Summer Vacation

Kyle has had a busy summer. He has done enough to give him content for his blog. We traveled to Louisiana for the summer, stopping in Washington D.C. for a short vacation on the way. In D.C. we were able to see most of the major sights. Kyle posted a short summary of our trip. With the post I asked him to write in organized paragraphs. This added extra stress to the task. Although he was happy with the results of the post, the time it took to complete it has soured him on writing. For his next post I will use video to get him motivated again.

While we were in Louisiana for two months Kyle managed just a single post on his stay there. There were many first for him in Louisiana (his first baseball game, his first time riding a tube), but he hasn't shown a desire to want to write about these activities. We did start a video on the weather, or the rain, in Louisiana. We will finish it here in the U.A.E., in order to contrast the wet conditions of Louisiana to the dry conditions of the U.A.E.

Kyle has started school again, which cuts down on the time he has to blog. But the hope is that in school he gains new motivation to blog. The desire to share his experiences with classmates can give him the motivation to do the extra work the blog requires. I will also be on the lookout for school projects that can be done online.

Motivation to Post

I have gotten Kyle to make a few more post. I am giving him more freedom and more structure at the same time. For his most recent post (Al Ain Air Show), I set up a template that fits three to four pictures. I allow him to choose what he wants to write about and what pictures should be included. This might make for an illogical (in my mind) sequence at times, but giving him the choice motivates him more. We have done enough and have enough pictures for him to find something he wants to talk about and share. The structure of the pictures and the template gives him a clear goal, while choosing his own content helps to motivate him. So far I have been able to keep the content contained to "educational" topics, but I am sure the day is coming when he is going to ask to write about High School Musical or the latest pop craze. So far so good. I did promise him I would get him his own url if he continues to blog. This is another carrot, since he likes the idea of telling his friends about his website.