Dear Parents:

As your student may have told you, I will be implementing an online writing element to the Senior Project in our class this year. This is designed for students to develop their writing by sharing it with a real audience. Students will be creating individual weblogs to post their writings to the Internet.

A weblog, or blog as they are commonly called, is a type of webpage that can be created and easily updated through a web browser. Each new entry has its own time and date stamp and a comments section where visitors may leave comments for the author. Students will be accessing and updating their blogs at school, but can also do this at home or at the library.

The Assignment

In English IV, students will use their blogs for a variety of purposes. The most important initially will be as a research journal for their senior project. After each research day in the library or computer lab, students will post an entry on their blogs detailing their progress on the research paper. This entry will focus on their sources, research questions, and goals for later research days. Other assignments will include an E-Anthology of literature about the Holocaust, in conjunction with the book Night, shorter pieces of weekly writing on our literature, revisiting our daily journal entries, and creative writing assignments.

Having a real audience for student writing is the most important element to this project. In addition for receiving comments from their classmates, my students will receive comments from parents, other students in this school, possibly students in other schools, and maybe even viewers from all over the world. As parents, you are invited to view and comment on the blogs of your student and others in the class. Potentially, these blogs will be visible to anyone using the internet, however, it is not likely that the world at large will stumble across them.

Safety

I am setting up this project with a focus on safe and responsible usage of the Internet. The only personally identifying information included in your student’s blog will be a first name (and in many cases, not even that). There will be no mention of our school name or location. Students are allowed to post about their interests and opinions, but not their age, e-mail address, photographs, or other sensitive information.

I am also listed as an administrator on every student blog. I have full posting, editing, and removal privileges on each site. So if a student receives and unwanted or inappropriate comment, or inappropriate materials are published, I can remove them quickly and easily.

Blogs are the fastest growing method of communication in the world. Recently, a study through the blogsite Technorati (www.technorati.com) found over 50 million weblogs currently in operation. That number will double in 6 months. According this study a new blog is created every 2 seconds. In this technological world, it is important for students to learn how to contribute and adapt to the on-line community. The World Wide Web is no a place of reading and consuming information. It is becoming a full community of sharing and contributing, and my students will learn how to safely and responsibly join that community.

Blogging Terms and Conditions

1. Students using blogs are expected to act safely and responsibly by keeping personal information out of their posts. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, user name, e-mail address, home address, school name, city, country, or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas, preferences, and opinions.

2. Students using blogs agree not to share their user name and password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student.

3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for your blog. Conduct yourselves in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.

4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the requirements and rules of the class. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject.

5. Student blogs are to be a vehicle for sharing student writing with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog who leave comments will leave respectful, helpful messages. If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell Mr. Bevill right away. Do not respond to the comment. Also, do not post disrespectful comments on the blogs of your classmates or other students.

6. Students should always follow the district Internet Acceptable Use Policy, and all the rules included.

7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to participate in this project.

Permission

Before your student may begin this assignment, I am asking for you and your student to sign statement blow. Please return to Mr. Bevill by the end of this week.

I have read and understood these blogging terms and conditions and I agree to uphold them.

Student’s Name_____________________________________________________

Student’s Signature_____________________________ Date________________

Parent’s Signature______________________________ Date________________