Our class is not unfamiliar with global collaboration activities. Per the Challenge2011 #3, we will list and link just a few:

• Blog Action Day
• Christmas Card Exchange
• Skyping Across America
• Shipment of Peeps to Room8@Melville
• Earth Hour 2009

Included on the left sidebar is a translation widget that our readers can use to translate our page into 37 languages. We have used a widget similar to this when reading and commenting on Stora Ines classroom blog from Portugal.  Our students have been amazed at how this translator works.

So off we go to visit blogs from ten different countries. Below are listed the blogs on which we have left comments as part of the Challenge2011 #3:

1. Ric MacDonald – Australia – Great Avatar Picture Trail
2. Sue Williams – New Zealand – Excellent use of Wikis to set up an online learning environment
3. School in Paranaque – Phillipines – A little difficult at first to find the posting, but some really unique ideas.
4. Jayme Johnson – United States – A third grade teacher who is obviously building 21st century learners in the classroom. Kudos.
5. Section 6-Sabanci University – Turkey – An interesting mix of ideas and a good use of Glogster posters in blog postings.
6. Laura Chesebro – Thailand – What a wonderful idea to include pictures of parents from parents’ night right on your blog! Doing that!
7. Climb High – Canada – Focused on Students.
8. Brilliant Bloggers – United Kingdom – It is fun to read beginning bloggers. Good job here.
9. Aurora Risdon – Malaysia – I particularly loved the “comment scale” rating on this blog and the resources for students with special needs.
10. Jon Hoff – Vietnam – A small American school in Vietnam. It is intriguing to read about other schools

We joined the Challenge Yourself to Blog but have gotten off to a slow start. Our state assessments are upon us and we have been concentrating on some required skills. Today we begin to play catch-up with our challenges beginning with Challenge2011 #1.

We were challenged in the fall to change our theme, and after giving it great consideration decided to give it a face change. Each month we create a customized header to reflect both our class personality and the season. It has really brought an interesting aspect to our blog from our perspective, and hopefully it has attracted new visitors to our site.

Our “About Page” is entitled Meet Our Class and is located across the top of our blog page.  We really would love for you to visit and read a little bit about the history of our beginning with our most recent students. We have so many helpful widgets on the sidebar that we have decided to utilize the page tabs across the top of the page instead of a Page Widget.

Why should you visit our blog? There is just not enough space here to list all the reasons. First of all, the pages across the top tabs.

• Assignments – On this page students are given opportunities to use a student database for online research. They visit our subscription site after printing out their questions. Students are self-guided and actively engaged while learning to use the web to find information.
• Commenting – Our computer lab teacher, Nina Peery, does a fantastic job of introducing our students to internet safety. Her course has earned a spot on our blog pages. If you do not have a plan for keeping your students safe, I highly recommend her site.
• Games – Sometimes our students have a few minutes at the end or beginning of class and we have found a way to use every spare moment for engaged learning. On this page there are over 85 games and educational sites in all core subjects. Our students love it and know that as long as this page is present they never have a reason to be “bored” —at school or even at home.
• Holiday Heyday – This page is quite unique. We discovered that some of the basic calendar skills which we assumed our students knew, they in fact did not. This page gives them an opportunity to review these by using a printed pdf and the current calendar. Also by following the hyperlink for each month, the students (and teachers) have uncovered some unusual national holidays. Seasonal games sites are also linked to this page to accommodate those students who work and finish more quickly than others.

In short, You should visit our blog because it is full of educational opportunities that go why beyond the regular blog posts. All you need to do it just turn the page.

Thank you, Miss W, for a chance to share our blog with the world.