Why do we need mentors in the blogging challenge?

When I first began the challenge back in 2008, there were only about 200 students taking part and I could visit each of them three times over the ten week period.

But in the last few challenges, there have been  over 1300 students and there was no way I could visit them regularly.  So in 2010 I started asking people in education to mentor a small group 20-30 students over the ten week period of September to November or March to May.

If you register to be a mentor, please keep checking back on this post as I will allocate the students to you and mention in your comment reply who you will be visiting. I will also send you an email reminding you about checking this post early in the challenge.

As soon as students start registering in mid February, I will allocate mentors so please keep checking out the student participant’s page in the main header above to find out who you are mentoring.

Who can be a mentor?

  • classroom teacher or homeschool teacher
  • principal or senior staff or faculty members
  • trainee teachers
  • students who have taken part in at least two sets of previous challenges
  • educational coaches or trainers
  • regular blogger about educational matters

What do you do if you are a mentor?

  • Visit your allocated student blogs at least three times throughout the challenge
  • Leave comments on posts written by the students
  • Continue conversations in the comments
  • Remind them about visiting the main blogging challenge page each week
  • Contact me by email or a comment if having concerns or problems (contact is on right sidebar)

So you have read the above and have decided you have the time to visit the student blogs, now it is time to register.

In a comment below, mention the following:

  • A short bio of yourself including some interests
  • Link to your own blog, especially a class blog or your personal blog – allows me to check validity as an educator
  • Age group you would like to mentor

Now fill in the form below.

The spreadsheet created by this form will be for my eyes only, so please include an email as this will be the easiest way for me to contact all mentors. It saves copying and pasting from your comment.

 

69 thoughts on “Mentor registration

  1. Hi Sue, I haven’t been around for awhile but was involved in the student blogging mentor program a few years ago. I am currently employed as Head Teacher, Teaching and Learning, in a secondary school in NSW, but have 20yrs experience working in K-6 classrooms. I am happy to mentor students from any age group. Hope I’m not too late to get on board. You can find my blog at: http://vanessajenkins.edublogs.org/

  2. G/day Sue,
    My name is Galina Smirnova, a school teacher from Russia. I’ve been teaching graders of primary, middle and high school. My interests are on-line learning, WEB2.0, travelling, reading, nature.
    This time I’d like to mentor, it will be my first experience. So, I’d prefer a group of 10 – 15 students of 10 – 12 years old.
    My new blog is
    http://kidblog.org/mrsgennsclassroom/author/ff5f4bce-d136-4587-bbc8-9aa94fc5da9f
    My blog name will be Mrs Genn.

    1. G’day Mrs Genn,
      I have given you a group of 11 year old students. Above the flags on the challenge blog, click on the student area then scroll down to the 11 year old group and your students will be in a light purple colour. They are all from the same class if you want to contact the teacher at any time. Here is a link to her class blog where you could leave a comment for her. http://blogs.egusd.net/msgaviola/ I couldn’t find her on twitter.

  3. Hi I am Fiona and I teach a class of 30 year 4/5 (8 and 9 year old). I live in Wangnaui, New Zealand. Our class blog is http://mosstonbloggers.blogspot.co.nz/ We are also trying to do the blogging challenge this term. I am passionate about the integration of technology in the class and having students collaborate and share their learning with a global audience. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, going for walks, spending time with my family, and spending time at the beach.

    1. G’day Fiona,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor. I have given you a group of 11 year old students. You have a wide range of countries included. To find the students, click on the student link above the flags on the challenge blog and scroll down to the 11 year old group. Yours are in a light orange type colour.

    1. Thanks Shannon for offering to mentor. I have allocated a group of 10 year old students to you. To find them, click on the student link above the flags on the challenge blog, scroll down to 10 year olds and find the pale yellow group including your name.

