Who are you? Challenge 1-March 2011

Welcome to the new set of challenges for March 2011!

Here are a few tips about navigating the blog and getting the most out of the challenges.

  • Every weekend, here in Australia, I will be posting a new set of activities for the week. Complete as many of the activities as you want.
  • To find the post with the activities, look on the right sidebar under ‘Latest challenge posts’.
  • If you want to be emailed as soon as I post a challenge, then fill in your email address in the right sidebar above the clustrmap then hit the subscribe button.
  • If you have a Google Reader or Netvibes etc, then subscribe by RSS – top of right sidebar.
  • If your teacher wants to join our mailing list to receive a newsletter every month or so, then have your teacher fill in the mailing list on the left sidebar.
  • To find the students taking part in the challenge, look in the header and click on ‘Students – March 2011’
  • If you are participating as a class and want to find other classes to link up with, check in the header for ‘Classes – March 2011’
  • If you are a teacher/educator commenter and want to link your class with some classes of the students you are commenting with, please contact me and I will give you their teacher names to allow skype etc. Often though, students will have their class blog listed in their blogroll on their sidebar.
  • If you want me to visit your blog post, you need to leave me a comment on my post or include a link from my post on your post. Here is a page to show you how to create a link in your post .
  • Most of the instructions in the challenge are given for Edublog users, but there is a link for Blogspot users in the ‘Get Help’ section on the right sidebar.

OK, time for the activities now.

Students:

The first week of activities involves lots of things which I hope you have already done to your blog. Just go down the page like a checklist and tick off as you get the activities completed.

Activities in purple are for beginner bloggers, those in green, suggestions for more advanced bloggers. Anything in blue and underlined is a link to another blog or post. Remember to right mouse click, open in a new tab when clicking on a link.

1. Are you on the list?

Some students filled out the wrong registration form and joined as a class. Please check the page in the header labelled ‘Students – March 2011’. Find your age group – check very carefully if your name is on there. If it isn’t then click on this link to fill in the correct registration form.

If you find your name on the list, you will probably find the name of a teacher in the same colour as you. This teacher or educator is going to visit your blog over the next ten weeks and leave some comments on your posts. Try to create conversations with these people – most of them have their own blog as well. Find out about them by visiting the post linked here and check out the comment they left.

Some students don’t yet have a commenter allocated. This will happen in the next few weeks.

avatarbigIf you are on the list, you will probably have received a ‘Welcome to the challenge’ comment from Miss W or tasteach. I usually leave these comments on ‘About’ pages or a post you have written about yourself. If you have not received a comment from me yet, please leave a comment below on this post and include the URL of your blog so I can come and visit you.

2. Changed your theme.

All Edublogs blogs begin with the same theme. There are over 100 different themes to choose from. Some have one sidebar, some have two sidebars, some allow you to change the headers. But you need to decide which theme suits you best. Check out this post about themes To change your theme, go to your dashboard > appearance > themes.

You might like to write a post about why you chose that particular theme. How difficult was it to choose? What were you looking for in a theme?

If you have been blogging for a while, is it time for a blog makeover? Have a look at some of the newer themes that are now available and update the look of your blog. Write a post explaining the changes. Perhaps a ‘before’ and ‘after’ shot of your blog.

If you use Kidblogs  you don’t have a choice of themes, but you could write a post about what you would like to have in a theme.

3. Written your ‘about’ page.

Remember pages stay in the one place and are located in your header or in the ‘Pages’ widget. What you will be writing normally are posts and they will gradually disappear off the bottom of the major column on your blog.  If using blogspot, you have an ‘About’ area in your profile, those using Kidblogs will need to write a post about themselves instead. Check out the example ‘About’ pages below:

About pages – students I have found when leaving welcome comments

Be creative but internet savvy when writing your about page. Those students from Mr Puchinsky’s music class might like to re-write the lyrics of a song or nursery rhyme and tell about yourself in the new lyrics. If you are a singer, why not use Audacity or Vocaroo to record your song about yourself and embed it in your about page in your blog.

