Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Quality Commenting During Family Blogging Month!

April is Family Blogging Month in Mrs. Yollis' class and everyone is working on writing quality comments!

Below are a few fantastic comment samples from this week!


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Here is a fabulous exchange between a student and a parent from the 


This quality comment  came in from Aaron's mom. It is a wonderful blog comment!



 Grace, a third grade student, noticed the quality and on her own wrote back to Aaron's mother.



Here is a poem written by Kristen and Miriam on our Yollis 365 Blog! Notice the HTML code used to make Hershey's name stand out in the acrostic poem for  83: Whole !

Andrew's Aunt Debra left a Mark Twain quote for our readers! As a writer, she sees the value in looking at the readability statistics in Word.



Ryan and his grandmother are having a conversation!









Students composed a comment for their grammar homework. Each comment had to have a comparative adjective. 
(Use the suffix-er or -est


Below is Amitai's comment from our Yollis 365 Blog



Nick is writing back to his sister from our Spanish post! Part of his comment is in Spanish!   
¡Muy bien, Nic!



Adia summarized our story of the week, Poppa's New Pants with this amazing comment! 





 

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What do you think of the comments from students and adults? 


Do you think blogging has an impact on writing skills?

How have you improved as a writer?


88 comments:

  1. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    Thank you so much for publishing my quality comment. When I woke up this morning I looked on our classroom blog, and I saw my comment. I was shocked! Then I saw Kristen and Miriam's and many more!

    I like that you showed some quality comments because I think that people get encouraged and want to do more comments. I mean quality comments!


    In a quality you should....


    #1. Make a connection with who you are writing to. That is a great way to interest the person you are writing to!

    #2. Try to add some factual information. That makes the person want to add some factual information. That way you can both learn.

    #3. Lastly, you should always check your spelling and grammar before you publish your comment. We have learned to go on Microsoft Word and press the grammar and spelling tab under tools.

    That makes a great 3-point quality comment.

    You can also write a question so your writer wants to comment back.


    Do you have any thing to add about quality commenting?



    Warmly,

    Grace

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Mrs. Yollis,


    Thank you for publishing my quality comment and for featuring it on your blog. I hope to get to be featured next week.

    Also I, like Kristen and Miriam's poem about chocolate. I like their lines:

    "Home: We wish our moms would let us eat Hershey bars at home

    Elephants: Elephants and animals also like Hershey bars

    Yummy: Hershey bars are yummy"

    From,
    Amitai

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Mrs.Yollis,

    It is amazing that we got that many quality comments in one day!


    Commenting in Spanish was a little hard.

    If we ever get the same amount of quality comments in one day I would be really surprised! The comments would be so much that your blog will explode! (hyperbole!)

    From,
    Nicolas

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

    I love having conversations with people on blogs! It is way more fun when there are a few quality comments in the conversation. One reason it is more fun is because there is more to comment back about. A thing that is great is that it takes more hard work.

    The examples of the conversations were great. It is complicated to think about what to say. Do you like having conversations?

    From,
    Jaden

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    I am amazed at the quality comments the students are leaving on the blog! I see a great improvement from the beginning of the year's comments to now. I think blogging is such a great, fun way for the kids to practice thier writing.
    Thank you for making it fun for the kids to learn this important skill!
    From,

    Ben's mom

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Grace,

    Thanks so much for another quality comment! You are a wonderful role model for writers!

    You asked if I would add anything else to your list of quality comments. You stated:

    1. Try to make a connection.
    2. Add factual information.
    3. Check your spelling and grammar.

    Hmmmm....I guess I would add

    4. Read through the comments to be sure you don't repeat what someone else just said. If you agree with someone, use their name. For example, I agree with Grace's three ways to make your blog comment a quality comment. I would add... (See how that works?)

    5. Never put personal information in a comment. For example:


    ☛ Do NOT mention that you are going to be on vacation for a week.

    ☛ Do NOT share your daily schedule on a blog.

    Always think: Do I want the world to know this information? If the answer is no, then do not include that information in your comment! :-)

    Thanks for your helpful comment, Grace!

    @ Amitai and Nick,

    Thanks for being such great examples for our readers and new bloggers! !Muy bien!

    @ Jaden,

    I enjoy the social aspects of blogging as well. We have made so many wonderful friends all over the world and are truly learning from one another! Love it!

    Yes, I do enjoy having conversations. (Remember to ask open ended questions so you get a more complete answer.) :-)

    @ Ben's mom,

    I completely agree with you! Blogging is a fabulous way to practice writing skills in a fun, yet meaningful way! Not only do the students learn and improve, but we all become better writers. It is the practice that keeps the skills sharp!

    One proud teacher,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Mrs Yollis and Grade 3
    I always ♥ reading through the quality comments that you all make, and I can see how much effort and thought you put into your responses.

    You are all great role-models in the world of blogging! ☆

    your friend
    Mrs M♔Kenzie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Mrs. Yollis and students,

    My name is Pamela Todd and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the university of South Alabama. My major is elementary education and I plan to have a classroom blog. I find your blog to be very well organized and interesting. I really like the examples you give on quality commenting. I have found them to be very helpful. I will be posting a summary about your class blog on my own blog before the end of this week. I hope you have a moment to read it (link below).

    I assisted my 11 year old son, Sam, in creating his first blog recently. Do you have any suggestions for his first blog post? I would love to hear from you and so would he. My class blog is toddpamelaedm310.blogspot.com, our family blog is thetoddpod4.blogspot.com, and Samuel's is egroegddot.blogspot.com. Please feel free to comment on our blogs! We will be following your class blog.
    Have a great day Mrs. Yollis' class!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mrs. Yollis and class,

    My name is Kelsey Robinson and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. When I graduate I will teach elementary students. After looking through your blog, I am even more convinced that I want to have a class blog for my students as well.

    I read through the quality comments that Mrs. Yollis posted and you guys are doing a great job. I think it is great that Mrs. Yollis is involving your family in your education so they can see the improvement being made on your writing skills. I think that blogging has a tremendous impact on the writing skills of today's students. Blogging allows students to connect with other classrooms around the world and receive feedback on their own writing. Using technology in the classroom also allows students to have fun while learning.

    I welcome you to visit my class blog and comment if you would like. At the end of the month, I will be posting a summary of my time spent on your blog.

    Have a great day and continue your hard work!

