Anne Mirtschin is someone that I haven’t  met but I have enjoyed her postings on the oz Teacher list here is a great list of blogs that she forwarded today:

Chris Betcher has spoken well in support of blogging and the need for those blogs to be online or else there is no purpose. My students have all started individual blogs this year, and the wonderful learning outcomes to be derived from blogging has to be experienced to be believed. As Chris said, authentic audiences, increased reading and writing, ability to use multimedia have had students thoroughly engaged, including my “difficult to engage” group of year 9 and 10 boys. Students actually get excited in class. It allows me to educate them on the dangers they may face when in the real world, and they are constantly reminded not to use surnames nor give out any personal details. So, while this occurs, they are safer than perhaps traveling home on our overcrowded school buses.

Partnerships need to be forged with parents and our appropriate departments so that we can all work together to ensure that the emerging technologies can be used for empowered learning of these, our future digital citizens. So far, the Victorian Education Dept has been most supportive and actually has assigned its own campus with edublogs at www.globalteacher.org.au and www.globalstudent.org.au.

Some sample student blogs of mine (please remember they have only been at them 4 weeks or so), that Sian West may wish to look at are:-

An average year 9 female student www.flick.globalstudent.org.au <http://www.flick.globalstudent.org.au/>

A special school student who attends our school 2 days per week and 3 days in special school. www.rose.globalstudent.org.au <http://www.rose.globalstudent.org.au/>

A year 10 boy who completes little in class in the normal stream subjects due to learning difficulties. http://sparda.globalstudent.org.au/ <http://sparda.globalstudent.org.au/>

A year 8 boy http://tedda00.globalstudent.org.au/ <http://tedda00.globalstudent.org.au/>

Grade 6 students http://skippy.globalstudent.org.au/ and http://edw0002.globalstudent.org.au/ <http://edw0002.globalstudent.org.au/>

Other global school blogsites that may be of interest include:

http://pbogush.edublogs.org/ and http://areallydifferentplace.org <http://areallydifferentplace.org/>  (USA)

http://room3tai.edublogs.org/ <http://room3tai.edublogs.org/>  (I think Canada in the husky dogs prairie plains region)

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=136289 <http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=136289>  (Canada)

Anne Mirtschin

Hawkesdale p12 College

www.murch.globalteacher.org.au