Permission+Slip+for+Project



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**Dear Parents/Guardians of the Spring 2008 Research Writing Students**:  =====

Beginning next week, your student will be working on a collaborative community/research project in the Research Writing classroom. We will be conducting a fundraiser for the SPCA, which focuses on the community aspect, while at the same time conducting research on various animals, the SPCA itself, and a few controversial issues such as animal abuse, animal testing, etc. Your student will be selecting his/her own group, and the group will work collaboratively from now until the conclusion of this project. In addition to using the class computers and the Internet, your student will also be introduced to a new technology: wikis. The work required on this technology will be completed during class under my close watch. Your student will be given enough time during class to work on this online collaborative project; therefore, you don’t have to worry about monitoring his/her work from home. It is important to note that when conducting research and publishing information on the web, several safety issues must be addressed and will be monitored throughout this entire project. Your student’s group will be publishing their research findings on a class wiki. We will be using wikispaces, which allows us to create this wiki without charge. This follows the same format as Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia which can be edited by ANYONE. With this wiki, however, only the students in each group will have rights to edit the pages they create. Therefore, the only individuals that can make changes to your student’s work are his/her group members and myself, the teacher. Your student has been taught the positives and negatives of Wikipedia, and for this project, we will employ the techniques we have learned for safe online research and writing. This will be a learning experience for the students in proper research, appropriate reporting of results, and mature and responsible behavior while collaborating online. It is important to note, however, that while no one outside of the class can edit the wikispace, anyone outside of the class can view it. Once this wiki is created, it becomes searchable; therefore, anyone can access it and gain information from it. For this reason, your student will NOT use his/her name anywhere on the wiki (the group name your student’s group chooses will be used instead), and the information that he/she places on the wiki will be under close scrutiny. It is imperative that you discuss with your student the importance of keeping his/her identity safe, as well as how important it is to remain respectful and mature when adding information to this wiki. Wikis are like websites, where information on any topic can be added, deleted, and links and documents can be placed for further research. The students will be the authors of this information, using the research they conduct to form the basis for their work. They will be required to conduct research and find at least 3 sources, and these sources MUST be cited in proper MLA format, which I will teach them during class. There is a discussion feature on the wiki where your student will be collaborating with his/her group members, bounding ideas off of one another and commenting on the progress of the project. Since there will be NO names used, each group member will also create a “wiki name” that will accompany the discussion threads. Please re-visit the policy outlining both the school’s, as well as my own, expectations for online communication conduct. Remember that if your student attempts to post anything inappropriate or outside of the district (and assignment) guidelines, he/she runs the risk of losing computer privileges for at least ONE week. A notice will also be placed in your student’s permanent file, which will be kept on record at the school and referred to, if necessary, in the future. Losing privileges will hurt the ENTIRE group, not just that particular student. Please discuss this with your student and reiterate my expectations at home, as I plan to do at school. More information concerning the guidelines, plan of action, assessment, and expectations of this project is available on the class website. I would also ask you to take a look at the policy statement that I have linked on the website, which outlines some of the steps teachers are taking to ensure safety while collaborating online. This is a great opportunity for your student to work with new technology, learn collaborative skills, and identify his/her personal strengths and weaknesses. Your support in this project is greatly appreciated. Please sign below if you will allow your student to proceed with this project. Signing this permission slip also guarantees that you plan to speak with your student concerning the guidelines for this project. I will be sending out weekly emails to inform you of our progress, and I invite you to check out the exciting work being done in Research Writing this spring! Sincerely, Miss Cave

** I allow my student,, to participate in this project, and I understand the importance of speaking with my student concerning the safety protocol and expected behavior while using this new technology.
 * Parent/Guardian Portion

 //Parent/Guardian Signature//

_ //Date//

** <span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">I give my word that I will approach this assignment with the highest level of maturity, and I understand the consequences that exist if I do not follow my teacher’s, as well as my parent/guardian’s, expectations.
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Student Portion

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> //Student Signature// __ //Date//

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