    Kelsey Robinson

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mrs. Yollis and Students,

    My names is Tiffany Fey and I am an Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama. This semester I am taking Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class and I am thrilled that he assigned your blog as one of our Comments for Kids (C4K). First of all, I would like to thank you, Mrs. Yollis, for your very helpful blog post "Let's Learn Some HTML Code!" I cannot even count how many times I have referred to it for help while posting on my own blog! I have also read many of your other blog posts and this blog is an amazing example of how technology in the classroom is beneficial to all students. Allowing students to use technology in the classroom is something that every teacher needs to do, because it not only helps them teach in a memorable and fun way, but it also helps their students learn how to use technology in an educational way, not just for entertainment.

    I will be using blogging in my classroom when I officially become a teacher because I have seen the ways that students can use it to learn. I also love how blogging can be easily seen by family members! I think that it is such a great idea to have Family Blogging Month. It helps students show their family what they are doing in class and it also allows family members to be involved with student's lives even if they live hundreds of miles away. One question I have for Mrs. Yollis is how you involve family members who do not or are not able to own their own computer? Do you have a special day where family members are allowed to come and use computers at the school? I hope to be able to include family members of my future students who do not have a computer, like my own Grandparents! I hope to also use other learning tools like Skype, Wiki's, and the Smart Board, so my students can have a variety of technological tools to use.

    I have truly enjoyed reading your blog, so much that I am adding it to my PLN (Personal Learning Network). There are wonderful ideas on here that I could definitely use in my future classroom. Technology is a great learning tool and Mrs. Yollis' students are very lucky to have a teacher who uses it in the classroom. Later this month I will be posting my review of your blog on My Blog. Please feel free to view and comment on my blog! I look forward to reading more of your classes' blog posts. Keep up the good work! :-)

    Thank you so much!
    ~Tiffany Fey

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    My name is Brittni Sasser and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I am majoring in elementary education, so I will be teaching students like you all one day!

    I enjoyed reading your class blog and seeing how your students are learning so much through blogging. Your students seem to be learning, while having a lot of fun in your classroom. After viewing your blog, I am sure that I will have a blog in my future classroom. I am so thankful Dr. Strange allowed us to view your class blog this week.

    If you would like to check out my blog or leave a comment please click here!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Rebekah and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I was so excited to be able to visit your class blog because of how much I have referred to your "Learn HTML" post for honing my HTML skills.
    Your dedication to teaching children about using technology is so inspiring! I cannot even begin to state how much I appreciate teachers like you! You take something that could be a distraction, and make it a useful tool! I am sure that the children in your class will appreciate you in 10 years!
    I really enjoyed reading the comments from parents and the posts of work from your students. The Hershey's poem had to be my favorite - and that is because I love chocolate!
    I was reading some of the comments posted about "Family Blogging Month" and wanted to mention that I have the same question as Miss Tiffany Fey: "How you involve family members who do not or are not able to own their own computer?" This is a concern that I have thought of before, and would be interested to hear your input. Feel free to visit my class blog to answer this question and also see what I have to say about your blog!
    Thank you for your time!
    Keep up the wonderful blog!
    Sincerely,
    Rebekah

    ReplyDelete
  13. @ Mrs. Mrs M♔Kenzie,

    Thanks so much for your kind words about the effort we put into our comments and about our successes! We appreciate your compliment!

    @ Pamela Todd,

    Thanks for visiting our blog and for your specific compliment about how organized and interesting you find our blog to be!

    I love the fact that you have multiple blogs! That's a great way to document your life for friends and family, and it certainly improves your writing skills along the way! Love it! I'll be sure to check out Samuel's blog. I'm curious, is his blog for school or did you start it for him?

    @ Kelsey Robinson,

    I'm glad that after viewing our blog, you are committing to having one when you get your class. There are so many learning opportunities for everyone, and I really recommend it. I will say, it is fun to start, but takes effort to maintain. It is good to find a partner teacher who has a blog too. Then the two of you can help each other with ideas and troubleshooting.

    I agree with you that, "...blogging has a tremendous impact on the writing skills of today's students." Because the student are writing to an authentic audience, they are motivated to do their best.

    @ Tiffany Fey,

    It is quite an exciting day here! Lots of terrific comments from future teachers!

    Glad to hear my post about HTML code is being used! It really can help take your comment to a higher level. I love how all of the EDM310 students are using the hyperlink code. That a tough, but useful one!

    I love Family Blogging Month! I started it in order to get parents more involved. Dedicating a month really made all the difference. Once parents join in, they love it!

    You asked how I involve families who do not have access to a computer. My students are fortunate. Almost all of them have access. If a student does not have a computer, or they're having technical problems, they can always write a comment on paper and type it at school.

    Glad you are enjoying our blog and are adding me to your PLN. I encourage all of you to get on Twitter! It is a fabulous professional tool!

    Thanks everyone for your excellent comments!

    Sincerly,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  14. @ Brittni Sasser,

    Welcome to our blog! We've had several visitors from your class today!

    Glad to hear you are inspired to have your own blog.

    @ Rebekah Lloyd,

    It is lovely to hear that so many people in your class are using my HTML code post. That makes me very happy! Everyone is mastering the hyperlink code, and I am impressed!

    Thanks for your compliment about how I use technology in my classroom. The students are living in a technical world, and I try to tap into the technology to make learning more interesting. Students respond to technology, that I can confirm. I encourage all teachers to look for ways to meaningfully integrate technology in the classroom.

    (Check my answer to Tiffany Fey above about how to handle families who do not have a computer.)

    Thanks everyone for your quality comments, and good luck with your studies!

    Dr. Strange is on the right track with his EDM310 class!

    Sincerely,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. Your students post some very intelligent and insightful comments. Their lessons on effective commenting were lessons that I will carry with me and one day teach to my own students. I love the interaction present. This is a great way to keep family involved in your students' educations. I also love that your students and their families are able to share information through blogging and commenting.

    Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    "Family Blogging Month" looks like an excellent way to introduce your family members to the world of blogging. I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's class. I must say, I have learned a great deal from your blog! Your students seem very excited about mastering blogging and learning how to spark conversations with other bloggers. Mrs. Yollis, you have done a great job incorporating technology into your classroom and I plan to follow your blog for examples in my future classroom. Thank you for sharing!
    Best Wishes,
    Erin

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am an elementary education major. I really enjoyed reading your blog and this blog post. The class blog is very nice. I enjoyed watching your video about taking good pictures. Also I think it is very cool to have your family members comment on your blog! It is always good to stay connected to your family. I hope I can use a blog in my classroom when I become a teacher. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to read your class blog.
    Thanks!
    -Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ms. Yollis,

    I really enjoyed reading the family posts for April; the Hershey's post is my favorite. The connections made between parents and other parts of the world to your class is so exciting.It takes an old tradition like Pen Pals to a whole other level. Also, the writing process is practiced with each post and reinforced through revision, editing, and publishing.
    The methods for blogging used in your class have inspired signature conventions for my EDM310 class like learning how to use HTML codes and 3-point quality comments. Thank you for sharing this information with us and for inviting our class into yours.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dear Ms. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Brandin Brosh and I am a student in Dr.Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. One of my assignments was to analyze you blog which I will be writing about on mypersonal blog.

