How can sharing our ideas online have a positive effect on our community?

^{makeawebsiteforfree}

The thing that helps me come up with what the subject of the blog is a mind-map. The mind -map that I use as a basis for all of the subjects for my blogs, was a homework asignment for the 6th grade Design Tech class. Here is the extremely helpful "map":

1: Blogging is free!

2: You can leave comments on certain posts

3: The owner of the blog has the power to moderate blogs

4: The blog owner is able to allow/dis-allow the blog to be seen publicly (i.e. on Google, Google+, etc.)

5: The blog can be edited/rewritten and, unlike a website, a blog is made so that the owner has to or can come back and add to it. Whereas on a website, it's more fact base so there isn't usually reason to maintain it. Then it just sits there and is pushed to the back of the shelf, so to speak.


   

When I create my blogs, I like to sort of incorporate a certain theme. One example is if I were doing a blog about the world, I might have pictures of the Earth, or if I were doing a blog about books, I might have the background look like an open book, or a stack of paper. I guess the point that I am trying to get across is, if you create a blog about one think, don't have the theme/layout be something that would clash with it. If the blog is about world-wide peace, don't make the color scheme red and black.

The best thing about blogging is the fact that when you blog with blogger, you can edit the template. There are two ways to edit a template. The first way to edit the template is to use the pre-arranged template customizer. The other way (which I personally deem quite useful) is to edit the HTML/CSS.

We can use our blogs to share our ideas safely by using netiquette.    Some examples are*: 

Basic Blogging Bylaws

1. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home, in other countries) to know.

Ask yourself: Is this something I want everyone to see?

2. Do not share personal information.  

Ask yourself: Could someone find me (in real life) based on this information?

3. Think before you post.

Ask yourself: What could be the consequences of this post?

4. Know who you’re communicating with.

Ask yourself: Who is going to look at this, and how are they going to interpret my words?

5. Consider your audience and that you’re representing Le Jardin Academy (lejardinacademy.org).

Ask yourself: Do I have a good reason/purpose to do this?

6. Know how to give constructive feedback.

Ask yourself: What will I cause by writing this post?

7. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.

Ask yourself: Would I want someone to say this to me?

8. Use appropriate language and proper grammar and spelling.

Ask yourself: Would I want this post to be graded for proper grammar and spelling?

9. Only post information that you can verify is true (no gossiping).

Ask yourself: Is this inappropriate, immature or bullying?

10. Anytime you use media from another source, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work.  

Ask yourself: Who is the original creator of this work?

On that note, I got this information from the 6th grade Design Tech Blog (www.ljadtmyp1.blogspot.com).