  4. http://www.sanambrosio.edublogs.org

    I’m Principal Teacher of Modern Languages at St. Ambrose HS in Coatbridge Scotland. I’m a mum to a 6 year old too. I lead a club one night a week for Autistic children or children who are Downs. I enjoy technology for enhancing learning and teaching.
    🙂

    1. G’day Angela,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor. I have allocated you a group of 13 year old students. They are from a variety of classes. To find the students, click on the student page above the flags on the challenge blog, scroll down to the 13 year old list and you and your group are in a pale blue colour. Again thanks for mentoring and if you have any problems, contact me here or via my email which is on the front of the challenge blog.

  5. Hi, my name is Cathy Emerick. I am a sixth grade language arts and reading teacher in Connecticut. My interests are reading, exercise (Zumba/Step classes), exploring technology and spending time with family. I have been blogging for almost two years. I would like to mentor 10-12 year olds. My class blog is bmsemerick.edublogs.org.

    1. G’day Cathy,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor. I have allocated you a group of 12 year old students. They are in blue in the student list above the flags in the challenge blog.

  6. Hi. My name is Katrina aka Miss Velasco. I’m born & raise in California. I’m a middle school English teacher. My interests are reading, art, music, movies etc. I would like to mentor 11-13 year olds as that is the age group I teach. My blog: http://kidblog.org/ecpbloggers/

    1. G’day Miss Velasco,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have allocated you a group of 13 year old students. They are in a pale purple colour on the Student list above the flags on the challenge blog. They are all from the same teacher, so if you want to make contact, feel free to get in touch with me.

        1. They are all taught by Mrs Tracy Kriese http://wrmstkriese.edublogs.org/ If you are on twitter, you will notice they have a twitter account at @Kriese7thELA If you want her email, you will need to send me an email to my account seen on the front of the student challenge blog.

  7. Hi Miss W,

    My class blog this year is kps6b.global2.vic.edu.au but it’s fairly new. You can look at last year’s if you like as there is more on it, it is 6bkps.global2.vic.edu.au.

    Most of my students have joined up to the challenge. I’m happy to mentor either my group of students or another group, whatever you think will work best. My students’ blogs start with KPS. Thanks 🙂

    1. Thanks Erin for offering to mentor. I have allocated you a group of 11 year olds. You might be able to pair up students in your class with one of these students to make more connections. Your students are from a variety of countries so if you want more details about teachers to make class connections, contact me.

      To find the students, open the page labelled Students above the flags on the challenge blog, scroll down to 11 year olds and you and your group are in a pale blue colour.

  8. Hello, I am the 21st Century Skills teacher in the middle school for grades 5-8. It is a perfect job for me since I am a library media specialist with both a literacy and computer background. I worked for IBM before becoming a teacher in 1998. My husband Jerry and I have been married at least twice as long as most of you have been alive! I have two sons, Ryan and Dan, and a daughter in law, Kristen. I have an 8 month old Havanese – Poodle mix puppy named Dobby (after the house elf in Harry Potter). He rules my life at the moment! My hobbies are reading and photography. I’m very honored because some of my pictures are hanging outside the office and in the library.
    Our class blog is creans21.edublogs.org

    1. I would be happy to comment on any age group, but would prefer ages 11-14 eso I can see what other students like the ones I teach are doing. Thanks!

    2. G’day Mrs Crean,
      I have allocated some 12 year old students to you. Find them in the student list above the flags on the challenge blog. Scroll down to the 12 year olds and your name and group are in a pale blue. They are from two classes, so if you want to contact the teachers I can give you details.

  9. Howdy!
    I am interested in mentoring a small group of students, either upper primary or middle school. I am a sixth grade Language Arts teacher from Virginia. This is my first year blogging with my 70 students. I intend to launch the blogging challenge next week, after our benchmark tests are complete. As we don’t have laptops or tablets in our classrooms yet (coming next fall), I will probably only have a small number (less than 20) students who will sign up. Still, I would be happy to mentor a small group, too. Our class blog is http://mrsrombachreads.edublogs.org. Thanks so much,

    Martha

    1. G’day Martha,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor. I have allocated you some 11 year old students. Thanks for supporting the challenge and allowing your students to participate.