    I have really enjoyed looking at your class blog. It is amazing to see how much students can learn with online blogging. Blogging also makes learning fun and interesting. This is my first semester having my own blog and so far I really like it.

    After looking over your class blog, it reassures me that I will definitely be having one for my students when I become a teacher.

    Thank you so much for allowing our EDM class to look over your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    My name is Rachael Hurtz and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I am majoring in elementary education, and enjoyed your blog. I really hope that I get to have a classroom blog when I start teaching. My main goal for my classroom blog will be to give the parents the proper tools to help their children with their assignments. If you would like to check out my blog here is my link:http://hurtzrachaeledm310.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  21. @ the fabulous students from EDM310,

    Wow! It has been a real thrill to receive so many wonderful comments from all of you! The program that Dr. Strange is conducting is the best integration of technology class I've seen.

    As you're learning, there are many web 2.0 tools to use. Of course, I highly recommend having a classroom blog. The learning possibilities are endless, and the opportunity to practice writing skills in an authentic way is critical for student growth.

    Having taught for twenty-four years, I have never seen a project have such a positive impact on student writing as educational blogging has.

    Thanks, again, for all your kind words! I must get back to good old fashion grading! That never goes away!

    :-)
    Sincerely,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dear Mrs. Yollis and students,

    My name is Hailey Smith and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. This class has opened my eyes up to so much and I am so thankful for it. I think your class blog is absolutely wonderful. I saw where one of your students thanked you for posting one of her comments because it encouraged her to want to do more. This is exactly what students need today, a drive to want to learn. Thank you for being and inspiration to us aspiring teachers. Students, keep up the good work!

    Hailey Smith

    ReplyDelete
  23. Dear Mrs.Yollis and class,

    My name is AnnMerritt and I am a junior at the University of South Alabama. I am going to school so that I can teach High School Literature and Language Arts Classes. Right now, I am taking Dr.Strange's EDM 310 class. We learn all types of cool things about technology and blogging.

    I think all of you are doing a great job blogging. Hopefully my high school students will be able to do as good of a job as all of you are doing now!

    I love chocolate, so I really loved the picture of the chocolate bar! I thought the description with the bold letters was really creative and fantastic too.

    Keep up the great work! I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.

    Sincerely,
    AnnMerritt ♥

    P.s. Feel free to visit My Class Blog anytime!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Dear Mrs. Yollis and students,

    My name is Brittany Hamilton and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in elementary education and I am currently taking Dr.Strange's EDM 310 class.

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading the quality comments on this page. I loved seeing how the parents and other family members joined in on the blogging experience. This excites me as a future teacher! I want to provide my students with a class blog and I will be thrilled to have the parents jump on board. I am also pro-blogging because I see how much it helps with students writing. This is a great asset that more teachers need to become involved in.

    I also want to thank you for the blog post, "Lets Learn Some HTML Code." This post has helped me in so many ways. I am always going back to the post to review what I have learned. I will be writing about this in my blog post at the end of the month. Just click here: My Blog

    I hope you have a great day and keep up the hard work!

    Brittany Hamilton

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Students,

    My name is Samantha Fleming, and I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama majoring in Elementary Education. First and foremost, I am thankful to Dr. Strange for assigning us to your class blog. Throughout this semester with Dr. Strange, I have often wondered how I would incorporate technology into an elementary classroom. At the start of the semester, I was convinced it was impossible. However, teachers like you have proved me wrong. Looking at your blog, I am amazed at the ways you have incorporated technology into your 3rd grade classroom. It is such an inspiration to see teachers like you! Your passion for teaching definitely shows in your blog.

    Also, I love your idea of Family Blogging Month! Where did you come up with this idea? I think a parent’s involvement in their child’s education is incredibly necessary and important so I love the creativity of Family Blogging Month. I like how you urge the parents to leave quality comments and how other students respond to them.

    I will be following your class blog and hope to see more quality posts and tutorials. I have referred to your “Learn HTML” post several times. Feel free to visit my blog at http://www.flemingsamanthaedm310.blogspot.com. I hope everyone has a wonderful day; thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hello Mrs. Yollis' Class!
    My name is Carly Pugh and I am a student of Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am commenting on your blog as part of our Comments4Kids assignment.
    I believe that blogging does help improve writing skills, and also grammar/mechanics. Kids are probably going to find ways to communicate with each other through media, so why not use the media as a medium to teach them skills that will ultimately help them to become better writers? I support blogging! It also helps them improve reading skills because they are doing a lot of that, and also proofreading. Alot of blogging can help them learn how to thoroughly proofread before they post, in order to communicate their ideas in the best way they can.
    Blogging has improved my skills as a writer because I have had to think in depth and critically about the things we are being assigned to read, watch, or comment on. I am learning to read between the lines more and that is always a good thing!
    Thanks for sharing your class's experiences in your blog! I hope you all continue to grow in your skills in blogging!
    I would also love for you to view my blog and look forward to receiving comments. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Dear Mrs.Yollis and Class,

    My name is Rebecca Sisson and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class. I am majoring in Elementary Education and it was a pleasure to come across your blog! I loved not only this post about Family Blog week, but also the videos the kid's did on "How To's". I especially liked the how to shoot quality camera shots, because I love photography and it is a wonderful thing for kids to get into! I also love that you incorporate the parents and families into your blogging so that they can see what the students have been up to, great idea! I will be following you from now on, you have caught my interest. Keep up the great work kids!

    Rebecca Sisson

    ReplyDelete
  28. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    I'm from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at South Alabama. I think it's great how well the class can blog. I also really like how the parents get involved. I think that's a fabulous way to keep the parents involved in a fun way! I personally enjoy blogging and it looks like the students do also. It's a great way to express yourself which I strongly believe helps the a person grow in many ways! I can't wait to see what comes next on Mrs. Yollis' blog!
    Keep up the good work!
    Jacey

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class:
    I am so glad Dr. Strange assigned your class blog to our Comments4Kids list. I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. In fact, I have enjoyed it so much so it nearly convinced me to switch from wanting to teach high school to third grade! I love how you encourage your family to make good comments on your blog posts as well. Such brilliant students make a future teacher’s heart sing! Please keep up the good work, and never lose your ♥ love ♥ for learning.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

    My name is Richard Howell and I am also a proud representative of Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.

