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To moderate or not too moderate, that is the question. I have been experimenting with an eduBlogs blog the last few weeks and here are my conclusions.

To Moderate
To Not Moderate

Ensures that inappropriate comments are not posted by students
Slows down the collaboration process because you need to be logged in to Word Press in order [...]

I was at the printer this morning and found a lesson plan template for a 2nd grade teacher.  As I glanced down, I noticed that the kids did journal writing every day.  And a “oh, yeah, I used to do,” that thought popped into my head.
When I taught 3rd and 4th grade we used to [...]

Many teachers use a “ticket out of the classroom” system that concludes a lesson.  The teacher requires that kids write down something they learned. 
So, what not make that learned thought – public and archived. How……how about having kids post a comment to your blog.
When I taught third grade, I used to have the kids [...]

I was working with a fifth grade teacher today who wanted his kids to write reflections of their recent trip to Washington D.C. His students had typed a draft in Word already (yeehaw – someone gets it). As he conferenced with his kids, he did not feel that the kids were “getting it.” [...]

Skype does not have to be just a tool to communicate with others, you can also use it to brainstorm ideas and communicate with yourself.
I was writing a piece for a job application about what distinguishes me from others and I used Skype to let the ideas flow.
All I did was type in a topic [...]

What do you think and why? Use this web site to get ideas to support your opinion.

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Ideas and Content

Get to the point
paint a picture
narrow your topic
use your senses
details over generalization
observe and tell

Organization

strong lead
keep up the pace
gather information
guide your reader
link ideas together
end with a bang

Voice

Energy
Be You
Be an Expert
Make your writing sparkle
come alive
connect with your reader

Word Choice

Write with perspective
Be precise
clear and colorful
powerful verbs
words must convey mood
show meaning

Sentence Fluency

Vary sentence stucture and length
variety of [...]