Parents and carers
Ferry Lane has begun a trial of some technology which we hope will transform our school. Years 4, 5 and 6 will be involved initially, and we would very much like feedback from home. We want you involved! We have begun to use a blog, which is a website that can be contributed to by children, staff, parents and others. This article is meant to explain the point of blogging in school and to allay any fears you may have about safety.
What is a blog?
Blogs help to create a link between home and school. Parents and carers are able to see what goes on by looking at work and information created during the day. “Blogging” is writing that is done online. This could be their literacy work, research, or even their thoughts about school. They might ask questions or complete their homework on the blog.
You can read the blogs and leave a comment—the more comments the better as they are read by the children and motivate them to write more. We have already used the blog in Year 5 to help improve our writing. Children have posted some writing and commented on each others’ work, telling each other what they liked about it, and what could be improved.
Parents and carers, teachers and in fact anybody else, can comment. Why not tell them what you like about their work? You could ask questions or suggest ways that they might make their work better.
Blogs can be used to post links to activities and websites which relate to school. They help to get children engaged and excited about their learning, and encourage them to think about school in new and interesting ways. We hope you are as excited as we are! The best way to understand what all the fuss is about is to visit.
Is it safe?
Yes. Blogs are very safe if they are managed carefully. EVERYTHING that people write on the blog is moderated before it appears. This means that a member of staff (currently Mr Sloan) reads and checks things to decide if they are appropriate. We teach the children that they can only use their first names on the blog, and we do lots of work to ensure that they know how to use it responsibly and safely. No email addresses, phone numbers or other personal data is allowed on the blog. Photo/video of children will never be used along with names, so children cannot be identified through images. This content will only be published if explicit consent is agreed.
If people do try to write unkind, thoughtless or inappropriate things, they will not appear. It is very easy for the school to block people from using the blog using something called their I.P. address. This means that they will never be able to access the blog again. Mr Sloan has a great deal of experience at managing blogs in schools. Despite extremely heavy use in his previous school there was not one case of inappropriate use in over 3 years.
What do you think?
We would like you to be involved in this project. We are excited about how the blog might improve attainment and engage the children, and your input is crucial.
Please have a look at the blog, have a look at the parents/carer’s section (at the top of the page) and have a go at leaving a comment. It’s easy if you follow the video tutorial on the page.
More information and consent form for use of the blog at home can be downloaded here
Want to leave a comment? Watch this video:
Leaving a comment on a WordPress blog from jacksloan on Vimeo.
Children/staff – want to write a post?
Writing a post on a WordPress blog from jacksloan on Vimeo.
Children/staff – want to add a hyperlink?
Adding a link in a WordPress blog post from jacksloan on Vimeo.
Children/staff – want to embed a photograph or video?
Embedding a photograph, picture or drawing into a WordPress blog post from jacksloan on Vimeo.
This blog is rather interesting with all it’s facts and information. Must admit I’m rather upset we never had one back when I was at Ferry Lane, mind you that was nearly 8 years ago now :)
Mr Sloan, I had a visit to this blog http://8z5.posterous.com/ and there is a lot of work you are going to be pleased if you go to this blog!
Hey Mr.Sloan, you know the log in mine does not work and I find that wierd do you know why this is?
I had a look at http://oldmoatschool.net/ and it looks like our blog there like twins its really cool!
I wonder who is going to be blogstar it will be a hard choice because everyone did such nice work.
Mr Sloan I went to chortan parks blog and wow what nice work they did and I did lots and lots of comments is that really good?!.
Mr Sloan who is the new blog star?
I like this blog because if you see at the top of this page you can see the y5′s trip to the science musem when we went to see the hubble with the 3D Glasses.
I like the blog I think its fantastic, incredible.
Mr sloan i think we can put more interesting things on the blog.
Mr Sloan did you know Neptune is the one planet that cannot be seen from earth without a telescope also Seasons on Uranus last more than 20 years because the planet is tilted on its side and that Uranus has some of the brightest clouds in the outer solar system.Venus spins backwards compared to Earth, so the sun rises in the west and sets in the east finally did you know that in 1930, Venetia Burney, an 11-year-old girl from England, suggested the name Pluto.
Mr Sloan who do you think John McLear is?
Hi Mr Sloan I think that if we decorate the background of the blog it will make more people visit it!
How do people from other countries get to see our blog?How do you know if it was made?
Mr Sloan were did you get the other blogs from
Did you know that a astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command,pilot,or serve as a crew member of a spaecraft.
I like the blog.
Sorry I forgot to put my name.
from Cheyenne
Mr Sloan did you know the Ancient Greeks invented athletic contests and held them in honour of their gods.
Mr sloan can we put more intresting things on the blog
Mr sloan did you know that there have been 20 astranouts near or on the moon its amazing to me.
What an exciting new project! I am really impressed with the Y5 work – keep it up.
Another great blog Mr Sloan. Lots of information and lots of ways of connecting. Keep up the good work.
Hey Mr.Sloan,how have you been liking these past few days in Ferry Lane. Did you know that thousands of years ago the Chinese used to use rockets as weapons. And did you know that every year there are up to 40 or 50,000 earthquakes in the world but they don’t cause too much damage!
From Sharon yr5