Write a Post Using Other People's Ideas

Click here, and get started. : )

Finding Photos for Your Blogs

There's a bunch of debate about what we can and can't use for educational purposes when it comes to what people put on the Internet. Many photographers, bloggers, and designers make their money using images posted online, so for this class we are only going to use images for which we have permission. I'm not an expert, but to my knowledge, there are two ways to do this:

1. Use images that aren't listed as "all rights reserved." You can find these under the Creative Commons in Flickr.
2. Email the owner of the photo and ask for permission to use the photo.

Other than that, you can use photos that you took yourself. If you did not take the photo, you need to use the Creative Commons, and you need to cite the photo. The video below will show you how to do that.

Sorry about all the the blasts of wind into the microphone.

How to Insert Links Into Your Posts

Student bloggers: For your first post, I've asked you to include hyperlinks to at least two articles. If you are not familiar with how to insert hyperlinks, I've included a video to walk you through the process. Hope this helps.

Should Teachers Be Told What to Wear?

I'm thinking of a topic...something that divides families...something that pits child against parent, student against teacher. Heck, this one even gets grown adults yelling back and forth at each other. I know I probably shouldn't go there, but I am going to touch on that most dreaded of topics:

DRESSCODE!

We've heard all the arguments about student individuality, and the awesomeness of school uniforms. But now it's time to talk about the adults. Should teachers have a dresscode?

Student bloggers: I want you to take some time to think carefully about the topic, and you need to read at least two articles on the subject before you post. Everyone needs to start with this one, which has two teachers voicing their opinions--one in favor of a dresscode for teachers, and one against. Then you can conduct your own search for news items related to teacher dresscode. I already found another one from USA Today, and you're free to read that one also.

Once you've read the articles, head over to  your own blog, and write up your thoughts on the issue. Be sure to include information from the two articles, and use hyperlinks to cite your sources. Your post should be AT LEAST 200-300 words (that's like typing a bit less than one page).

Side note: In the first article I linked to, there are a few things that one teacher said that I think are absolutely RIDICULOUS. I wonder if you would agree with me.

To review:

• Read two articles on teacher dress code.
• Collect your thoughts.
• Write your 200-300 word post, including links to the articles. 

Post any questions to the comments. Let your voice be heard.

Photo Credit

The Beginning

I think it was Stephen King who said, "If you want to be a writer, you need to do two things: read a lot, and write a lot."

This blog should help us out with both. Get ready to write ladies and gentleman. You'll be doing quite a bit of it this year, and I think you might even have a good time in the process. Here we go:

First, read through some of the posts on this blog and the blogs on the side bar on your left. This will give you an idea of some of the writing we'll be doing this year.

Then, check out this post that I wrote right around this time last year, and get cracking. Email me or leave a comment if you have specific questions. This should get us going