    I've looked at both content and composition and can cheerfully say that the comments from both students and adults are grammatically correct and thoughtful. When I happen across a plethora of such examples in one spot, I truly feel that it creates an oasis on the internet. I trust that this didn't happen without some form of assistance.

    As such, indeed I do believe that blogging helps to develop one's writing skills. I also believe that the watchful eye of an instructor is naturally just as important. By combining the two, blogging can be a very powerful weapon when used to combat poor writing.

    To improve my writing, I like to watch documentaries while paying close attention to the narrator's style. While this doesn't do much to help in developing proficiency in the use of punctuation or other writing-specific tasks, it has certainly broadened my vocabulary and has manifested a deep passion of ensuring that my use of grammar is always correct.

    One must, at the very minimum, demonstrate the ability to write clearly and correctly in order to be taken seriously in today's society. Your blog is certainly a wonderful instrument by which this can be achieved. I'm happy to say that it is an example by which others are studying and following.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Dear, Mrs. Yollis,
    My name is Kim Holland and I am an elementary education major at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. Your students seem to really enjoy blogging. I plan on having my own class blog someday. However, I am unsure where to start, do you have any advice? Your class blog is very inspirational. Congratulations on the wonderful blog!
    Sincerely,
    Kim Holland

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear Mrs. Yollis, class bloggers, and other family bloggers,

    I'm a student in college who is also using a blog in the classroom as well. Much like you, my class has a blog it's own blog and I have also created a blog about my school experience.. I hope you get the chance to check out Our class blog and my personal blog sometime. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

    I would also like to complement the entire class on how well they have brought friends and family members into the blogging community. It is absolutely wonderful that you incorporate people who are important to you inside the classroom. Many times they wish to become more involved but they just don't know how. You have made it easier for others to join you in with your class, and I wish you the best of luck in continuing you family blogging!

    Are you planning on any other activities that will bring others into the classroom? If you have any other ideas I'd love to hear them!

    Thank you so much,
    ~ Miles

    ReplyDelete
  33. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    My name is Shaska Crabtree and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class. I am getting my degree in Elementary Education and after searching through your class blog I am more sure that one day I would like to have my own class blog. I thought the video's were so helpful for first time or new bloggers. I personally found the HTML link very helpful. It seems that is what I have had the most trouble with in my blogging journey. I plan to take your advice and create a page that I can go to at anytime and just plug in what I need to. I thank you for your time. I look forward to checking back in and reading all of the new posts you and your class writes. If you would like you can visit my blog page to view further comments or leave a comment.

    Thank you,
    Shaska

    ReplyDelete
  34. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I really enjoyed reading your blog. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I am impressed in how you are blogging with your parents. I hope one day that I can blog with my daughter. I learned a lot from your blogs and will be posting a summary of it on my blog in a few weeks. Jude Sanford's Blog is the website for that summary, and I learned how to put that link on from Mrs. Yollis blog.

    Thanks,

    Jude

    ReplyDelete
  35. @ the fabulous students from EDM310,

    Wow! It has been a real thrill to receive so many wonderful comments from all of you! The program that Dr. Strange is conducting is the best integration of technology class I've seen.

    As you're learning, there are many web 2.0 tools to use. Of course, I highly recommend having a classroom blog. The learning possibilities are endless, and the opportunity to practice writing skills in an authentic way is critical for student growth.

    Having taught for twenty-four years, I have never seen a project have such a positive impact on student writing as educational blogging has.

    Thanks, again, for all your kind words! I must get back to good old-fashioned grading! That never goes away!

    :-)
    Sincerely,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  36. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,
    My name is Whitney Greer and I am a student at the University of South Alabama getting my degree in Elementary Education. In our class EDM 310 with Dr. Strange, he has assigned us to research and benefit from viewing your blog! How impressive your blog is! I enjoyed how you and your class have incorporated joining the family into the blog, this is positive for the children and their parents. The quality comment clarification is a great way to get your students prepared for practicing blogging in an appropriate manner. I too, after looking into your blog feel I will use a class blog in my own classroom soon. I thank you for sharing your blog with our class, I enjoyed reading about you all. Please feel free to visit my class blog Click here to be directed to my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  37. @ Tiffany Fey,

    It is quite an exciting day here! Lots of terrific comments from future teachers!

    Glad to hear my post about HTML code is being used! It really can help take your comment to a higher level. I love how all of the EDM310 students are using the hyperlink code. That's a tough, but useful one!

    I love Family Blogging Month! I started it in order to get parents more involved. Dedicating a month really made all the difference. Once parents join in, they love it!

    You asked how I involve families who do not have access to a computer. My students are fortunate. Almost all of them have access. If a student does not have a computer, or they're having technical problems, they can always write a comment on paper and type it at school.

    Glad you are enjoying our blog and are adding me to your PLN. I encourage all of you to get on Twitter! It is a fabulous professional tool!

    Thanks, everyone, for your excellent comments!

    Sincerly,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  38. Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Cherish and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. As a future teacher it was so encouraging reading your class blog and all of the blogposts from the students! You have such a dedication to teaching you students about technology. It is inspiring. I am so thankful for teachers like you!

    I really enjoyed reading the comments from parents and the posts of work from your students. Your class seems like it would be a fun atmosphere to learn in!
    Feel free to visit my class blog
    http://hamnercherishedm310.blogspot.com/

    Thank you for your time!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,
    My name is Jordan Sellers and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama. I am in EDM 310, which is taught by Dr. Strange. I actually have a set of twin girls that are also in the third grade. They were born on 9/11, so everyone remembers their birthday. I also have a son that is in fifth grade. We are learning about all sorts of neat things that we can do on computers to make going to school more fun. All of you students are very lucky to have a teacher as fun as Mrs. Yollis, she is using these tools that are just now being taught to us in school, and each of you are learning more cool stuff about computers than I know. I want each of you to keep up the good work and keep on blogging. Please feel free to visit my blog and give me some pointers on how to make it better at http://sellersjordanedm310.blogspot.com/ or stop by and tell Dr. Strange hello on our class blog at http://www.edm310.blogspot.com/

    From,

    Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi Mrs. Yollis! My name is Olivia Bush. I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am working on a degree in Elementary Education. Right now I am in class called EDM 310. It is a technology class for future teachers. My teacher, Dr. Strange has linked our class to your blog and I will be commenting on it in a later blog on my page. Please feel free to take and look and comment on my blog http://busholiviaedm310.blogspot.com.

