terry blog podcast contract

4 Terry’s Blogging/Podcasting Contract Purpose of the Blog/Podcast The students of Ms. Terry’s class at ISB will be participating in a class blog/podcast for the purposes of:

• Encouraging the process of writing for an audience • Practising narrative, poetic, transactional and persuasive writing • Sharing and evolving ideas that facilitate interaction and collaboration • Engaging students in conversation and learning • Sharing opinions, points of view on a topic • Sharing classroom events and happenings with families and the wider community • Fostering an understanding of Global Awareness, communication and collaboration • Connecting with others both inside and outside the classroom and encouraging global

communication previously not possible • Reflection, expression and evaluation of own learning

Safety In the interest of students’ safety, the following restrictions have been configured on the blog.

• Only the teacher can enter registrations and control permissions • All blog content is subject to teacher approval and/or deletion • The teacher will be notified of any posts/comments to the blog • All comments to any posts are subject to moderation and will not be approved if the

teacher/student deems them inappropriate • No individual or identifiable profiles are available on the blog

Class Blog/Podcast Terms and Conditions All students contributing to the Class Blog must agree to the following Blogging/Podcasting Terms & Conditions.

• The use of blogs/podcasts is considered an extension of our classroom. Therefore, any speech that is considered inappropriate in the classroom is inappropriate on a blog or podcast. This includes, but is not limited to, swearing; racist, sexist or discriminatory remarks; and personal attacks. We expect you to conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of our school.

• Blogs are public. Whatever you post on a blog can be read by anyone and everyone on the

Internet. Even if you delete a post or comment, it has often already been archived (stored) elsewhere on the web. Do not post anything that you wouldn’t want your parents, your best friend, your worst enemy, or a future employer to read.

• Students using blogs and podcasts are expected to act safely by keeping personal information out of their posts. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, email address, home address, or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas and opinions.

• Pictures may be inserted into a blog. Make sure that the image is appropriate for use in a school document and copyright laws are followed. Photos should not be labeled with names.

• Always make sure you check over your post for spelling errors, grammar errors, and your

use of words.

• The class blog is to be a vehicle for sharing student writing with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog who leave comments will write respectful, helpful messages. All comments are moderated so any inappropriate comments will not be published. Students should not delete comments, but show them to Ms. T so that IP addresses can be traced.

Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in this classroom activity. Successful Bloggers The following are some traits of successful bloggers:

• Their posts (or comments) are well written. This includes not only good content, but – because these are school-related blogs – also follows writing conventions including spelling, grammar and punctuation.

• Their posts (or comments) are responsive. They respond to other people’s ideas – whether it

is a post by a teacher, a comment by a student, or an idea elsewhere on the Internet. The power of blogs is in their connectedness – they are connected to a larger community of ideas. Participate in that community.

• Their posts (or comments) include textual references to support their opinions. Adding

quotes or links to other works strengthens their response.

• They participate frequently. To be part of the dialogue, you have to participate fully and consistently.

• They are respectful of others. It’s okay to disagree; it’s not okay to be disagreeable. Be

respectful of others and their opinions, and be civil when you disagree. Guideline material adapted from: http://supportblogging.wikispaces.com/Educational+Blogging http://ahsblogpolicy.pbwiki.com/ http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/

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Permission Signature (Please return this portion only to Ms. Terry) I have read and understood the Terms and Conditions of the Blog/Podcast Contract.

I agree to uphold the Terms and Conditions of the Blog/Podcast Contract.

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Student name Date Parent signature Date

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Student signature