Online Etiquette

Hello again Shakespeare Students,

Before we begin posting and commenting on our blog, I wanted to take some time to go through some important guidelines for online safety.  I am willing to bet that all of you have been on a website where there is a section for comments.  If you have ever read the comments, say, on a Youtube video, you have probably noticed some incredibly harsh things.  The anonymous nature of the internet can cause people to say things that they never would in person.  They are rude and often profane to people that they disagree with.  We are not creating this blog as a tool to hide behind.

We are using this blog with the express purpose of creating an online learning community.  And in that community we want everyone to feel as though they are safe in sharing their opinion.  With that in mind there are a few guidelines that I expect you to take into account when we are posting or commenting.

1. There is to be no profane language in your posts.  All posts are expected to be school appropriate.  Yes at some points Shakespeare does swear in his text, which may bring up challenges when paraphrasing.  I am confident that you can use your creativity to come up with a school appropriate substitute.  
2. Argument is great!  Argument is a great starter for a really intelligent conversation, if it is done right.  If you disagree with someone, feel free to say so.  However, you must be ready to back up your point with at least two sentences explaining your reasoning.  And no, insulting the person who wrote the post does not count as proper reasoning, regardless of what you might read in a lot of internet comments.
3. Any inappropriate comments will be removed from the blog and you will not receive credit for that post.  First offense you will have one chance to repost and after that you simply will not receive credit.
4. If there is any question about whether your post is appropriate you may always email me what you are planning on posting and I will let you know.
5. In general, however, don't say anything you wouldn't say to another's face, or anything that you would not want said to yours.

I believe that this can be a great experience for this class.  I hope that everyone will take advantage of it.  

Ms. Kindel

Welcome to our Blog

Hi Shakespeare Students,

Welcome to the blog component of our class.  There are two main things that we will use this blog for.

1. I will post weekly discussion/writing prompts on this blog.  These prompts will have to do with our reading for the week.  I may have you analyze a quote, give your opinions on a character or to put a section of text into your own words.  Your job will be to reply to this post as a comment.  I will also ask you to comment on another student's post.

     Guidelines:

• Posts should be 1-2 paragraphs in length, comments should be 3-4 sentences in length
• Posts should attempt to be meaningful and provide for discussion.
• Make sure to answer all questions in the prompt as there may be multiple points.
• Comments and Posts should be appropriate (I will post more on this in a separate post about online safety before we start)
• Prompts will be posted on Mondays and you will have until Wednesday to reply
• When commenting you must say more than a simple "good job."  Ask a question, add to a statement, go further.  If you do want to say what you like/disliked be sure that you explain why.

2. We will then use the discussions on the blog to help further our class discussions.  

I hope you guys are looking forward to the blogging experience.  I think it will be a great way to add collaboration to our discussion of meaning and themes.

Ms. Kindel