We’ve started a few at St. Michael’s, and now a few teachers are interested in starting them with the classes. But just what exactly is a blog?

Well, without going into the blatently obvious (hello… this is a blog!), the term blog comes from the term Web Log. Knowing that, it is easy to see how blogs may have begun, giving opportunity to provide a sort of online diary.

Over time, however, blogs have become much, much more. They are different things to different people. Our blog, Technoblog, for example, is more of an online news service than a diary entry.

So why blog? A number of teachers would remember (back in those halcyon days when we had nothing but PowerMacs in our classrooms) trying to put together class web pages. Quite simply, the time involved in learning how to build web pages, then teaching it to the students, then actually doing the building, made it impossible to make any real continued progress. Even then, it only was visible over the Intranet, so the audience was limited to school staff and students. To post to a blog (that is to add a new entry) is really as simple as logging in, typing up your post and clicking on the “Publish” button. The audience is also bigger. Now students can have a potentially worldwide audience - yes, now our busy parents can get on the net and see what their children are doing at school.

Having a class blog on the Internet does have its safety issues, but good common sense will see most potential problems avoided. Choosing the right blog service will also mean that comments and posts that students make can be moderated by an administrator (e.g. class teacher) before being put out into cyberspace.

Over the rest of our Multimedia Monday sessions this term, we will look at getting started with blogs. Next week begins with signing up and the very beginnings of getting your blog set up. So come along and join us.

In the meantime, here are a few links to help you get started on just what exactly a blog is, or can be:

Wikipedia entry on Blog
Blogger’s Introduction (informative, but also sales-pitchy)
Bibliosphere News Posts on Blogging
Bibliosphere News is a library-focused blog by Judy O’Connell (Libraries Education Officer, CEO Parramatta) and contributed to by librarians across the Diocese. They have several posts on blogging.

Have a look around, be inspired, enjoy!

The first Mutlimedia Monday session this year is next Monday, 26 February (Week 5).

Our agenda for our first session is twofold:

1. Discovering what’s new with technology at St. Michael’s this year
2. Suggestions for future Multimedia Monday workshops.

Remember that Multimedia Monday workshops commence at 3:00 p.m. (yes, straight after dismissal) in the Library for 15 minutes (if you want to stay longer and play/practice, you’re welcome to do so).

We look forward to seeing you there.

St. Michael’s now has another blog up and running.  Looking for a way to get his message out into cyberspace, our fearless leader will boldly go where no other St. Michael’s principal has gone before - into the world of blogging.

John will now post messages to parents and the community through his new blog, Laffan Out Loud.  We started today with posting the reflection included in Tuesday’s newsletter.

Please take a look, and give feedback on what could be included in the future.

In addition Technoblog links being added to our Intranet today, we have also included on the Whole School Programming page a copy of the program and timetable checklists.

Some people may remember these being used by your team leader last year to check the essential elements and requirements of your compliant teaching and learning program.

These are now available for your own reference in the lead-up to program submissions next week.  Stage Team Leaders may also print a copy of the checklists for their use with teachers’ programs.

IT’S ALIVE!

Finally, after months of observations, conference participation, discussions, demonstrations, deliveries, and a very, very long installation period, our first IWB is now fully functional and ready for you to give a go in the library.

Big thanks to Daryl for painting the beam that our projector’s hanging from, and for the crucial final task that means that our projector now has power.

Our parents will get to see the board go for the first time at the P&F Association meeting on Wednesday night.

If you want a refresher or intro on getting started with the IWB, go to Staffnet and look at the new Atomic Learning online training resources. They have a number of short movies for Activboard.

Today the Administration page for staff went live on the Intranet.  At present it includes the list of Areas of Responsibility, as well as the current draft of the CEO’s Directory of Services, so you can find the contact details of the person or school you need.

Other resources will be uploaded once they are available, such as the list of Core Learning Teams for 2007.

Again, if you have any ideas for what could be added to the Admin page, or any part of the Intranet, just let Nathan or I know.

Today we uploaded a new link on the Intranet to the Echoing the Word site, to which the school now have a subscription.

The link is accessible through Staff > Teaching and Learning > Religious Education. Also there is a link to usernames and passwords in case you no longer have copy given out last week.

If you have any other suggestions of features that could be included on the Intranet, please let Robert or Nathan know.

St. Michael’s now has its loan of the Bee-bot bundle from CEO.  These fun, programmable robots can help children learn position and direction, and much more.  See Cherie if you’d like to borrow the bundle for use in your class - there are play mats, resources and more.  Certainly our teachers have already had some fun with the bee-bots when they were on display today in the staffroom.

To find out more about the bee-bots, and how they’re being used in Parramatta Diocesan Schools, visit the Bee-Bots Downunder blog.

What’s PL you ask? Well, you might notice that on a system level, “Professional Development” has now been named “Professional Learning”. So PD now becomes PL.

The Technology Tuesday and Coffee Club dates for Term 1 have now been pencilled in.

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Teachers, have you looked at our school’s del.icio.us pages this year yet?

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