      To find the students, look above the flag header for the students list. Open the page and scroll down to the 11 year olds and find your name in the yellow area. Your students will also be in yellow.

  10. I love the idea of mentors supporting students’ learning and blogging. My class still won’t feature unfortunately (and I can’t mentor) but I do wish you (Sue and everyone involved) all the best. I’m sure you are feeling well rewarded for all your efforts. Cheers, Al

  11. Hi Sue,
    My name is Katelyn and I have been blogging with my students for 2 years now. I currently teach Grade 3/4 students in Sunbury, Victoria, Australia. I am trying to get my students up and running with GAFE and they’re really getting into blogging with other classes. Our class blog address is http://learninglizards.global2.vic.edu.au We are not participating in the blog challenge this time around as this is my students’ first experience with blogging, but definitely will be next time.
    I would love to be a mentor for student bloggers! I also have a personal blog at http://hellokaddy.global2.vic.edu.au (Haven’t updated in a couple of weeks to be honest!)
    Thanks,
    Katelyn 🙂

    1. G’day Miss Fraser, I thought you might like to mentor some ten year old students. They are from a variety of countries which means you might also be able to skype with them. Check out the student list above the flags on the challenge blog, scroll down to the ten year olds and find your name which is in blue.

  12. Hello Miss W! I’m happy to help as a mentor in the blogging challenge.

    I am the technology teacher and coordinator for a Preschool – Grade 8 school in Joliet, IL. It is about 45 minutes away from Chicago.

    My 4th and 8th graders are participating in the blogging challenge this time around. They are using Kidblog.

    I have had my students participate for several years and I really enjoy the authentic audience they receive!

    1. G’day Theresa,
      Have left you a tweet and allocated some 11 year olds for you to look after. Many are still password protected but I have contacted the teacher. If still protected at Easter I will delete.

  13. Hi Sue
    I’m a teacher librarian at a K-12 School in Victoria. In the past I’ve taken part in the challenge with Grade 5/6 and would love to be involved again, so if I can assist by being a mentor, please count me in. I’m happy to take whatever age you need.
    I can manage Indonesian if that’s any help.
    Regards
    Carole
    http://mecslib.edublogs.org

    1. Hi Carole,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor. I have allocated a group of 12 year old students to you. Find them in the list above the flags on the challenge blog. Contact me if you have questions or problems as a mentor.

  14. G’day Carmen,
    Thanks for offering to mentor. I have allocated you some 14 year old students to look after. You will find them in an orange colour in the Student March 2014 page in the header of this blog.

    Feel free to contact me if any problems with the mentoring.

  15. Hello,
    I teach social sciences at an high school which has the main field of training – economics, and I have experience in blogging, being the school blog administrator and having as task updating periodically (http://colegiuleconomictargoviste.wordpress.com) but also in an european project – reading club, a blog which has been awarded in 2009 (http://draculabetweenthelines.blogspot.com). Another experience in blogging was in Grundtvig project, which has been addressed to adults education (http://l2lbyte.wordpress.com and http://grundtvigproject.wordpress.com).
    I am looking forward to meet your challenges.
    Carmen. R.

  16. Hi, I am an ICT Coach and former classroom teacher who has used blogs regularly in her class. I would love this opportunity to mentor students ages 9-11, and learn more about what makes a great blog and how to write effective posts etc… I think this Student Blogging Challenge is an excellent way for students to have an authentic audience. My current blog is: ristechblog.blogspot.ae
    gr2withmrspolly@blogspot.com is a former classroom blog I used a few years ago with my grade 2 students.

    1. G’day Mary Kay,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have allocated you some 10 year old students. All those from USA are from the same teacher Mrs Allen.

      You will find the list in the header in the student March 2014 page. Scroll down to the 10 year olds and yours are a pale red colour.

