Following our last blogging task #4 I was very impressed by the responses from a number of our caring students. I was a little worried when I set the task that some people may have thought that it was too serious, or perhaps unsettling for young students, but I needn’t have been concerned. It’s quite clear that this young generation cares deeply about the world in which we live and that they have the same thoughts and concerns as adults about the things they see happening. The following students have written posts that are both interesting and inspiring: Bianca, Chloe, Lily, Sam, Dinesh, Indianna, Mae,  Jayden, Samantha, Tarnika, Savannah, Shantelle.

This blogging task is all for a good cause. If you’re anything like me there’ll be a number of issues in the world that cause you to get a little frustrated. Amongst the many that concern me are: climate change, deforestation, animal extinction, equal rights, plastic pollution, whale hunting, renewable energy, puppy farms, child labour, poverty, slave labour, girls’ rights, freedom of speech… I could actually go on and on and on! These are, in my opinion, just a few of the most important issues of our time and are well worth fighting for. It’s a great thing to get behind a good cause, it gives a people a sense of purpose and meaning in life, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing they’re trying to achieve some good in the world.

Do you have a cause that you’d like to be part of? Is there something happening in the world that makes you frustrated? Is there something you’d like saved? Is there something you’d like stopped? Use your blog to shout out for a good cause or a big issue.

This new blogging task isn’t for the students, it’s for the parents! This is a great way for parents to have a look at and get involved with their child’s online life. Although, having introduced it as a “parent task” I’d be more than happy for any close, concerned relative of the students to get involved with our blogs. Parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles…), you can either write a post or comment on your child’s blog (I’m sure they won’t mind if you ask them nicely) or leave a comment on this one. The post could be about yourselves, your work, about your own school life, an event from your past, a hobby, pastime or skill, in fact anything you like. It could even be to do with a news story, something which may spark some thoughts for the students. A comment on this blog would also be welcome. Before you start, however, make sure you first ask your child about our strict safety and commenting rules. Good luck and have fun!

Do you have a favourite factual or lifestyle programme? The task this time is to write a post about one such programme. Factual and lifestyle programmes both entertain and enlighten us and can be amongst the best programmes on television.

Over the years I’ve had lots of favourites, programmes that I try to catch each time they’re on. I loved the Cosmos series with Neil deGrasse Tyson which taught us how the Earth and the universe evolved. I never missed Wonders Of The Solar System and Wonders Of The Universe with Professor Brian Cox (from Manchester University, my home town) which took its audience on a beautiful journey of discovery, backed with solid science. Both of these presenters are particular heroes of mine. Currently, I enjoy George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces which shows how you can create life-changing buildings in small, unique and creative ways. I’m also following Walking Through History with Sir Tony Robinson and Big Dreams Small Spaces, a creative gardening programme with the amazing Monty Don. As well as being factual, many of these programmes are very entertaining which is why they’re an effective way of delivering educational information.

Your task is to write about a factual programme or documentary that you enjoy. Tell us what it is, what the programme is about, why you like it, perhaps even who in your family enjoys watching it. Is it more education or entertainment? Is the programme a particular interest of yours or a member of your family? Remember to introduce it properly (like we’ve been learning in class) and use paragraphs for the different parts of your post.

Book reviews, Singapore, Chinese New Year, Formula 1, The Giants in Perth, these are just some of the incredible topics the students from LA19 have been writing about. It’s been an absolutely fascinating few weeks in the LA19 world of blogging, but now it’s time to get down to the more serious side of our blogging – the Blogging Tasks. Our second task is a bit of fun and gives a little direction to those bloggers beginning to run short of ideas.

Some song lyrics, for whatever reason, strike a chord in our minds and end up having an impact, or at least stay in our memory. This line from Big Country’s hit In A Big Country has always stayed in my mind:

“I’m not expecting to grow flowers in the desert,

But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime.”

I’ve never been a particular fan of their music, but when I first heard these lines they just made such an impact they’re still in my mind. Maybe it was because they convey a message that I can totally relate to, almost like a personal, cool, almost laid back philosophy (it feels like I should have ended that sentence with, “man”). Other songs have stuck too, but these lyrics are more meaningful than most. The task for LA19 this time is to tell the world about a song or some lines from a song that, for whatever reason, have stayed with you. What are the words? What do they mean to you?

I look forward to your completed tasks.

This post is especially for our new students.

Now the blogs have been created it’s about time we started moving things along. Hopefully, by the end of this week, it would be great to see all the blogs with a set theme, header, background and greeting. Also, an initial post to welcome people to your blog would be a great idea, or, if you feel ready, a post on a topic you feel is worth sharing with the world. Don’t forget, all posts and images need to adhere to our strict code of conduct. The writing has to be clear and accurate and the images must either be your own or licensed for re-use. Good luck and have fun!

As this could be the last blogging task I’d like it to be something different. Make a short list of what you’re looking forward to as you move to high school and what you are concerned about. Are you leaving close friends? Will you keep in touch (not always easy)? Do you feel you are ready to leave primary school? I’d like this post to be a podcast and posted as soon as possible!

This task is all about each other. I want you to have a look at each other’s blogs and pick two that are very different. The differences should be related to the way the blogs look and the style of their content. Then, write a detailed post about them, explaining the differences and what you think about them. Don’t just pick your close friends, I’d much prefer to see you looking at the blogs you don’t usually read. Also, include a link to the blogs you are discussing. This has to be quite a long post, not just a few lines.

Watch this short video from BTN which is all about “Web Secrets” and tell me in at least two substantial paragraphs what you think. Do you do anything that your parents don’t know about? Do you create fake profiles? How much would you be happy with your parents seeing? Why do you think parents want to check what you do? You can answer all these questions (and more) and give reasons for your opinions and answers. What do you think most kids opinions are on web privacy and what are some of the things they get up to? Remember, parents have been around long enough to have experienced consequences of the actions they made as kids – you have not, you still haven’t experienced the full force of some really bad decisions (and you may not for years). So, who knows best?