    I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. It has been very informative. I cannot wait to start teaching and using a blog for my classroom. What a great way to teach children and also have not only parents but other family members of students involved in the class.

    Thank you so much for your time and dedication not only to your students but informing others of what can be done in the classroom. You are a inspiration to all future teachers and teachers now. I have really enjoyed reading your blog and your student's blogs. I look forward to reading more.

    Olivia Bush

    ReplyDelete
  41. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Bailey and I'm a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I think it is wonderful that y'all are able to connect with people through blogging! I enjoy posting on my class blog as well as my personal blog and it's been a wonderful experience exploring the blogs of students across the country and the world. I think that blogging is a useful tool for writers and it's just fascinating to see blogging used in schools. I'm definitely going to use one in my future English classroom.

    I also want to thank you Mrs. Yollis for your "How to Leave a Comment" video and your other video about comments! I didn't know I could collapse the comments or show the original post when leaving a comment. Thanks!

    Keep up the wonderful work!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Mrs. Yollis and Class,
    I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am currently in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. My major is Secondary Education/Social Science.

    I would like to congratulate you and your class for the wonderful blog. So far this semester, I have viewed a lot of class blogs. By far, yours is the best yet. It is obvious that Mrs. Yollis cares about you, her students, and your education. At the same time, It is clear that you want to learn and that you like to blog.

    I will have a class blog when I finally get my own classroom. I only hope that mine will be half as good as yours. Please feel free to visit my blog. Happy blogging!

    Michael Oakwood

    ReplyDelete
  43. Dear Mrs. Yollis,
    My name is John Russell Smith and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. My major is elementary education and I enjoy the blogs you have posted and seeing the many different ways you involve and incorporate your teaching techniques.
    I read through some of the quality comments that Mrs. Yollis posted and you all are impressive with your skills, doing such a great jog. I think that Mrs. Yollis is a great teacher because she involves the kid’s family in your education so they can keep up with their kids learning achievements. Blogging is something that I know is going to improve the student’s ability with their writing skills as well as comprehension skills by reading others blogs and commenting. Being able to communicate with other classes from around the world is a good way for which teachers and students can find new and innovative ways to learn. I really like everything that you do for the kids in your class. They are lucky to have a teacher with so much enthusiasm and are willing to do the things you do for them to make their future better. Keep up the good work kids. If you would like to check out my blog, you can go to: http://SmithJohnedm310.blogspot.com. Feel free to leave a comment. Thank you again for your blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Annie DuBroc and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am striving to become a secondary education teacher in the near future. I would like to start off by saying thank you for the HTML lesson. It has helped me a great deal not only in this class but also in other classes as well.
    It is so inspiring to see your dedication to teaching young students the use of technology. I truly hope my future students will have received a teacher like yourself because you are teaching the correct way to use technology and making it fun too. I have enjoyed reading several of your blog posts. I especially like how you have everything organized. I plan on using a class blog in my classroom and you have given me great ideas for it.

    Please feel free to look at my class blog.

    Thank you for your time!
    -Annie DuBroc

    ReplyDelete
  45. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Michael Armstrong and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class. I hope to be a high school history teacher one day.

    Mrs. Yollis I am a huge fan of what you are doing with your students. The use of the three point comments as a way to make your students spell correctly and use correct grammar is a great idea. It upsets me to see grammatical errors in my friend's and family member's posts to Facebook or in emails. Your third graders are better writers than some people I know with college degrees.

    I would like to point out to all of your students that at the time I am writing this comment there have been 43,873 visitors to this class blog since January 7th, 2010. You guys are famous! When I was your students age the only people that got to see my work were my teacher, my parents, and the few people that came to my house and saw it on the refrigerator if my mom put it up there. I think that Family Blogging Month is a great idea. You guys are introducing members of your family to a great learning tool that they may have never otherwise found.

    Thank you Mrs. Yollis for all that you do. Your post about how to use HTML code has helped me out tremendously this semester.

    I will be reviewing your class blog on My Blog in a couple of weeks and would love it if you stop by and leave a comment. You can also find me on Twitter @mda326.

    Keep up the good work guys,
    Michael Armstrong

    ReplyDelete
  46. Mrs. Yollis and Class,
    My name is Courtney Mathis and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading all of the quality comments by students and parents! I love the idea of "Family Blogging Month". It is great that the parents are able to see what the children are learning to do. I would like to incorporate a blog into my future classroom. I am a secondary education major, so my class blog would be a little different than this one.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I have been exploring your class blog and have thoroughly enjoyed reading about you class. I am a Secondary Education/Mathematics major at the University of South Alabama. I came across your blog as a result of an assignment for one of my classes, Dr. Strange's EDM 310.

    I love how involved the parents and friends of your students are. Are they always this involved or has this been a result of Family Blogging Month?

    You can visit my blog here.

    Happy Blogging!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hi Mrs. Yollis and her wonderful class!

    My name is Brandon M. Caten and I am a student at The University of South Alabama. I am a Senior studying Music Education and I am currently enrolled in EDM310 with Dr. Strange. Mrs. Yollis, you are doing a GREAT job with your blog and teaching your students about the uses of technology! I watched your video on how to comment and leaned that you can press control under a red line to select the correct word. Never did I know this!

    Class, you all do a great job at blogging! Keep up the hard work! As you can see, you might be using the skills you are learning now years from now!

    I have really enjoyed your blog and will make sure to follow it even after I have finished this class!

    Thank you for all that you do for technology and education!

    Sincerely,
    Brandon M. Caten
    http://CatenBrandonEDM310.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  49. Dear Mrs.Yollis and Class,

    My name is Sheena Nettles. I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at University of South Alabama. My major is Elementary Education.

    You have a very interesting blog. It is such a wonderful thing to see parents so involved. Parental involvement is essential when it comes to recieving a quality education. I hope that I have a classroom blog like yours when I become a teacher. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to view your blog!

    Sincerely,
    Sheena Nettles

    ReplyDelete
  50. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    As my fellow EDM 310 students have expressed, thank you so much for allowing us a look at your classes work. The guidelines you lay out on comment quality are fantastic, and are something I believe ALL people should keep in mind when posting comments.

    Also, the way you are keeping student's and families more connected in a time where we value success more than family. I hope that you and your class continue your innovative success in your technological endeavors. Feel free to visit my blog

    ReplyDelete
  51. Mrs. Yollis and class,

    I am also a member of Dr. Strange's EDM310 class. First off I want to thank you for the great quality commenting rules. They have been a huge help in knowing what to say in my comments.