If you have already written an about page last year, you might need to update it for this year. Things will have changed. If you know of a great example of an ‘About’ page, please leave a comment on this post.

Make sure you have added the ‘Pages’ widget to your sidebar. Dashboard> appearance> widgets> drag ‘pages’ across.

4. Write a post about why students and classes should visit your blog.

Why is your blog going to be interesting? What will you be posting about? What could they learn from reading your blog? Make sure you hyperlink back to this challenge post  somewhere in your post. That way, I will get a trackback or pingback and I will be able to visit your blog to read your post, otherwise I won’t know if you have written anything about this challenge.

eg. This post is for Challenge 1 in the March 2011 challenge. Highlight ‘Challenge 1′  then use the Link icon  – chains joined – and copy and paste in the URL below

Who are you? Challenge 1-March 2011

This is one of the most important skills to know when blogging – how to make a link – if unsure check out this post for Edublogs or this post for blogspot.

If you have been blogging for a while, write a post highlighting some posts you have written that you would recommend new bloggers read. Remember to give an explanation why – what will they learn from reading that post? Make sure you link to the posts you are recommending so your readers can actually visit them.

5. Visit the student list then leave a comment here …

Check out the page called ‘Students – March 2011’ and visit ten blogs  where students have similar interests to you and leave a comment on their blog. Then come back here and leave a comment mentioning a blog you found really interesting – remember to tell me the student’s first name, country and blog URL so I can then go and visit them as well.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Classes

Each week you will need to have visited the blog of the class on either side of your name on the ‘Classes – March 2011’ page. This will make sure each class gets visited by at least two other classes. Remember to check out any student blogs that are on the class sidebars.

Then choose some other classes from the list that you would like to visit – students of similar age perhaps.  Add links to these classes on your blogroll to make it easier for your students to visit them.

If you are a teacher commenter you might also like to add the classes or student blogs you are visiting to your blogroll.

1. On your class blog, write a post about why students and classes should visit your blog. What will they learn from reading your posts? Are there any skills your class has that they could pass on to other classes and students? Perhaps highlight and link to some great posts your class has already written that newer blogging classes would find useful or interesting.

2. Make sure your class about page is updated.

Check out these below. Each page is so different. What do you and your students think should be included in a class ‘About’ page?

Check out at least ten other class blogs from the list. Write a post in your blog about the similarities and differences you found while reading their ‘About’ pages. Remember to include links back to those class blogs.

3. Introduce the world to your classroom or school.

Create an animoto with images of your classroom or school taken by your students. This might be included as a post or on your about page. Make sure you join the free education version where both you and your students can create longer length animotos.

4. Visit your buddy classes (those on the side of your class on the ‘Classes – March 2011’ page.) Introduce yourself and get a conversation started.

Have pairs of  students in your class visit a different class blog and check it out. What did they like about it? What caught their eye? Did they find an interesting post?

Now on your class blog, write a post about visiting other class blogs. Highlight those things your students found interesting and add links back to the blogs they visited.

Next week we look at avatars – fun, fun, fun

188 comments on “Who are you? Challenge 1-March 2011”

  1. sean loves tortoises

    […] please visit my blog. It may help you too. By the way, it is the first week of the blogging challenge. Click on that link and you will go to the blog […]

  2. leslieruiz

    hi im a girl im 12 almost going to be 13 and i like pruple and dogs

  3. kevinalan

    im a boy i have 12 years old

  5. Video Tour of MBS | Looking Glass

    […] have been busy blogging! One of the tasks for week #1 of the Student Blogging Challenge, was to create a video of our school. My talented photographers, Autumn, Julia, Sam and Zachary, […]

  10. Blogging Challenge | The Food Critic

    […] sign up for it. Each year! It can be very fun and I like writing the posts. Here is the link to Challenge 1 so you can start if you haven’t yet. Here is my post from last year why you should visit […]

  12. Hello | Christina's Crazy Blog

    […] Hello my name is Christina, and this is my first post.  Welcome to my blog.  I live in Iowa and am in 7th grade.  Please comment on my blog and let me know what you think .  Please come back and visit my blog. This post is for week one challenge. […]

  13. Jessica

    I visited a lot of blogs, but my favorite one so far that I visit everyday, but don’t always comment on is Carolina O’s blog.
    Her URL is…
    http://carolinaosblog.weebly.com/

    She has a lot of interesting material on her blog and if you really want to visit a fun and exciting blog, go to Carolina’s blog.

