Howdy, (World) Neighbour!

Welcome by alborzshawn

Actually, the key is to connect!

Make yourself at home– we welcome you!

If you’re here from the Student Blogging Challenge or Quad Blogging, please say where you’re from, what you like to do, and something unique about yourself. We enjoy meeting our neighbours, be you from our school, our Valley, our country – continent – hemisphere – or many, many time zones away.

Our friendly promise: when you leave a comment on this blog or the student blogs we will do our best to answer back on our blogs and try to leave a comment on yours if you leave a link.

Please leave thoughtful comments, more than “Hey, nice blog, come see my blog!” We call that Nicki Nicki Nine Doors commenting. It’s like ringing our door bell and running away. If you are from the UK, you might call it Knock Knock Ginger while in the US it’s known as Ding Dong Ditch. We would like to open the door on real conversations.

So please, take time to read our work, think about what we say, offer feedback or ask a question. We will try to do the same.

Bloggers, do you get “Nicki Nicki Nine Doors” comments? How do you handle them? What should teachers and students be doing to encourage quality conversations on blogs?

12 comments

  1. Hi Huzzah!

    The mat drawn on the concrete so the key can’t be under it is great – it shows you have such a sense of humour, I love that picture! What made you think of that? It really made me laugh. What other funny things can you think of? I think Quad blogging is a great idea because it connects you with other people from around the world.

    Your blogging friend

    Nicola
    Room 24, Taradale Intermediate

    1. Hello Blogging Friend–Hello Nicola! What a lovely comment.

      About the mat…maybe there was a mat on the concrete–and maybe even a key under it. Yes, I think having a sense of humour is important, so maybe that is why I chose it. I also like that it’s not perfect–sometimes we don’t attempt things if they aren’t going to be perfect, and that’s regrettable. Funny? Well, I think my students are very funny. We do an awful lot of laughing in our classroom. I am glad you enjoy blogging, and I really do appreciate your comment.

      Best wishes,
      Ms. Smith

  2. Wow, Huzzah, what a great image and a thought provoking post. Love the caption. We have been getting back into our blogging as we start a new school year in Tasmania. Luckily we have not had many Nicki, Nicki Nine Doors comments on our class blog although we do get passersby who add to our visit count but choose not to speak.

    We are talking and sharing our ideas about quality comments and hoping to practise these by visiting more blogs soon. We do lots of modelling to help us learn.

    Thanks for introducing me to a new term. Nicki, nicki nine doors.

    regards
    Mrs S from Tasmania

    1. Hi Miss S and Class 4ds, thanks for visiting!

      I once heard a statistic that for every 100 pair of eyes on your blog, you may get one or two comments. In general edubloggers seem to get a few more as there is goodwill towards students. I think quality posts and genuine commenters (who visit and encourage others) will see more commenting.I tell my students that blogging is about reading first. I agree that modelling and practice are the way to build confidence and competence in blogging.

      Thank you for including your url–I will be visiting you!
      Best wishes,
      Jan Smith

    1. Hello Mrs. Cook!

      We love your comments–I hope you can see our smiles across the Atlantic and across the continent. We are excited about our connections with you and your Year 9 students–and we understand that you won’t get to commenting often–we look forward to any connection we can make.

      Best wishes to you and your students!

  3. Hi Huzzah!
    Great post I love the picture I found it very humorous!
    I try to visit your blog a lot it’s just hard to keep up with all your students blogs. I try my best to comment on all of them and I don’t usually see much comments were people don’t care to put much thought. I occasionally get them on my blog and I always try to respond to keep the conversation going. I love your blog and I also love your students blogs keep up the good work I’m sure you’ll see me around more often neighbor!

    1. Hi Dakota, just great to hear from you–I know you and the Ripple Effect are always involved in great learning. I hope my message is not misunderstood–we welcome comments, we love to publish and respond and connect. The challenge we (not just me, the whole class) have been facing is that we’ve been getting many (too many) “Cool!” or “Nice sk8brd” comments. Most don’t get published by the students because there really isn’t a conversation to be had. I am really glad that you get thoughtful comments on your blog–you deserve the consideration.
      You’re always welcome on our doorstep!

  4. I love the “key is under the mat,” it is something to say to people who are welcome in your home…in this case the blog is home to all who choose to enter! I am working on starting a blog with my kindergarten class and hope that families feel welcome there as well.

    1. Well, thanks for visiting and best wish to you this school year. Good luck with blogging, I hope your families take time to look through your window to the daily world of Kindergarten.
      Cheers,
      Ms. Smith

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