Saturday, October 1, 2011

Daily News Site for Teens and Tweens

Tween Tribune and Teen Tribune are bringing the worlds news and events to the classroom.  Every day they post the most compelling, relevant and interesting news for teens and tweens.  The stories are selected by teens and tweens working closely with professional journalists. Students are provided with the opportunity to comment on these stories. They can also submit their own stories and photos.  Teachers have the ability to create a class account. Once the class account is created the students can register with the site and join the class.

Safety Concerns

The site is fully compliant with COPPA. See Below

"TweenTribune and TeenTribune are in full compliance with COPPA - the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act – as outlined by the Federal Trade Commission. This means that:




  • Students may not use their last names.

  • Students may not use their email address anywhere on the site.

  • We do not gather or store student email addresses.

  • Teachers can moderate students' comments before they’re published.

  • We only uses news stories from reputable news organizations, such as the Associated Press, and local newspapers and TV stations.

  • Teachers' identities are independently verified before they are granted administrative privileges."


Teacher Pages - What does a class page provide

Teachers who create a class page that provides the teacher with the following access:

  • View the stories your class has commented on.

  • View individual comments by each student, on his or her own page

  • View all comments by your students, in one report that can be sorted by students’ names, comments, or dates

  • You can moderate, edit, or delete your students’ comments before they’re published.


 


Classroom Integration - Philosophy


Tween and Teen Tribune provides access to relevant and age appropriate news stories. Students are provided with the opportunity to read current news articles and comment on them. This type of activity provides  an authentic experience that can engage our students and promote the advantages of being aware of world and local news. This student-centered approach to current events and article review provides students with a forum to engage with a publication and engage in a meaningful task by reflecting or questioning through comments. The published comments are shared on each article which provides students with a global perspective and an audience for their own writing.


Classroom Integration - Ideas


Activities on Tween/Teen tribune meet class requirements for Reading, Writing and Computer Technology.


Students may be asked to pick a controversial story and post a comment that expresses their views on the topic. They may also be asked to select a comment that offers a view they disagree with. They can then be charged with writing a comment that refutes the comment with specific facts.


Assign topics based on the subject you teach. If you teach art have students read articles pertaining to art. If you teach science have them select science articles. The articles and responses can be conversation starters in the classroom. They may also be used to activate prior knowledge before a new lesson is introduced.


Students may publish their own stories, book reviews, newscasts, opinions or class news for the world to view and comment on. Remember, all comments are moderated by the teacher before going live.


Teen Tribune - http://teentribune.com


Tween Tribune - http://tweentribune.com


Create your class page here - http://tweentribune.com/content/tweentribune-classroom

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