created a blog using Blogger.com and taught students about internet safety. Over the next few weeks, the teacher introduced students to blogging, had them start commenting, and involved parents. While student engagement decreased in the final week due to other events, the teacher continued posting resources and encouraging participation.

1. Teachers Reflection <br />Time FrameFocusReflective notes extracted from teacher’s reflectionMarch week 4School ICT Policies and ProceduresSpoke to ICT teacher and Deputy Principal. No official policies outlining expectations. Deputy expressed concern over privacy issues. Students do not have school supplied email addresses. So a public site was agreed on the following terms:Students will use the ‘anonymous’ function when posting comments and then add a signature after adding a comment. Rather than logging in and posting comments.Students, family and teachers are not to reveal the identity of themselves or others. No photos or video identifying the students can be used. Blog will not appear on search engines. Only assessable directly through URL. April week 1Identify classroom resources and student capabilitiesAll students have the internet at home. Wireless and broadband internet connection in school. Borrowing Data Projector from Librarian and Supervising teacher has leant laptop and provided password access. April week 2Link ICT into curriculum planningCurriculum planning day identified:Money will be major focus of maths SOSE will be examining Reduce, Reuse, Recycle English will be examining sentence structure and recounts. Religion will be exploring baptism and the sacramentsTeacher and I agreed Money Unit and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Units could be delivered through ICT. However all aspects of teaching and learning could be used in blog. April week 3Design and build blogCreated g-mail account and built blog with www.blogger.com. No major issues. April week 4Introduce internet safety to students Conducted a lesson on cyber safety and how to behave when in online environment. Discussed how to write a quality comment after exploring http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/2011/02/22/student-blogging-activity-3-beginner-teaching-quality-commenting/.As a class discussed our own set of rules to apply in ‘online learning environments. May week 1Introduce students to blogging Conducted 1 full lesson and three 15min viewing sessions.Introduced the class blog and stressed the responsibility and privilege associated with an activity. Navigated around class blog showed features, used students to move around screen/blog. Prompting students explained and discussed what a hyperlink is. Showed a post on the rules and how we would comment.Viewing sessions involved having asking select students process for posting a comment. Some students had forgotten. Didn’t ask students to start commenting on Blog however some students went ahead and did commented on posts on their own. Ensured I gave these students plenty of praise for their initiative and involvement. Emailed supervising teacher with account details and passwords. Verbally explained process of accessingMay week 2Introduce students to blogging Enter first post on blog, review how students comment, model, and encourage students to become involved. Advise parents of blog and how they can get involved. May week 3Involve students in bloggingHave been reviewing student’s comments at the end of day routine as a whole class. Asked class if anyone was unsure how to access and post comments and asked confident students to explain to class how they did it. Discussed with students “sometimes technology can play up” and that explains the outage by blogger.com on Tuesday night. Continued to praise students who are partaking and encourage students to become involved. Have entered more posts, including; showcasing school activities, students achievements and post upcoming events. May week 4Involve students in bloggingWith major sporting events upsetting school week students have shown less interest in class blog this week despite posts being placed online and encouragement to visit and comment. Posted resources on blog to access during lessons and for students to revisit when working on particular Key Learning Area. Have entered more posts. Have amended morning routine to include viewing blog comments. Discussed and modelled to supervising teacher how to access blog, enter posts, review and edit comments. <br />