  15. Welcome to My Blog | The Mystery

    […] my name is Chermelle and I am new to blogging and I am in the Blogging Challenge. Welcome to my blog The Mystery. I like skateboarding, baking, and reading. I also like using […]

    1. ian

      i realy like noahs blog

  17. My Community | ~*Brittany's awesome blog*~

    […] Week Four Challenge. I live on an acreage right outside of Hospers which is a small town in Iowa. I really enjoy living in a small community because you are able to know a lot of people. If you ever make it to Hospers, you should definitely stop in at the Chit Chat Cafe, Kelly’s Drive In, and Boxcar Billy’s. We also have a new swimming pool with a park right next to it, a great library, and a baseball field. The swimming pool is my favorite because during the summer I go there all the time. I love my community. What kind of community do you live in? […]

  18. maite

    challenge 1 hi miss w please get into my blog maiteblog.weebly.com this is the url

  19. Blogging | .Don't.Forget.To.Smile.

    […] visit my blog because it tells who I am, and what I like to do. I hope you have a great day! Week 1 challenge. Posted by Administrator on April 1st, 2011 at 2:32 pm | Comments & Trackbacks (0) […]

  20. Welcome! | Andrew's blog

    […] challenge with my friends, so please visit their blogs too. For now, happy blogging!  This is for student challenge week one Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and […]

  22. Phillip W

    I think most of the kids on the about page list, they all are better then me. I’m just a normal guy at blogs. I’m not really good at them.

  23. Devin

    Hi Ms.W. I really enjoyed reading Noah’s blog, at lakernolewine17.edublogs.org. His blog was well written, with detail, and creativity. He is from the U.S.A. I loved all his posts and I can’t wait for him to write more.

  24. Justin’s Blog! | Big Boy J's Blog

    […] I am in seventh grade and live in Iowa.  I am new to blogging and I hope you like mine as well as my classmates.  You are welcome to leave comments with tips to help me. This is for blogging challenge week one. […]

  25. Welcome to my blog! | Jason's blog

    […] This is Jason. I live  in Iowa. I’m in 7th grade and I hope we have fun on our blog. This is Blogging Challenge 1. Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and […]

  26. Hello, Everybody! | Tubman P's Blog

    […] Hello everybody, my name is Paul. I live in Iowa and am in 7th grade. I will continue posting blogs about what I do and how I do it, stuff like that, ya know? So please welcome me into the blog world because I’m new. I am also participating in a Blogging Challenge. […]

  27. Hello! | Meghan's Blog

    […] Week 1 challenge by Meghan posted under Megan's Stuff | 3 Comments »     3 Comments to […]

  28. Welcome to Jaci’s Blog!! | The Girls Room

    […] in school. I hope you enjoy them! I am also part of a blogging challenge, here is a link to the week one challenge. Please feel free to leave comments to let me know what you think of my writings and other things I […]

  29. Choucho Shoujo

    Done! Gah~! My PC crashed for a while, and then when I finally managed to get it working, it had two viruses on it. ^_^;

    Welp… I’m finally able to comment on this now! Voila~!

    http://frk6.edublogs.org/

  36. About Pages | Mrs. Martinez's Class Blog

    […] part of Group 2, we went to other blogs who are also in the Edublogs Class Challenge. Our job was to explore their “About” pages and decide what was similar and […]

  37. Laura S Cobo

    hi Miss W, i am a student from Colombia, and i will really like you to visit my blog and give me advises of how can i improve my blog.
    Thank you!

