Video Blogging

To video blog or not to video blog...that is the question?

I think we will try video blogging in my Globaloria classes. My kids are very adept at using technology and many have posted on video blogging sites such as YouTube before. My main problem is they are forgetting to write on their blogs at least twice a week. It seems like I have to remind them to blog daily, and by the end of the week some of them haven't blogged at all. I wonder if they will be more diligent bloggers if video blogging is an option.
I don't blame them, really. Sometimes it is difficult to find something to blog about, or sometimes the assignments take longer to complete than one week, so they don't get to the blogging assignment until two or three days into that section of the course schedule. However, it is something we need to work on; getting two blog posts per week, every week.
I think I might try to find them something to blog about other than the assignments listed on the course schedule. If anyone has any ideas for blogging topics, let me know.

Ayiti...the addiction.

So...my kids are addicted to the Ayiti game on the playing to learn section of the course schedule. The game is very basic, but for some reason, that's all they want to play. The basic premise of the game is to have your family of Haitians live for four years while meeting their basic needs. They have to have to have jobs or go to school, and their efforts to prosper are constantly thwarted by natural disasters, robbers and disease.
So far, I have only won the game twice. The first time, my family almost didn't make it. I had one person left and he had a miserable life. The second time I won, I was able to have the whole family live, but they had an "okay" life. However, many of my students have been able to have all of their Haitians live and have good lives.
I guess until we get our flash installed (seemingly never) then we will continue to work on choosing a game topic, researching and playing "playing to learn" games.

Internet safety is important not only for students, but for adults as well. Often, people forget the internet is public information, and everyone in the world can see what they post. If you put your phone number or name online, people have access to you and possibly your personal information. You should never put your name, phone number, address or email address on your wiki or blog. You also should not post your physical description.

Other bloggers...

Hey...I wanted you guys to take a look at some blogs other students in Globaloria are doing...Keep in mind, they have been working the same amount of time as we have. If you want to follow their blogs you can. In fact, they would be good references to help you out when you can't figure something out. Here are the links:
Martreea
Duane
Tim
Amanda
Valerie
Sumisu

You can comment on their blogs and follow their posts. Make sure you are setting your blog settings according to the questions on the course guide. Have a great day!

This is how you blog!

Now we are sitting in Globaloria and learning how to blog. I love blogging! It is fantastic! I would blog all day every day if I could! There are some really good blog writers in this class. However, some people do not look at the course schedule, so they have no idea how to blog. This tutorial is for them.

Blogging 101

This is how you blog...

I love to write blog posts because it helps me to express my feelings. Blogging is an outlet for me to give you guys information and get comments back. If you have questions about blogging, please see the course schedule.

Live to blog another day...

So..is blogging everything you thought it would be? Hopefully, by now, most of you have made a blog, and have linked it to your profile on the wiki. If you have, I tried to leave you a personal comment in the comments section. Make sure you are reading the comments people leave you. Also, you can reply to any comment someone leaves. Part of your grade for blogging is to comment on other people's blogs. Remember, while it is important to be nice, it is also important for you to leave constructive comments that will help people better their game design, blog posts or wiki pages. It is okay to be funny, but make sure you leave constructive feedback for people. If you have questions about posting to the blog let me know. Also, make sure you are following my blog, and that I am following yours. When you write your blog post, make sure it is a rich post. This means you should add video, images and/or hyperlinks to the blog post. Make it interesting! I am impressed with most of your work so far. Make sure you check your grammar, or have someone else do it, and make sure your blog posts are at least five or six sentences at a minimum. You can check out Kayla Dilley's blog or Katelynne Cogar's blog for some good examples of blogging. Hope you are not too frustrated! Keep up the good work!