    I think that the family blogging month is a wonderful idea. It allows the students' families to see what is going on and to comment on what they think. It allows for a whole new way to communicate and share. I loved reading the exchange between Ryan and his grandmother. I do believe that blogging has a big impact on writing skills. You have to be careful about what you write. Not only do you have to articulate well but spell and have good grammar. Everyone all over the world can see what you are writing. Blogging has helped me to be more careful about how I word things. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world of communication, sharing and collaborating.

    Thank you so much for sharing! I love this idea of getting the families involved in blogging and with the students.

    Miranda T.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    My name is Alexandra Maniaci and I’m a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed looking at your blog and getting to know about your class. I particularly liked the video about taking better pictures and videos. I think the information you posted on HTML code is a great way to make posts and comments more creative. Also, it’s wonderful that you have Family Blogging Month to allow your students’ family and friends to comment on their work. It looks like everyone really enjoys it! You guys are doing an amazing job!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Hello Mrs. Yollis and her wonderful classroom of learners! My name is Skye LaDart, and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama! I love your class blog! We are going to have to work hard to compete with such a great blog! You seem like a wonderful teacher who cares tremendously about your students! I hope I can promote a fun learning environment in my future second grade classroom one day just like yours! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Mrs. Yollis,
    I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I was very impressed by looking at your blog. I loved the poem about the Hershey chocolate bar and the picture of the lizard. I can appreciate the importance of teaching your students correct grammar and how to write a quality comment.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Michelle French, and I am an English/Secondary Education major at the University of South Alabama. I am currently in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I have been looking around your class blog, and I am completely amazed with it. There are so many elements to your class blog, that you have got me thinking about creating a class blog myself. It is a great way for students to learn how to develop communication skills. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the various comments that are in this post. What you are doing with your students is amazing. I hope to have my future students be involved with technology. As I have heard many times from various sources, technology is here to stay. Since technology is here to stay, people might as well learn how to use it to their advantage. Your students are doing a wonderful job with learning how to use technology early on in their lives. Their comments on the blog are just examples of what your students are capable of doing, and they can be capable of so much more later in life. I hope to see many more exciting uses for technology in the future. Feel free to check my blog if you wish.

    Michelle French

    ReplyDelete
  56. Dear Ms. Yollis and Students,
    My name is Jacob Webb and I am, like many of the other commentors, a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class. I am a secondary education major. I think it is cool how you use this blog to teach writing skills. I think that this is something that is often overlooked in many classrooms. It is a skill that will take you far in life. I also think it is cool that you are able to communicate with family members who are keeping up with your blog through comments. I think this is one of the best examples of the use of a blog in a practicle way throughout this semester.
    Thanks
    -Jacob Webb

    ReplyDelete
  57. Greetings Mrs. Yollis and Class,
    I really enjoyed reading your posts about family blogging month. When I started my blog for EDM310 I was very excited that I would be able to show my family the work I was doing in school. They always write me e-mails instead of commenting though so I will have to try and encourage them to leave comments instead! Perhaps I can give them a link to your site so that you can teach them the right way to leave comments. Why do you think having instructions on how to comment correctly increases the amount of comments you receive?

    Keep up the great work,

    Megan

    ReplyDelete
  58. Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    Hi, I am in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I love the class blog. It is very exciting and educational. Your post, Learn HTML Codes has been very helpful to me. I thank you for sharing it with us.
    I also found your video about California very interesting. I have never been there but hope to visit one day!


    -Courtney

    ReplyDelete
  59. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    My name is Lee Hughes and I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. Thank you so much for allowing us to look and comment on such an amazing blog! I found both the video on taking better pictures and videos, and commenting very interesting and helpful. I feel that the idea of a Family Blogging Month is a great way to keep parents involved and interested in class blogging. I hope to incorporate a blog in my classroom and have it as successful as this one. Thank you again for allowing us to visit and comment on such a wonderful blog!

    ReplyDelete
  60. Hi Mrs. Yollis and students!
    I am from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I love how organized your blog is! Everything was so easy to find and I really like that parents are allowed to comment on here. I like the idea of different time zones of friends and the HTML links are a great idea for a link, as well. I especially enjoyed the link with the picture of the students, very cute!
    Thank you for allowing us to view and comment on your blog!
    Mary-Katelin McFerrin

    ReplyDelete
  61. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,
    I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I have read through the quality comments that have been posted, and enjoyed reading them. I have enjoyed keeping a blog this semester. It has taught me many new things, and has allowed for communication with many other teachers reading their blogs. I hope to have a blog when I become a teacher in the future.

    Keep up the great work.
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  62. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    My name is Nell and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at The University of South Alabama. I have really enjoyed reading your blog and seeing how your students are so involved with blogging is very inspirational to me. I think that your blog is extremely organized, interesting, and just fun!! I have been really intrigued by your classroom blog. It has definitely been an eye-opener to me making me realize that when I become a teacher in the future that I want to have a classroom blog! Thank you so much for sharing!
    - Nell, EDM 310 Student from The University of South Alabama

    ReplyDelete
  63. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. One of our assignments is to read your class blog and comment on it. I am very new to blogging so your tips for quality comments are very helpful.

    I am amazed at how much information can be shared on a class blog. It is great that your family members get to see so much of what you are doing in the classroom. I definitely want to create a class blog when I start teaching.

    Molly Dekin
    dekinmollyedm310.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  64. Dear Mrs. Yollis and her students,

    Your class blog is amazing and well organized! I have recently talked to Miriam on her page which was also well organized and informative. This blog has helpful information that I can use now while I am in college, as well as later when I become an elementary teacher.

    I like that you post your own videos and tutorials on the class blog. I found the HTML codes and the information on shooting digital images to be very helpful. Thank you for making those informative but interesting and funny too. I have been watching many videos this semester that are not as interesting and yours really grabbed my attention!

    I am also a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. My class is following your class' blog this week. I will be writing summaries about your blog along with other conversations we may have on my own class blog. I would love any comments or questions you may have about anything I have posted. I am trying to learn as much as I can about technology in the classroom, so that one day my students will be able to do things that you are doing now.

    If you would like to visit my page, I would love any other helpful tips you may have. I would be honored to have your opinions because your class is full of awesome bloggers!

    Keep up the great work and thank you again for sharing your blog with our class!

    Sincerely,
    Jessica Brown
    EDM310 Student
    University of South Alabama

    ReplyDelete
  65. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Students,

    My name is Kristan and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. Your class blog is awesome! Mrs. Yollis, you are an inspiration and I cannot wait to use some of your wonderful ideas in my future classroom. I have visited your blog many times in my learning of HTML. I also love how you have involved the families of your students!

    Students, I love your quality comments! Blogging is such a wonderful way to improve your writing skills, and is must be very motivating to know anyone around the world can see and view your work. Keep up the great work!

    P.S. Being that chocolate in my best friend, I absolutely loved the Hershey post!

    Sincerely,
    Kristan Steele

    ReplyDelete
  66. Hello,

    My name is Chelsea Krail and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama.

    I enjoyed reading the comments in this post. I'm studying to be a high school English teacher and it irks me quite a bit to see that "chatspeak" or "textspeak" is taking over. I absolutely love that the students that have been mentioned in this post are learning and even (it seems) enjoying proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and commenting.

    And might I add that I have your Let's Learn Some HTML Code! on my browser toolbar for quick access. It has come in handy.

    And if you ever want to check out my blog, then feel free: My Blog

    ReplyDelete
  67. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

    I am a student at the University Of South Alabama. I am currently in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class. The different things that you talk about in your blog are incredible and flabbergasting. It is phenomenal that your class and unanimous viewers are actually learning from your blog. I myself have learned how to use HTML code more efficiently. This is my blog page link

    ReplyDelete
  68. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    I would like to start by saying that I think you all are doing a wonderful job with your posts!

    I think it is great that the students are able to connect with their parents inside the classroom.

    I also think that blogging is an excellent tool to improve writing skills. Mrs. Yollis' video about proper posting is great! It helps the students as well as other bloggers to be cautious of what they are posting, especially grammatical errors.

    I am a student in professor Strange's EDM310 class at The University of South Alabama, and I truly believe that blogging has helped me with my writing skills. I have to be very mindful about what I am posting and I must make sure that there are not any errors.

    Thank you for all the great things you have shared with me!

    Sincerely,
    Whitney

    ReplyDelete
  69. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Bailey Abston and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the university of South Alabama. My major is elementary education and I plan to have a classroom blog. I think it is very important to bring technology into the classroom and blogging is certainly a way to do so. I find your blog to be very well organized and interesting. I will be posting a summary about your class blog on my own blog before the end of this week.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class-

    My name is Christina and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class.

    I have enjoyed reading your amazing blog! I can see where your previous students are still visiting your class blog. I can only imagine this is a testament to the big impression you are making on your students.

    I am very curious about your family blog participation. Did you have an initial "open house" in your classroom for the parents to learn blogging, or did the children teach the parents how to blog?

    Sincerely,
    Christina

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  72. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    Hello! Like most of the others, I am also a student at the University of South Alabama and am studying to be an elementary teacher. First off, I want you to know that I have referred to your blog many times this semester for html help. Thank you for posting, it really was a life saver! I also think it is really great how you have managed to use technology in such a positive way in your classroom. Because of blogs like yours, maybe more teachers will be influenced to begin using more technology inside their classrooms.

    As far as your students go, I think it is AWESOME that they were already doing things that lots of us college students are just learning to do ourselves. Way to keep up with the world and show so many future teachers that we too have to keep up in order to remain on your levels. Keep up the good work and I'm sure you guys will continue to inspire many people from around the world!

    ReplyDelete
  73. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    As I said earlier, my name is Alexa Howie. I'm a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am so thrilled to read another wonderful post. I just can't get over your amazing blog. I'm so proud of all the great work you're doing. I hope you can see how important technology has become to your learning. I've seen it help so many people with their writing skills. It is also a fun way to be heard. You can make a statement about any assignment or current events going on.
    Thank you for showing good examples of quality blog posts and comments. When I have a classroom, I can definitely use your blog as an inspiration. I would love for my classroom blog to be as successful, well organized, and interactive as yours. You really pull your audience in to what you are talking about.
    Thanks again for being an inspiration to me and so many students! Keep up the good work!
    Sincerely,
    Alexa Howie

    If you would ever like to visit my blog, click here.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Mrs. Yollis I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. My major is elementary education and I can not wait to start teaching. Before taking EDM310 I did not that blogs existed or even how to begin one. After taking this class I realize there is so much more out there for students to use and I can not wait to dive in and share my knowledge. I think using a class blog for educational purposes in and outside the classroom is a great idea for students. I enjoyed exploring your blog and getting ideas to maybe use in my future classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    As with many of those before me I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class at the University of South Alabama. Honestly I am still getting used to the idea of blogging for class.

    I have been struggling with proper commenting; your blog and students' comments have been very inspiring.

    EDM 310 has been a refreshing class for me since it does more than simply incorporates technology into our curriculum. We get to look into teachers classrooms to be inspired with ideas of how we as future educators can incorporate technology and blogging into our classrooms.

    Keep up the fantastic work inspiring future educators and of course educating your students. Your hard work speaks for itself, they are superb commentors

    Sincerely,
    Nickolas Sullivan

    ReplyDelete
  76. Dear Mrs. Yollis and 3rd grade class,

    My name is Lisa May. I live in Mobile, Alabama. I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 Class at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in elementary education. I hope to teach 3rd or 4th grade one day. Viewing your blog was such an inspiration! It is amazing what Mrs. Yollis has been able to do with this class blog. And even more amazing are the posts that you, the students, write! I love all the instructional videos and refer to the "Learn HTML code" all the time!

    Another feature that I really like is the involvement of family. Parental involvement is so important in the education process and what better way to incorporate it then through technology. The idea of Family Blogging Month was such a great idea to promote that involvement not only from parents but from the whole family. I loved that even grandparents were getting involved! Technology can really bring us together, it makes the world a much smaller place!

    And, finally, I think that blogging is a great way to teach writing skills. It is so much more fun to learn grammar, spelling and punctuation when you don't realize you are learning it!

    My blog is a work in progress but I would invite you to visit and leave a comment.

    Do you think that requesting comments makes visitors more likely to leave a comment?

    Do you find that the students are more interested in writing since the blog has been introduced?

    I look forward to hearing from you soon!

    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  77. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM310 course. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your post as well as comments. When I was in grade school, I would have loved for my parents to have a way to interact with my classwork. I was always proud to show off what I had learned. I love the three step method you are learning. It is very helpful! Thanks so much for sharing.
    Thanks,
    Mandy

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  78. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    My name is Heather. I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at University of South Alabama. I am going to be a elementary teacher. I enjoyed reading the class's blogs. Learning is great. The students are having fun and that is the best thing when you are learning. I am learning from your blogs to help me in the future to succeed as a teacher. Thank you and I hope you all have a great time blogging.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I have enjoyed looking at your blog so much! I see that ya'll are from California! That is so cool! I'm planning a road trip with my best friend next summer to California!
    I was very impressed by the quality of comments you all write. I can see that writing on a blog and posting comments can definitely improve your writing. I couldn't believe ya'll were third graders when I was reading.
    I think it's so awesome that family members posted comments for the students to see. I'm sure that's so exciting and very inspirational knowing someone you love is seeing your work!
    I am studying to be a math teacher so I hope to incorporate a class blog in my classroom...although I won't be using it for grammar purposes obviously.
    Thankyou Mrs. Yollis and class for letting me learn from your blog!
    Jessica Battles

    ReplyDelete
  80. Mrs. Yollis and Students,

    My name is Hoan Nguyen and I am an Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama. This semester I am taking Dr. Strange’s EDM-310 class and I am glad that he assigned your blog as one of our comments for kids.
    I would like to thank you for sharing with us the blog of your class and giving us an idea how we could use your class blog as an example in our future teaching career. I really would like to have my own class blog in the future and hope that we can expand our knowledge and share with other people worldwide like your class.
    I have truly enjoyed reading your blog and thank your again for sharing your knowledge with us. Please comment on my blog and I look forward to read more of your class’s blog. If you would like to view my blog please visit me at http://nguyenhoanedm310.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post-12.html

    ReplyDelete
  81. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
    My name is Rebecca Warnberg. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. My major is Elementary Education. I am very excited about becoming a teacher! I really enjoyed exploring your blog because it helped me come up with ideas for creating a blog for my future class. I think that it is great that you are connecting with parents and friends through your blog. Did you know that in 2009 there were over 126 million blogs on the internet? There are a lot of people out there who are blogging. I think it is wonderful that your class is learning to use blogs so they can connect with an online learning community. Keep up the good work!
    Sincerely,
    Rebecca

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  82. Hi Mrs. Yollis

    I'm from Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at University of South Alabama. First of all I would like to let you know that you are obviously doing a great job. Some of the comments your students have left are extraordinary for some one on a third grade level. You have no idea how much you have actually helped me with my own blog. I refer to your HTML post weekly. I still don't have the entire thing memorized but since you were so kind as to post it, your post will now be saved to my docs on google forever. Just like you're an inspiration to all of your students, I want to be the same for my students. The sheer excitement of your students just jump off of the page. I want to inspire my students to learn how to use technology in a way that benefits everyone, instead of just playing around on Facebook. Oh and as many blogs as I have visited, I have never seen a Family Blogging month. Great idea! My grandmother is a retired english/history teacher of 35 years and she is just ecstatic that I have chosen to go into the field of education. I posted a link on my Facebook, so she thoroughly enjoys checking it out every week. That is just one more way to give the students something to be proud of. Parental (and family period) involvement is so important when it comes to education. Thanks again for blogging and giving the rest of us such great tips for our future classrooms. I'll definitely bring it all into the classroom with me. Keep blogging and more importantly-changing lives.

    Paige Bryant

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  83. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    As with many of those before me I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class at the University of South Alabama. Honestly I am still getting used to the idea of blogging for class.
    I have been struggling with proper commenting; your blog and students' comments have been very inspiring.

    EDM 310 has been a refreshing class for me since it does more than simply incorporates technology into our curriculum. We get to look into teachers classrooms to be inspired with ideas of how we as future educators can incorporate technology and blogging into our classrooms.

    Keep up the fantastic work inspiring future educators and of course educating your students. Your hard work speaks for itself, they are superb commentors and bloggers.

    Sincerely,
    Nickolas Sullivan

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  84. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    My name is Ashley Franklin and I'm a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I think it is amazing how students are able to connect with people through blogging! I really enjoy reading and posting comments on my classmates blogs. I think that blogging is a great way to improve typing and grammar skills. I am definitely going to use blogging as a major part of learning in my future classrooms.

    I also want to thank you Mrs. Yollis for your "How to Leave a Comment" video.

    Keep up the Excellent work you guys!

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  85. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I read this post about "Family Blogging Month" and making quality comments and I found it to be important information for the creation of good posts. I think this is a great idea to develop relationships with family and friends; the creation of new relationships from other classmates family's is a plus too.

    I believe that your class blog encourages a sense of community and also helps to develop modern communication skills in your class. I think this will give your 3rd graders a legitimate advantage in their academic careers and lives as well.

    You asked if we thought blogging improved writing skills, and my answer to that is an emphatic YES!
    Not only does it help with writing skills in the essay form, but it also helps with fluency when using computers, word processors, and blogs.

    I have been blogging since January, and I've learned a lot. What I have learned is mostly procedure regarding blogging, but I have improved my writing indirectly through an improved ability to compose and arrange information in a coherent way.

    I am also student in EDM310; it is a class taught by Dr. Strange at the University of South Alabama. I only wish I could have had this class in high school.

    Have a great school year Mrs. Yollis, and your class as well.

    Sincerely,
    Kevin White

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  86. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    My name is Joshua Ragsdale and I am in Dr.Strange's EDM 310 class.I have enjoyed reading your class blog. I really found the blog post on HTML code very helpful. I also enjoyed the video about the state of California. I actually visited Los Angeles last year for the first time. I think your blog is outstanding and deserves the recognition that it has received.

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  87. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I really enjoyed reading through your class blog. I have never really payed attention to the spelling correction when using Firefox. That's a really awesome idea to have family blogging month. Parents and family get to see what the children are doing with their blogs and get a chance to get involved also. At the end of the blog you asked "If blogging has an effect on our writing skills?". I think the answer to that is yes, I know I look carefully when I am writing a blog to adults and children to make sure everything is spelled correctly. Thanks for letting us follow you!

    Thanks,
    Ashley Welch

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  88. Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

    I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM310 course. I am so impressed with your class and the blog you have established! This post helped me in knowing how to write a quality comment. I wish I would have known this at the beginning of my course in order to make my commenting better. Luckily I will know it for the future!
    Your blog and comment assignments have really given me some ideas for my class once I am teaching. The students appear to be learning so much from these assignments. I also love how you stress the importance of correct spelling and punctuation. I use Google Chrome and it helps me with its automatic spell-checking.
    Your students are stellar and have done amazing work! The student's families have done amazing as well! The involvement is impressive! Keep up the terrific work!
    -Christina

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* * *
Getting feedback is important to our writers. Let us know what you liked or what you learned.

Steps to Comment:

1. Write your comment in the box below. Be sure that you have proofread it for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. Students should have a parent check it!

2. Choose an identity. (If you have a gmail account, use it. If not, choose name/url. You can leave the url blank if you do not have a blog.)

3. Click "Publish your Comment". You may preview your comment before publishing if you'd like.


Important: All comments MUST be approved by me.
:-) Mrs. Yollis