  43. Alex

    Hi, I finished challenge 1 and a blog that I enjoyed following and I thought was a good blog. Check it out at http://aidenp2.edublogs.org/ the name is Eat Desert First.

  44. Sarah

    A blog I recommend visiting is a girl named Kristen who looks like she has a new blog, and she only has a few posts. But I wish her luck with further blogging. Here is the link to her blog:
    http://studentbloggers.us/blogs/krt08cougar/
    The name of her blog is called ‘Kristen’s Blog’.

  50. Why visit blog? | Shyanne's Blog

    […] Week 1’s challenge was to write about why people should visit my blog.  Well I think it is important to visit my blog and other people’s blogs because other people how look on anyone’s blog is they want to see if maybe they live in a different state or country. Or do they have different weather ? You would want to maybe see there theme because the theme represents how they are as a blogger or just how they are like? Well if I would want to see someone’s blog I would want them to paint a picture so I can see it in my head. I think you should read people’s entries because you could get hooked so like maybe your like oh I think I want to learn more about this person. […]

  51. My Theme | Zachary's Blog

    […] one of the blogging challenge has just started and this blog post is to tell people why you like your theme. I like my theme […]

  54. Challenge 1 – Why should you visit our Blog? « Brilliant Bloggers

    […] You should visit our blog because we have lots of different exciting posts every day.We like to add vokis,video’s and leave comment’s on classes blogs come to our blog p5. We also have Wiki pages including E-PortFoliGlows here is a  link. You should visit our blog because our blog is great.When you go on our blog you get exciting posts look on our blog each and every day you go on our blog you get a exciting thing to read. We also post Voki’s because most blogs do so we figured out hoew to do it here is a link to instructions. Here is also a link to a voki we have posted  http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/201… […]

  59. Caitlyn

    Hello,
    Here is a blog I found interesting Her name was Maria Camila. She is from Colombia. Her URL is http://camilasbblog.weebly.com/ I founf that the colorful header was cool.

  68. dlam2015

    This is blog is kinda interesting to me
    First name Kris, country USA and here’s the URL: http://krisodom.blogspot.com/
    It’s interesting because it has some cool stuffs on the blog

  69. Sean

    Hello! This is Sean from Thailand. I found a student’s blog and the owner’s name was I think Ganga. I think he’s from the US. This is his blog URL: http://205ganga.edublogs.org/ One of his posts is really interesting.

  72. megantech71011

    I found a very interesting blog by Benjamin R. He is from the united states of america. His URL is http://lmsblogs.org/benjamin/. I liked his blog because his blog was very well written and if you are interested in history like I am it was very interesting.

  73. Visit My Blog. Now! | Ryan's Blog

    […] post is for Challenge 1 on the blogging challenge. I think that you should visit my blog because I will keep you informed. […]

  75. chloetech71011

    I found this blog very interesting, BenjaminR http://lmsblogs.org/benjamin USA 12 Soccer, and Basketball. I found it interestng how they used colors and different themes of writing.

  83. Hannah

    Hi Miss W!
    Sorry to be posting again but,
    I really think that you should visit my blog’s About ME page. I have a very different way of doing it, and I think you’ll like it. PLEASE visit it!
    Thanks,
    Hannah
    http://hannaho-21-hannah.blogspot.com/

  85. Hannah

    Hi!
    I visited a girl named Grace’s blog from New Zealand. I thought it was very cute, and her writing was more advanced then most nine year olds I know. I think you should visit her blog:

    http://blackfrog101.edublogs.org/

    Thanks!
    Hannah

  91. Irina

    Hi, i would like is you go into my blog. tks

    www. irinablog.weebly.com

  95. Why Should You Visit My Blog. | Khanh's Blog

    […] Should You Visit My Blog. This is the post for the first challenge of the March 2011 challenge. There are multiple reasons to visit my blog. You could learn a lot of […]

  97. My Incredibly Cool Blog | Tracy Khuong

    […] Challenge 1 Posted by hkhuong2015 on March 13th, 2011 at 6:56 am | Comments & Trackbacks (0) Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!) […]

  101. Rachster

    Hi Mrs. W!

