LiveJournal+Tutorial

= Using LiveJournal in the Classroom =



**Justification:** Many of our students at Bristol-Plymouth already use LiveJournal on their own, so incorporating it in the classroom could be quite entertaining and useful to them. It would allow students in our English classes to post their essays ahead of time and receive comments either solely from the teacher or, if they choose, from other students. Also, it would allow the teacher to post information or thoughts on topics discussed in class, giving students the opportunity to respond.

LiveJournal is a popular blogging/social site that has been around since well before MySpace or Facebook hit the scene. LiveJournal is ideal for classroom use because profiles and communities (where group posting can, much like on a WikiSite) can be locked for privacy. Also, community maintainers (which would be the educator if the community is being used in a classroom setting) can moderate posts, maintain private community membership, and control whether or not outsiders can see posts.

LiveJournal is a free service (although one could register for a paid account with more space on it if they wished) but for classroom use the free account is fine. To get started, you must first register for an account.

Go to the front page, and click "create an account" in the top-right corner:



Then, fill out the necessary information:



Once you're registered, you can put biographical information into your profile. When prompting students to make their own profiles, you could use it as an opportunity to have them write the biographies beforehand as an assignment and then they can post those on the board after you've looked over/evaluated them.

Next, after you decline to get a paid account, confirm your account via email.



Once your account is confirmed, you can customize it a bit more by clicking the "add userpic" to your account, which will appear next to your name in all your postings (much like on the Moodle). I would suggest adding this as a requirement to student profiles when they're initially making these so their posts will be easier to tell apart from one another. If students take their userpics from a free community, make sure they give credit to the original artist/photographer in the comments under the picture.



The previous steps could be repeated when you're teaching your students to make their own profiles as well. However, as the educator you must set up the Community your students will be collaborating and posting their work on to (click the link to learn more about the communities from LiveJournal's site).

In options one and two you'll select a community name for the URL of the community and then the actual name of the community itself. For option three, select "Moderated Membership" so posts remain private to outsiders.



Next, select "Plus Account" for option four, "Non-Members Cannot Post" for option five, "All Members" for option six, and "Moderated" for option seven.

Finally, select "No Adult Content" for option eight. Then hit the "Create Community" button.



Once your community is created you can post your first assignment onto it.

Once you've given students their assignment and the URL of your community they can request membership so they can begin posting to it. "Pending Requests" will appear in your profile's mailbox.



Once you've received your students requests, click the "requested to join" link to see be able to approve them.

Once you're in the "Pending Membership Requests" menu, hit "Approve" on the accounts you'll let post. "Reject" will prevent a profile from being able to see posts on your community or allow others to post.

Since I've approved Rebecca's membership, she can now post in my community and comment on post's that are already there. However, before her work becomes visible I need to "unscreen" her posts. Now that her comment is "Unscreened" it's visible to any and all members who are logged-in and approved to post in our community.



Viola!

=__EDUCATION STANDARDS__=

** ISTE STANDARDS ** Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.
 * 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
 * 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments**
 * 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility**

**MA STANDARDS**
** Standard 2. ** Demonstrate the responsible use of technology and an understanding of ethics and safety issues in using electronic media at home, in school, and in society. ** Standard 3. ** Demonstrate the ability to use technology for research, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.