Technology in our classroom

Think about how well you write comments?  Do you have lots of xxxx or lols in your comments? Here is a modified version of the adult 31 day comment challenge.

Day 1 Do a self audit

• How often do you write a comment on other blogs?  Once a week, twice a week, more often.
• Do you tend to comment on the same blogs all the time?  Just our class, your friends.
• Do you stick to the topic when commenting on a blog?

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

Day 2 Comment on a new blog

There are many student blogs out in the blogosphere.  Some students have come and commented in your blogs.  Visit their blog and make a comment.  Do they have a blogroll of other students you could visit?  Use these two wikis to help find some students to comment on.  Comment challenge student groups  Check out the classroom and individual student bloggers  Remember we have lots of classes on our blogroll.

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

Day 3 Keep track of your comments

How do you know where you have commented?  You might want to continue a conversation with someone, but how can you keep a record.

• Subscribe by email to that blog - will be on a sidebar
• Subscribe by email to the post - will be underneath where you have commented
• Use an Excel spreadsheet
• Use a google document - I don’t know how but perhaps someone else does
• Set up a feed RSS for comments
• Join coComment no age minimum - install the book marklet on your home computer

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

Day 4 Ask a question

Remember blogging is all about conversations.  You need to ask questions when you comment, so the owner of the blog will get back to you with an answer.

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

Day 5 A post you don’t agree with

This is a tough thing to do - write a comment on a post you don’t agree with.  Many of the adult challenge members are finding this one of the most challenging assignments.  You can do this later in the month if you want to. 

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

Day 6 Engage another commenter in discussion

This carries on really well from day 4 where you asked a question.  Try to keep the conversation going with the commenter. 

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

 Day 7 A time to reflect on what you have learned so far

No need to comment today but you need to write a blog post about commenting - Do you find it easy?  Have you commented more since this challenge?  Have you asked more questions? Have you been to a wider range of blogs? Explain the value of commenting to your readers.

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.

Day 8  A blog outside your normal interests or niche

Today you need to comment on a post outside your normal interests - maybe rally car driving or pet rabbits or guitar playing.

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

 Day 9 Why do we blog and comment?

Why do you like having people visit your blog and write comments? How do you feel when no-one comments on a post that you thought was really interesting? 

Day 10 Do a comment audit on your blog

Since starting this challenge, have you been receiving more comments?  Why has this been happening?  How can you make sure you get lots of commenters come to your blog?  Combine this challenge with day 9 and put them both in the same blog post. 

If you write your answers to this challenge in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

I will add to this page every few days, so you can see what else you can do for the challenge.

Day 11 Write a comment policy

Are there any rules you want people to follow when they add a comment to your post?  If so, then you would need to write a page about what you want your readers to follow when they write a comment.  You might mention language, length, stay on topic or because you moderate every comment, maybe you don;t need a comment policy.

Day 12 Comment friendly blog technology 

Do your readers have to include their email address and an anti spam word?  Is this making it more difficult for them to write a comment?  If someone has written a comment previously would it be OK for their comment to go through without moderation from you?

If you write your answers to these challenges in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

Day 13 Write a post based on comments

Have your readers on one of your posts asked lots of questions trying to delve further into your post?  If they have then write a follow up post answering their questions.

Day 14 Turn your blog over to your readers

Write an introductory post but make sure it finished with a wide ranging question.  This might be about how to do podcasting and how would your readers recommend you begin, what programs you should use etc. 

If you write your answers to these challenges in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

Day 15 Give out a commenter badge

Is there a person who has visited you often, always written insightful comments, answered your questions?  Do they deserve an award? Well here it is.

Day 16 Catch up on a challenge you haven’t done

Day 17 Five in five

Can you write five great comments on five different blogs in five minutes?  Remember to read the blog as well as the previous comments to make sure your comment will help the conversation along or add to it.

Day 18 Analyze your comments

Which post got the most comments?  Which post got the best conversation happening in the comments? Can you find any similarities or differences in your posts depending on the number or quality of the comments?

If you write your answers to these challenges in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

Day 19 Respond to a commenter on your own blog

Having read many student blogs, I find you are all very good at this, so it should be an easy task to write back to someone who has commented.  Begin with @name of commenter then whatever you want to say back to them.

Day 20 Three links out

It’s a way to find and explore blogs that aren’t as familiar to you.

1. Go to one of the blogs you regularly read and follow a link to another blog. This link could be in the blogroll or in a post.
2. From that blog, follow a second link to a new blog.
3. From that location, follow a third link to somewhere new.

Once you follow your third link, find a post and comment on it. If you aren’t happy with where you ended up, repeat the process until you find something that inspires a comment.

If you write your answers to these challenges in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

Day 21 Make a recommendation

In our blog posts, we’ll often recommend another blog, a post or a resource that we’ve read, but we may not always do that in comments. Now is the day to do that.

Day 22 Highlight a favourite comment

For today’s activity, you’re going to review comments you’ve previously received on your blog and highlight one or two of them in a post, explaining WHY you liked the comment(s). Were they thought-provoking? Did they ask a great question? Did they encourage you at a time when you needed it? Be sure to link back to your commenter’s blog if they have one.

If you write your answers to these challenges in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post. 

Day 23 What makes a great comment?

You’re going to write a post that describes the feature and characteristics of a great comment. If you were teaching someone to be a fabulous commenter, what tips would you give them?

Day 24 Comment on a blog written in a foreign language

To find an appropriate blog, try translating a keyword into the language you want to search for–for example, if you want to find a Spanish-language blog that discusses education, search for the keyword “educacion” in Technorati or Google Blog Search. Then copy and paste the post text into Google Translator, which should give you a reasonable idea of what the post says. You can then write your response and translate it into the other language. You might want to mention that you’re using Google Translator for this purpose because your comment won’t be perfectly translated.

Day 25 Take a break

On Day 16, you had the chance to go back and catch up on something. Today, I don’t even want you to do that. Consider today a day of total rest. No pressure to comment. No reason to do anything on your computer at all if you don’t want to. Just relax. We’ll be here when you get back.

If you write your answers to these challenges in a post on your blog, remember to put studentcomment08 in the tag line underneath the post.