    I think the Student Blogging Challenge is a geat idea! I only just started the challenge but I have had my blog for about a year now.

    All the activities are great fun and I like it how you give a range of activities to choose from.

    Rachster 😉

  105. Bulldog09

    Hi. I just signed up for the challenge. I haven’t yet been added to the list. I look forward to doing all the challenges.
    Bulldog09

  111. My Blog | Matt's Blog

    […] is my Challenge 1 post.  My Blog is full of interesting information and many different articles on many different […]

  118. About My Blog!!!!!!!!! | The Big Dog

    […] My name is Oscar and this is my blog. Im going to tell you about my blog. The first thing is it will  have a lot of post. Some of the post are going to be about math, science, languge arts, and history. It will also have a lot of cool things. Comments (0) […]

  119. Hello! | Michael Hartattack

    […] you for coming to my blog. I am in the Edublogs Challenge, and will be posting fun content. I like to use computers. I like them because you can do almost […]

  120. About Me | Marcos's Blog

    […] why I want to be an astronaut or an astronomer. My favorite baseball team is the SF Giants. The Edublogs Challenge looks […]

  121. Its Finaly Here… | Fury of life

    […] Bloggers! Let’s get ready for the Student Blogging Challenge. This activity is finally starting up again. I learned from my teacher and students from last year […]

  124. Blogging Challenge starts now :D | I-B-I - U-B-U

    […] : March 11th, 2011Category : UncategorizedAuthor : lexih2No comments The blogging challenge is here! It is supposed to help improve blogging and help you meet new people. It will make […]

  125. S.B.C. …… Student Blogging Challenge! | SLAPSHOT

    […] you improve your blog. If you are interested in trying the Student Blogging Challenge, go try challenge #1. I think the Challenges can help people connect with others around the world. I hope I get more […]

  130. sd21

    Miss W,
    I was not sure how to send a pingback/trackback, so This is the link to my website:
    http://sd21.edublogs.org/

    ~sd21

  131. My theme! | A childs point of view

    […] Date : March 10th, 2011Category : Challenge For The Blogs, Points of viewAuthor : ChloeNo comments The theme I chose for my blog has recenmtly changed to “ReTweet”. The reason why is because  it seemed very mondern. Also because I liked the look. Well, Now you have some background on the theme. (P.S This one of my first challenges.) […]

  132. Cassie

    One of the best blogs I’ve visited out of the 10 was connect the dots. I thought her posts were fun to read.

  134. Siabhaon

    Hi

    I tried to leave a link earlier but it didn’t work so I’m trying again.

    My New Theme

    Siabhaon

  135. Tamara

    Hey
    I’ve finished my new theme post

  136. mikaelatech71011

    HI! My favorite persons blog was MariaPaulaC from Columbia. She had a post on her blog that I think many people can realate to. She talked about Facebook. She informed us on who created it, some of its former names, and the background behind it. Very interesting to read!

    1. megan110gs

      Mrs. W,
      By the way I made a page for my challenges instead of a post.
      -Megan

  139. About Us | 6C Room 002

    […] post is in response to the 2011 March Student Blogging Challenge. Post a Comment    (0) Comments   Read More Create a free […]

  141. Visiting Reasons | Anna's Blog

    […] to visit my blog because it is very cool. It is a way to get to know me better.This post is for Challenge 1 in the March 2011 challenge. Comments (1) Create a free edublog to get your own comment […]

  142. Visiting Reasons [Post C1] | mikaela blog

    […] new ideas or things to try.  Some days you may even learn a little about me!  This post is for Challenge 1 in the March 2011 Challenge. Comments (0) Create a free edublog to get your own comment […]

  146. Kim

    Hi,
    Just wanted to say that this is great I’m learning lots and looking forward to sharing it all with my students.
    Thank you,
    Kim

  147. Blogging Challenge | Grade 2MK Leopold

    […] the ‘Blogging Challenge March 2011′. This is our first challenge to link back to home Challenge 1 page. Have a look at there blog by clicking onto Challenge 1. You may pick up some tips. I sure […]

  149. Siabhaon

    Hi,

    I finished my new Theme post.

