Steps for Getting Started on Blogs

blogging sites (http://www.blogger.com; http://blog.nur.kz ; http://www.on.kz ;

2. 
   Provide the necessary information requested. (user name, password)
   
3. 
   Create a title for your blog.
   
4. 
   Accept terms and select a template.
   
5. 
   Publish!
   
6. 
   Take into account ethical issue regarding blogging such as:
   
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     Inform parents of procedures and secure parental permission.
     
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     Teach students safe, acceptable, and sensible behavior as online authors and readers.
     
   • 
     Review policies and guidelines pertaining to student access.
     

• 
  Teach the non-posting rules of no complete names, e-mail accounts, or references to reveal location.
  

• 
  Set clear expectations regarding tone, respect, and consequences.
  

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  It is better that posts are seen only by your class, parents or school. From the Blogger Dashboard, click on Settings, select Permissions, and set who can view the blog.
  

Podcasting is a new and emerging technology. It is a digitally created audio recording which can be shared with others, and most commonly it is done by posting it online, then placing a link to that file on a WEB site, wiki, or blog.

Many wide ranging educational benefits have already been identified. Podcasts can either be something pupils create; working independently or in small, collaborative groups; or a finished product which pupils can engage with, reinforcing learning whether at school or at

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home. Podcasting can be tailored to any curriculum area. Some of the areas that are most often associated with it are: ICT, PHSE, citizenship, modern foreign languages, speaking and listening objectives, and communication skills.

Podcasting helps improve pupils’ presentation work and can be especially powerful for reluctant writers or those with reading difficulty. Podcasting promotes personalised learning. It allows resources and activities to be tailored to individual children’s requirements. Podcasting gives the opportunity for pupils and schools to communicate with an audience. The audience can be internal - within the school, between pupils and teachers or peer to peer, or external - within the wider community. As with all technologies, podcasting has the potential for releasing the imagination of children, young people, their teachers and parents/carers.

As with other technologies it is important to protect the identity of children who take part in the podcast. They should only reveal one piece of personal information in a podcast. However, they could invent pseudonyms.

As with any communication technology it is important that children are taught to behave responsibly. Most schools have an Internet policy which could include podcasting which parents and pupils sign up to.