      Get back to me if you have any problems with the challenge. Also thanks for having some of your students register as well.

  17. Hi Sue
    I would be happy to be a mentor again. I have loved connecting with previous participants as a mentor. I work with a number of Primary students in Melbourne Australia and have about 80 registered this time for the challenge (or will do very soon)
    I would prefer younger students – primary ages, but will help out where you have the need.
    These are the two Class Sites for the two school groups I have registered this time
    http://stscholsstudentblogs.global2.vic.edu.au/
    http://stlukesstudentblogs.global2.vic.edu.au/
    We have lots to do to get ready for the challenge start next week!
    Thanks
    Celia

    1. Hi Celia,
      Thanks for mentoring again. I have given you a small group because I know you are at a new school and have a lot on your plate blogging with large numbers this year.

      Could you look after the 8/9 year olds that are registered so far?

  18. I teach in a middle school in Kansas…both math and science. My classes have done the blogging challenge before and learned so much. This time I want to give the opportunity to my newspaper club and see what they can do with it.

    My personal blog is http://www.teachingtechie.typepad.com and my newspaper club blog is at http://lmsblogs.org .

    I’m looking forward to this challenge.

    1. G’day Marsha,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have allocated a group of 13 year olds to you – they are in orange in the student March 2014 page in the header area.

      Get back to me if any problems with their blogs.

  19. Hello Sue,

    I teach 7th grade in Austin, Texas. I would be happy to mentor a group of middle or high school students. My interests include SuperWhoLock and Star Trek, college football, and everything reading and writing.

    My students and I blog at http://wrmstkriese.edublogs.org. My personal blog is at http://mrskriese.edublogs.org, and you can find me on Twitter at @mrskriese106.

    I have been a mentor in the past and am looking forward to participating again. My students will be registering on Monday.

    Tracy Kriese

    1. I see I made an error in giving the address of my personal blog. I’m at http://mrskriese.edublogs.org. The other address is a class blog from two years ago…my apologies! I still use mrskriese106 for my twitter handle, hence the typo.

      I will also mention with regard to the class and student registration for the challenge that we will be on spring break when the first assignment is issued on March 9, but we will do our best to get caught up when we return to school the following week.

      Thank you, Sue, for all that you do!

      Tracy Kriese

    2. G’day Tracy,
      Thanks for offering to mentor a group. I have allocated you some 13 year old students. They are green in the Students March 2014 page in the header of the challenge blog.

      Some of the blogs still need privacy settings changed but I will contact teachers after the first challenge if this still hasn’t been fixed.

  20. Hi Sue ,
    It’s Emmalie here and I would like to be a mentor ! (please) I love to read books – and other students blogs . The best age group for me would probably be best working with (9-12) year olds .
    Sincerely
    Emmalie Conroy

    1. G’day Emmalie,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor. I have give you a group of 10 year old students. Remember part of mentoring is all about teaching them to be safe online – first name only, no birth dates, phone numbers or addresses.

      To find your students check the Students March 2014 page in the header and scroll down to the 10 year olds. Yours will be in green.

  21. Dear Ms. Sue
    I’m happy new challenge is coming and I would like to take part as past challenges as a Mentor for oldest grades. (it was above 15 years old ones in last challenge )

    I hope in new challenge the teachers make it clear to their students that it’s necessary to have more cooperation with mentors.

    1. G’day Astaneh,
      Thanks for offering to mentor again. I have mentioned in a post for students to comment back and make connections with their mentors. I will also mention the same to the teachers.

      I have given you those 16 and older but might have to split into two groups if more of these age groups register. Most of the students are from Mrs Flower’s Russian class and have taken part in many blogging challenges.

  22. Hello!
    I am a seventh grader in Jacksonville, Florida. I have taken place in three or four other challenges, mentoring in one or two. I am 12, and already signed up as a student. I can take about 10-15 kids who are ten or eleven. My blog is mjgds.org/students/jakeg.

