Things are brewing on the 31 Days -Commenting Challenge Wiki . Everyone is adding their ideas to what kind activities will keep the participants interested, active, and engaged. We are looking for activities that will challenge our thinking, writing and will aid in the process of becoming better commenters.
Michele Martin is putting together some great day-to-day activities. Watch for news on the Wiki .
So here is the logistics part of commenting.
Sometimes, depending on the blog theme or where you are on the blog, the comments are not visible to see right away. When you are on the main blog page (ex. www.langwitches.org/blog ) you will only read the post, but no comments are visible. You need to look for and physically click on either the title of the blog post or the “comments” link, which is usually located at the bottom of the post.
If you are already on the individual blog post (ex. www.langwitches.org/blog/2008/04/29/31-day-commenting-challenge ) you should see the comments already written and the textbox for you to type in already at the bottom of the post.
Before you are allowed to hit the submit button, some blogs ask you to type in an Anti-Spam word or solve a simple addition problem. Just type in the exact same letters in the textbox right next to the word provided.
Now you are ready to actually type in your comment in text, directly into the bigger textbox, but there are a few other formatting things you can do If you want you comment to either stand out or be a little “dressed up”.
In comes some HTML code. Now remember, you DON’T have to use this code. Plain text is just as good and most of the time sufficient. On Langwitches, you will not see the HTML code help as it is shown in the screenshot above on Kim’s edublog for example, but you can nevertheless type the code in and it will show up formatted in the comment.
This code turns this reply into…
…this comment
It is very nice for readers of your comment to be able to directly be able to click on any link you are referencing without having to copy/paste the URL into their browser.
Most blogs will also translate the emotion icons, such as the smilies and frowns into the yellow round little circles if you use them colon + ( for frowns and colon “:” + ) for happy faces 
Edublogs, Blogger and WordPress are all a little different in how they interface looks like. Some blogs( blogger accounts) will allow you to preview your comment before actually posting it too.
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I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …
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Heather Durning who blogs on Mrs. D’s Flight Plan has graciously allowed me to cross post her latest post here on Langwitches. I believe her blog post is invaluable as it fulfills the need to document, summarize and assess learning outcomes when leading your students with new forms of teaching …
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I am thrilled to be publishing a guest post by Andrea Hernandez, cross posted from EdTechWorkshop Blog on Langwitches. In an earlier post, The Science of Play, I shared my ideas about the importance of playful learning, the type of learning observed in very young children. In my personal experience …
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I have been blogging for 6 years now… I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches) I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part …
(2 Comments)
This is Part VII in the series “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part II B: Student Writing Part III: Commenting Part IV: Connecting Part V: Reciprocating Part VI: Consistency Reading, responding, assessing and monitoring our students’ progress on their …
(22 Comments)
This is Part VI in the series “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part II B: Student Writing Part III: Commenting Part IV: Connecting Part V: Reciprocating I have seen many teachers start blogs (professional and classroom ones), only to …
(7 Comments)
I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …
(23 Comments)
In an attempt to document the trials and errors of using a classroom set of 20 iPads in our K-8 school, I am adding a new post to the collection of iPads in the Classroom: Transliteracy- QR Codes and Art Working on iPad Fluency with Lower Elementary Students Step-by-Step: How …
(29 Comments)
This is Part VII in the series “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part II B: Student Writing Part III: Commenting Part IV: Connecting Part V: Reciprocating Part VI: Consistency Reading, responding, assessing and monitoring our students’ progress on their …
(22 Comments)
I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …
(23 Comments)
Teaching ourselves, our students and other educators how to use screenshooting (images) and screencasting (video) tools is a relevant skill to have that integrates in so many areas. Think Tutorial Designers (A role from the Digital Learning Farm) or the Flipped Classroom model. Being able to create, share and take …
(7 Comments)
Should Teachers Be More Like Conductors? This bog post from 2009 took me to the following TED talk by Itay Talgam. Although I am not a musician, nor listen to much classical music, I was mesmerized. This TED talk was geared towards organization leaders, but I so agree with Tania …
(4 Comments)
I have been blogging for 6 years now… I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches) I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part …
(2 Comments)
I had the opportunity to speak to Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. Two educators who are making a difference in their students’ lives as well as thousands of other students and teachers from around the world. Vicki is a teacher from Camila Georgia. She blogs on the Coolcatteacher blog and …
(1 Comment)
This is a short TED talk by Raghava KK, the illustrator of the iPad book POP-IT – Raghava KK Inc. This video is not a commercial about the artist’s iPad book though, but shares a message about the importance of raising our children with PERSPECTIVE. In his book, children …
(No Comments)
I have been blogging for 6 years now… I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches) I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part …
(2 Comments)
This is Part VII in the series “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part II B: Student Writing Part III: Commenting Part IV: Connecting Part V: Reciprocating Part VI: Consistency Reading, responding, assessing and monitoring our students’ progress on their …
(22 Comments)
This is Part VI in the series “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part II B: Student Writing Part III: Commenting Part IV: Connecting Part V: Reciprocating I have seen many teachers start blogs (professional and classroom ones), only to …
(7 Comments)
I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …
(23 Comments)
In an attempt to document the trials and errors of using a classroom set of 20 iPads in our K-8 school, I am adding a new post to the collection of iPads in the Classroom: Transliteracy- QR Codes and Art Working on iPad Fluency with Lower Elementary Students Step-by-Step: How …
(29 Comments)
Transliteracy is defined on Wikipedia as The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means …
(11 Comments)
Transliteracy is defined on Wikipedia as The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means …
(11 Comments)
I posted a few weeks ago about the ongoing Teddy Bears Around the World (now in its fourth year) project. The project blog and hub can be be found at http://www.langwitches.org/blog/travel/teddybearsaroundtheworld/ I have created a How-to-Guide in order to articulate how and why to join such a project, to make …
(3 Comments)
I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …
(No Comments)
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