Having recently returned from my holidays, I've started thinking about the new term. It would be great if we could have a lovely sunny 2 weeks until it starts, wouldn't it?
Tomorrow, Mr Patterson and I will be meeting to talk about the school radio station and this website, because in September, we have to talk to some teachers in Durham about our experiences.
Below are a list of other class websites which I like and some important websites for encouraging 'Literacy through Technology':
Other fantastic class websites (just a sample of what I've found on the web)
For our partner schools, see the sidebar!
Other sites which encourage blogging/international links
These 2 sites have been vital in our quest for an international audience:
These 2 sites offer other possibilities for an international audience:
Tomorrow, Mr Patterson and I will be meeting to talk about the school radio station and this website, because in September, we have to talk to some teachers in Durham about our experiences.
Below are a list of other class websites which I like and some important websites for encouraging 'Literacy through Technology':
Other fantastic class websites (just a sample of what I've found on the web)
For our partner schools, see the sidebar!
- http://heathfieldcps.net/ (the original and one of the best. This site hosts the blogs from Reception to Year 6. David Mitchell, the Deputy Head, has appeared on the national news and in newspapers, explaining the benefits of blogging by giving the children a sense of purpose and audience)
- http://fabulousgradefour.weebly.com/index.html (a website using the 'free version' of Weebly, like this one. I really like the Blog of the Week idea)
- http://class12.hotspurblogs.net/ (I chose this not because it is local (Newcastle) but because it is excellent and this school has joined both Quadblogging and 100WC (see below). Also, it is created using Wordpress, which seems to offer more inbuilt pupil blogging opportunities than Weebly.
- http://missbeavis.edublogs.org/post-by-students/ (Edublog is a popular platform for class blogs. Like Weebly, it has free and pro versions, but also has a whole school (Campus) version)
- http://juniorsblackburn.edublogs.org/ (Another website designed using the Edublogs platform)
Other sites which encourage blogging/international links
These 2 sites have been vital in our quest for an international audience:
- http://www.oddizzi.com/teachers/ (This site is a terrific Geography tool, which I would recommend to any school, but its unique advantage is that it allows us to send / receive Classpal e-cards with schools around the world. We met our 2 partner schools, Wellford and Fo-Gong, via Oddizzi and that has given the class a real sense of being 'global citizens' as well as a wider audience for our blogging!
- http://s10.flagcounter.com/ (I have found this essential to encourage the class. It is the graphic at the bottom of the page, which shows the country of each visitor. They really enjoy watching for when people from other countries visit the site - our most recent new flag was Uganda!) The code is simple to insert and several of our pupil sites have added Flag Counters to their sites.
These 2 sites offer other possibilities for an international audience:
- http://quadblogging.net/ (the ideas is that 4 schools join up in a quad and take turns to blog, whilst the other 3 schools leave supportive comments; over 100,000 have joined in)
- http://100wc.net/ (Children write for 100 words following a given prompt. This is another initiative that aims to encourage all children, including reluctant writers, to write for a global audience. If you click on the Who is Taking Part? you can see the class blogs of lots of schools too, which is great for 'magpie-ing' ideas!