    1. G’day Jake,
      Thanks for offering to be a mentor again. I will give you a group of 10 year olds. They are in orange in the list in the header.

      Good luck with your schoolwork as well. Get back to me if it is too much to mentor as well.

  23. Hi, I teach 11th, 12th, and 6th grade English at the International Christian School of Vienna (Austria). I was certified in Texas, and I’d love to participate in this year’s challenge. http://msweddle.edublogs.org/ My honors classes already have their own blogs and are ready for new assignments.

    1. G’day Julie,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have allocated you some 12 year old students but I notice quite a few still have to get their privacy settings changed so comments can be left. I will send an email to their teacher after the first challenge if it has not been changed.

      To find your students, open the Students March 2014 page in the header and scroll down to the 12 year old group. Yours should be in pink.

  24. I teach third grade (age 8-9) in Apache Junction, Arizona. I have been blogging with my classes for three years. I haven’t been a mentor before but we always participate in the challenge and I would love to help! I’d be most comfortable mentoring elementary (age 12 or under) bloggers. Our class blog’s URL is: http://blogs.goaj.org/mrshamman/

    1. G’day Shauna,
      Thanks so much for offering to mentor. I have allocated you a group of 10 year old students. Please check the student March 2014 page in the blog header to find your students (they are in green)

  25. My name is Sean O’Brien, and I’m an English teacher and literacy specialist at Tech Valley High School in upstate New York; I’m also a cyclist, avid reader, and a teacher consultant for the National Writing Project. Though I’ve been teaching middle school and high school for 25 years, I’m new to blogging – We follow a project-based learning model here, and my 30 ninth grader are blogging as an English project. We’ve never done the challenge before.

    Our class blog is here: https://techvalleyfrosh.edublogs.org/

    I’d love to help out, both for the experience and the global connections!

    1. G’day Sean,
      Thanks for offering to mentor and also have your students involved. Feel free to send me any ideas for challenges from either your students or yourself.

      I have allocated you a group of 14 year olds and made sure none of them are from your class.

      Please check the student March 2014 page and scroll down to the 14 year olds to find your name – green I think – and the students assigned to you.

  26. I’d love to participate as a mentor again. Have enjoyed supporting students and teachers who share with us their thoughts, ideas and passions.

  27. Hi Sue, My name is Merry Beau. I am a Primary Teacher from Ireland. My interests include gardening, history, art, music and blogging with my students.

    I have had a class blog ‘If Only The Best Birds Sang’ @ http://merrybeau.edublogs.org for some time. My class learned a lot and made connections globally from participating in the Student Blogging Challenge in March 2013.

    I am best equipped to mentor children at the primary level up to the age of 12 but could work with older students also.

    1. G’day Merry,
      Can’t wait to meet you and your students in June. I have allocated you a group of ten year old students who are very keen. The Aussie students are from Celia Coffa, who is also a mentor in the comments further down.

      1. Dia Dhuit Miss W 🙂
        Looking forward to meeting you too.
        Thanks for my allocation of students.
        Looking forward to visiting their blogs.

  28. Hello,
    I am a 5th grade teacher at West Harrison Elementary in Mondamin, Iowa.
    I have been teaching for 12 years. 5th graders are my favorite.
    I am an avid reader, I enjoy making connections and flattening the walls.
    My kids and I are obsesssed with Mystery Skypes. We have blogged all year this year and took part in the fall version of the challenge. It was a blast!
    I am a huge advocate of paying things forward and collaborating!
    http://kidblog.org/FeltonsFifth/
    Twitter: @feltonsfives
    Gina!

    1. G’day Gina,
      You have a keen group of 11 year old students to help. Most are from the same class with Celia Coffa who is also a mentor further down the comments.

  29. My name is Dinah Hunt and I’m a Media Specialist at a college instructional resource center. I help teacher education students with their production, library and technology needs. My interests involve exploring web tools and educational technology.

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