A Template for Getting Permission for Publishing Student Blogs, Podcasts, and Videos

Even though it's not as trendy as podcasting or vlogging, blogging is still a great way to have students publish their thoughts and findings. Blogs are also still a good tool for students to use to create portfolios of their work that include writing, videos, and podcasts. Before your students, especially those who are under 13, start publishing on a public-facing platform you should explain to parents and students why they're publishing and get permission from parents. Edublogs offers an extensive guide to obtaining permission for student blogging. The guide could also apply to podcasting and vlogging. 

The Edublogs guide to obtaining permission to blog with students includes a sample permission slips that you can copy and modify. The guide also includes framework for having discussions with school administrators and with parents about why you want your students to publish their work. Another good component of the guide is a set of guidelines for students and parents regarding publishing and commenting behaviors. 

It's guides like this one and other quality support resources that helps keep Edublogs at the top of my list of recommendations for student blogging platforms. If you're interested in getting your students blogging or using blogs as digital portfolios, take a look at the directions in my Practical Ed Tech Handbook and then create your first blog with Edublogs, Blogger, or Weebly for Education.  

Join me Tomorrow for Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff

After a one week break Rushton Hurley and I are resuming our weekly webinar series Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. The webinar is tomorrow (November 5th) at 4pm ET/ 1pm ET. Register here, for free!

Like the title implies, in every episode we answer questions from teachers like you and share a couple of cool things that we've found on the web. We also tell a few jokes that make us laugh. We aim to keep it light while also making it informative and helpful. Join us! 

If you can't make it for the live session, sign-up anyway and you'll get an email when the recording is ready to view. 

Take a look at some of the previous episodes right here.

How Batteries Work - And a Resource for Safely Experimenting With Circuits

From cell phones to laptops to toys we and our students rely on batteries for a lot of what we do in our daily lives. But have you ever stopped to think about how batteries actually work? Or have you asked your students to think about it? TED-Ed offers a good lesson that answers the question, "how do batteries work?"

In How Batteries Work students learn about the origins of batteries, how batteries work, the differences between disposable and rechargeable batteries, and why rechargeable batteries eventually cannot be recharged any more. Students watching the video will also see the difference between dry cell and wet cell batteries.

Applications for Education
To extend the lesson on batteries consider using TinkerCad to have students build simple circuits that are powered by batteries. TinkerCad provides an online environment in which students can do that. On TinkerCad you can create a virtual classroom  in which you can see the circuits and other designs that your students create. In fact, I use it for introducing Arduino to my freshmen before giving them the physical Arduino hardware to use.