Advice on blogging from last semester

Some of this we have talked about in class, but this advice that Valerie gave her students last semester is something I thought would be very benefical to have on our blog where we could all comment and question on these points as we go.

• Audience for blogs and confidentiality concerns
  Remember that your blogs are currently set up so that anyone can read them. This includes prospective employers, family members, and "the public". Never disclose information on your blog that you don't want to be public. This might include controversial positions which might be misread outside the context of the course.
• Consider your audience. One audience for the blogs will be your classmates with whom you've built relationships and who know the context of the course. Another audience might be potential employers who might be interested in your ideas, your writing skills, and whether you "sound like a teacher". (I can imagine a principal asking herself, "Could I imagine this person creating a classroom blog that students and parents would read?")
• The same rules of confidentiality that we discussed regarding classroom interactions apply to our blogs. Don't mention other classmates by name or with identifying information. Respond to ideas, not to people.
  If in doubt, choose the more confidential option. We have lots of "spaces" in which to exchange ideas in our class: our face to face meetings, our blogs, the questioning the text papers, and the Angel website. For example,if you want to pose a question that feels more personal or "risky", you might decide not to start that conversation on your blog, but rather start a discussion strand on Angel.
• As professionals, one of your tasks is to develop "professional discretion". Although I read all posts and will contact you if I have a concern, it is ultimately up to you to make choices that demonstrate good judgment and respect for your classmates.In the future you'll be making the same types of choices with your students, parents, and professional communities!
• In terms of copyrighted material, you need to be aware of what you can and can not post on your blog. Posting the full text of a copyrighted article, for example, is a no-no. Providing a link to that article, a short excerpt, or summary of the article is fine.

Suggestions for posts to fulfill blogging assignment:

• Write a post that summarizes how you are thinking about one of the key questions we explore each week. (See slides)
• Explore electronic resources connected to diverse literature and share them through your blog. Several of our readings so far have noted blogs you might want to check out--both by authors of articles and authors of children's literature
• Try adding elements to your blog. For example, you might create links to the blogs of people in your discussion group. Or you might create a space for professional resources.
• Explore using Google Reader to manage reading people's posts. (See Valeries post with link to instructions.)

Managing your blog reading

I enjoyed visiting your class yesterday (and thanks so much for letting me video tape)! I'll write a post this weekend sharing some of your responses to the activity we did together.

In the meantime, here's a link to a post that I wrote for last semester's class on using Google Reader to manage your reading of blogs.

The other strategy you might consider to keep tabs on conversation is to set up your blog account so that you receive an email notification when someone comments on one of your posts.

If you have questions, go ahead and comment to this post and I'll respond!

Insider/Outsider debate - Session 4

We've been alluding to the question of who can write diverse literature for the last couple of weeks--well since the very beginning of the course actually. This weeks readings will inform you more and help you to define your own position on this topic. Our readings are part of an on-going debate that does not come to any particular consensus, but has professionals deeply entrenched in both positions. Look for the arguments presented for using literature that is written by an author who identifies as a member of the cultural group being written about. How are positions defended for books being written by an author outside of the cultural group portrayed? Is it an either/or debate? What are some of the finer points to this issue?

Blogging: Remember that this week one of your few required posts is due before class on Wednesday. After reading the articles for this week (in the order they were presented), develop your own concise and focused "position" on the insider/outsider debate to post on your own blog.

Be prepared to discuss the various positions and rationales for whole insider/outsider debate in class on Wednesday, and consider how you will defend your own developing perspectives.

Links to student blogs

Hi all,

If you've logged on to our class blog, hopefully you have noticed that I have posted links to everyone's personal blog. Please check to make sure that everything is correct--that the link works, that I put you in the right section, that I got your discussion group color correct, and gave you the correct letter for your writing assignments. Make sure you contact me right away if there are any errors so I can correct them. (I entered the info for almost 50 links this afternoon, it would be a miracle if there wasn't a typo or mistake somewhere.) I am missing links for three people--if your name is not on the list--please send me your link so I can add it--it's past due.

Last of all--please check out each others blogs! Have fun!

Claire

Session 3

I just wanted to share some thoughts to help you prepare for next weeks class.

• The Cortez article explores stereotypes and helps to differentiate betweeen generalizations and stereotypes. It looks at how stereotypes are created and helps to think about how these ideas might be introduced to children.
• The Reese article gives some background on Native American nations, introduces some important Native American authors, discusses stereotypes and texts with issues. Please be sure to take notes while you read and come to class with some key ideas or questions that you would like to bring to the discussion, as there won't the time to address all of this lengthy reading
• The Smith article is written by an author we will be looking closely at next week. It gives criteria to look at when choosing literature portraying Native Americans and addresses critical reviews of her work. We will be reading one of her books together in class next week.
• Remember that everyone needs to read Heart of a Chief next week, even though only group A is writing a questioning the text paper. Students from the other two groups should still be taking notes on their reading and coming to the book discussion with ideas they want to address. Those of you who are writing a questioning the text paper, be sure to pay careful attention the the guidelines of the assignment. Remember you will need to post your paper to the appropriate drop box by 6pm Tuesday evening and bring a hard copy to class to refer to during the book discussion.

I will address some blogging issues in a later post.

Session 2

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share with you some thoughts preparing for next class session on Wednesday. The Bishop article and the Yenika-Agbaw article with give you a good introduction to issues of diversity:
Bishop (1997): What is multicultural literature? Why use it? What issues might one consider as one reads this type of literature?
Yenika-Agbaw (1997) What is the relationship between reader-text-context? What does it mean to read critically?
To help you think about your poetry assignment:
Tatum (2000) This article will help you think about your own "social identities" and help us think about how they might impact how we read and understand the world.
Remember your poems need to be submitted to the drop box on our Angel site by 6 pm Tuesday night. Be sure to bring a hard copy to class as well.
About blogging:
The Suen (2006) article provides an introduction to blogging and its place in the world of children's literature. Try to take a look at some of the children's literature blogs that she mentions.
While you are not required to set up your own blog until the first week of class, feel free to get a head start if you’re ready. Follow the directions on the last page of the syllabus to set up your blogs and do an initial post. Remember to email me your address.
In our next class session we’ll talk about how it’s going for all of you, and process how to think about the public nature of blogs and what kinds of considerations you should make when posting.
This might seem like a lot to begin with, but it will help get us started for the semester—there won’t always be so much to think about at once. Let me know if you have any questions, posting them as a comment and I'll respond publicly here on our blog so that others can benefit as well.

Welcome!

Welcome to the class blog for TE 448, Issues of Diversity in Children's and Adolescent Literature, Spring 2008. In this community blog along with your individual blogs, we will communicate and track your thoughts and perspectives on ideas addressed in this course. I'm looking forward to getting started and to seeing where we go this semester.