    My new theme post.

  152. What factors affect climate?

    […] Don’t forget to work on your blog challenge posts as well! Posted in 1st Period, 2nd Period, 6th Period, 7th Period, meteorology […]

  153. Zachary W

    The blogging is really fun but many challenges, good luck

  156. Hello world! | Sweet Like Sunshine

    […] to Sweet Like Sunshine.  This year our class is doing a lot of blogging and I signed up to do the Edublog Challenge.On this blog I will be posting class assignments, the challenges for each week, and what is going […]

  158. READ THIS POST | Purple Blob

    […] post is for Challenge 1 in th march 2011 student challenge) Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and […]

  160. Utau Hoshino

    This is random, but some of my widgets wont work. Is it becuase I have the free version?

    1. Miss W.

      Utau,
      Some widgets don’t work in the free version like Voki but I think you can put it in a post just not in a sidebar.

      1. Utau Hoshino

        I tried, but it keeps on just leaving the little link thing that comes with most of them. I’ve tried one’s off widget box and stuuf and it wont work

      2. abbyscs15

        I hope you’ll visit my blog.

        1. Miss W.

          Hi Abby,
          I already visited your blog and left a comment on your ‘About’ page.

  161. <:.:anj1:.:>

    ok my blog is http://anj1.edublogs.org/ please come to my blog just please post the comment on the newest post my about me is hard to find…

  162. Utau Hoshino

    Ok… wheer are the others! Are they the same as the one’s from the last challenge? If not, hpw can I get ahead?

    1. Miss W.

      Utau,
      The idea is not to get ahead but do one week’s activities then spend time visiting other student or class blogs and leave comments on their posts.

  163. How are weather maps interpreted?

    […] the part one of the student blogging challenge has started. Please see here and here for more information. Make sure you finish your blog challenge activities by next Monday. Also, […]

  164. Logan Kehoe

    This is my challenge 1 post

  165. Aisling Byrne

    I was checking out some of the other blogs in the challenge as it is said to do above and I came across a brilliant one by Bree from New Zealand; http://breemb4.edublogs.org/. There was so much in it and it was very enjoyable to read!
    Aisling 🙂

  166. Must Read Posts | Teegan's Terrific Blog!! ©

    […] © 2008 andy.brandon50 | more info (via: Wylio) This post is for the first blogging challenge for March 2011. I have to highlight a few posts that I recommend you […]

  168. Challenge #1!!! | Fosgreenians Blog

    […] Blogging Challenge has begun! Visit the main site for the challenge here and complete the tasks this week. Many of these you have already completed, but this is a great […]

  170. Student Blogging Challenge #1

    […] first set of challenges for the Student Blogging Challenge is up. The Who Are You? challenge includes the following activities that you can complete with your blog […]

  172. Blog Update | Jazzing Up Eighth Grade

    […] Challenge #1!!! Get started! Recognize any links below? 🙂 | Fosgreenians Blog on AboutWho are you? Challenge 1-March 2011 | Challenge Yourself to Blog on Aboutmrsratzelsclass on Jazzing Up Eighth Grade on SketchfuTJ on Jazzing Up Eighth Grade on […]

  174. Alejandro

    I already posted this challenges are great!

  175. Claire Cheeseman

    volunteered for commenting on childrens blogs – have not been notified which blogs I am to do yet – please let me know thanks

    1. Miss W.

      Hi Claire,
      If you check out the page in the header of this blog ‘Students – March 2011’ and head down to the beginning 11 year olds, you will find your group. I did notify everyone as a reply comment on the post about teachers/educators wanted.

    2. kimscs15

      I hope you will visit my blog!!

Leave a Reply to Khanh Nguyen Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *