Visit the Blog at http://mjbrewer.edublogs.org
Please be sure to read the Blog Use Guidelines, the Nettiquette Guidelines, the Plagiarism Guidelines and the Guidelines on the Blog page. Remember that the blog is an extension of our classroom; ALL Rules and Expectations for the Classroom also apply to our Cyberspace Classroom.
¡Most Important!
¡DO NOT USE YOUR LAST NAME IN YOUR POSTS!
Use our blog to boast proud works, get homework help,
study for quizzes and exams,
share our fine works with the community, provide our parents
a chance to get involved,
and many other uses. This is our space!
Policies for Using this Blog & How to Use the Blog with Respect
Although some of you may use Instant Messaging or other forms of
electronic "talk," I want to establish some guidelines
for using this Blog site right from the start because I
view this site as a digital extension of our classroom.
This means that any rules or expectations I have for you in the classroom are the same rules and expectations I have for you here in Cyberspace, with one main exception: Do Not Use Your Last Name on the Blog.
Net etiquette, or "Netiquette" is the term used to describe
acceptable behavior on the Internet, be it in regards to email,
news, mailing lists or whatever. It also includes the types of
symbols and information used to convey emotion and body language,
which is obviously lacking in a text-only communication medium.
Even handwriting can say a lot about a person, but with typed messages, it's
much harder to get a sense of how an individual feels as a person (except, of
course, whether or not they can touch type and spell!).
Email can be just like a normal conversation - chatty and social talk with friends
and family, professional discussion, question-and-answer and sometimes will include
conversations with a stranger. Think of how you would normally conduct a conversation
or write a letter; those same rules apply here, but sometimes extra care must
be taken to express your thoughts and intentions clearly.
Use your judgement. Without the benefits of body language and social signals
that come from having a face-to-face conversation it can be easy to just type
a string of insults and invective directed against someone, which is not the
sort of thing that most of us would do in a normal conversation. Having this
sort of freedom on-line can be liberating, but it can also have its consequences.
Bullying, defamation, slander, verbal assault and harassment are all things which
can be transmitted through email. Violations will not be tolerated and all students
will be held to the following guidelines:
1. · 1st offense – the paper or material in question will be assigned zero points and the principal and your parents will be notified.
2. · 2nd offense – same as 1st offense, plus the student will be put on an administration contract indicating that a third offense will result in a loss of credit in the class.
3. · 3rd offense – loss of credit in the class plus disciplinary action.
A few style basics:
This is a normal tone of voice.
THIS IS SHOUTING!!!
This is placing EMPHASIS on one particular WORD OR PHRASE.
This is >more emphasized text<
Don't write your message all in capitals, as it can be a bit grating
if you imagine that the person is shouting all the time.
Quoting messages
If you are replying to a message it is often a good idea to quote
the original message or at least parts of it. This gives greater
context to your responses to the sender's comments or queries.
Quoted lines are marked with a ">" at the start:
An example of an email "conversation" using quoted material:
>
What is the name of that book with the whale and Ahab? I forget.
It's _Moby Dick_, by Herman Melville.
>
I've never gotten around to reading it but it sounds good. Have
you read it?
Yes, it's my favorite book.
Body Language and Emotion
People tend to use single words in between some sort of brackets
to indicate emotion and body language: (smirk)
People will also use emoticons (AKA smileys) to indicate emotions
or personal attributes. They are short strings of characters that
generally resemble some sort of facial expression :
| ;-> winking | :-) smiling |
| :-( frowning | :-o astonished |
| 8-) wears glasses | %:-> curly hair |
| 5:-) is Elvis =| | :^> Wears a top hat |
There are lots of other potential combinations, and you can always make up one that you think is appropriate.
Flames
Flames are insulting or derogatory postings or email messages.
When these sorts of messages start to fly back and forth, this
is known as a flame war. Many a good newsgroup or email mailing
list has died because of a flame war between a few people. Generally,
few people want to read something full of insults!
The foregoing text is adapted from http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/allenunwin/email/extras/ntqtt.htm
For more information visit: http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/II/Netethiquettecases
While I encourage you to work together in collaboration and discussion in and out of class, it is imperative that you turn in ORIGINAL WORK. Everything that you write must be in your OWN WORDS. Assignments turned in with identical or highly similar answers will both receive zero credit for the assignment. Information found in books, articles or on the World Wide Web should be summarized and cited appropriately. All students will be held to the following guidelines:
1. · 1st offense – the paper or material in question will be assigned zero points and the principal and your parents will be notified.
2. · 2nd offense – same as 1st offense, plus the student will be put on an administration contract indicating that a third offense will result in a loss of credit in the class.
3. · 3rd offense – loss of credit in the class plus disciplinary action.