Blogging 101

a presentation by Patrick Douglas Crispen

and

Pam Buysman

What is a blog?

• A weblog, or simply a “blog,” is a web application which contains ongoing posts that are arranged with the most current information appearing first.

• Blogs can be used as a– Personal journal or diary.– Class project page.– Bookmarks or links page.– Newsletter– Etc.

Common blog features

• Post Entry• Comments• The Sidebar• The RSS feed• About the author• Blog Archive

A Sample Blog

A Sample Blog

Other Educational Blogs

• Kathy Schrock’s picks • Bellingham Herald• Exemplary K-12 Classroom Blogs• Links to School Bloggers• Edublog Awards

Comments

Why blogs are cool

• They’re web-based.– There’s no client software to download and

learn.– You can update your blog from any Internet-

connected computer.• They’re absurdly easy to use.

– You DON’T have to know or use HTML.– You DON’T have to know or use FTP.

• They’re not solitary.– The community of blogs and bloggers make

up a vast social network.

Definitions

• Blog: A web log.• Blogger: Someone who creates and

maintains a blog.• Blogging: The process of creating and

maintaining a web log.• Blogsphere/Blogosphere: The totality of

blogs; a community or social network of blogs.

• Blogroll: A list of a blogger’s favorite blogs, usually placed on the side of that blogger’s blog.

Why Let Our Students Blog?

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Some ideas for using blogs in the classroom

Autobiographical writing: Students can use the blog as a journal or diary of day-to-day life

Book journaling: Students write their thoughts or respond with comments to the teacher’s or other students’ posts about a book.

Science reports: Students journal the investigation process

Class blog run by teacher: Informing students of important events eg homework, excursions, what to bring to school. Students can comment for clarification.

Some ideas for using blogs in the classroom

Art impressions: Students comment on works of art

Creative writing: Students write posts as prose or poetry and constructively critique one another’s work.

Digital portfolio: Students can record a body of work by uploading documents and images

Tracking a student’s thinking as they complete any assignment

Blogging is educationally sound for teaching students because: (Davis 2008)

• Blogs provide a space for sharing opinions and learning in order to grow communities of discourse and knowledge — a space where students and teachers can learn from each other.

• Blogs help learners to see knowledge as interconnected as opposed to a set of discrete facts.

• Blogs foster ownership and choice. They help lead us away from students trying to find what the teacher wants in terms of an answer.

• The worldwide audience provides recognition for students that can be quite profound. Students feel more compelled to write when they believe many others may read and respond. It gives them motivation to excel. Students need to be taught skills to foster a contributing audience on their blog.

• The archive feature of blogging records ongoing learning. It facilitates reflection and evaluation. One student told me that he could easily find his thoughts on a matter and he could see how his thinking had changed and why.

• The opportunity for collective and collaborative learning is enormous. Students have the opportunity to read their classmates’ blogs and those of others. This is not possible in a regular classroom setting.

• Blogging provides the possibility of connecting with experts on the topic students are writing.

• The interactive nature of blogging creates enthusiasm for writing and communication.

• Blogging engages students in conversation and learning.

• Blogging encourages global conversations about learning–conversations not previously possible in our classrooms.

• Blogging provides the opportunity for our students to learn to write for life-long learning.

• Blogging affords us the opportunity to teach responsible public writing. Students can learn about the power of the published word and the responsibilities involved with public writing.

• Blogs can give students a totally new perspective on the meaning of voice. As students explore their own learning and thinking and their distinctive voices emerge. Student voices are essential to the conversations we need to have about learning.

Part 3:

What other thoughts are there on the educational benefits of using blogs?

Blog options

Part Two: Blogger

http://www.blogger.com/

Resources

• A wiki page with the links and information presented today-- http://feb19pd.pbwiki.com

Setting Up Your First Blog

• Go to blogger.com– Free blog hosting

site run by Google

• Click on the orange “Create Your Blog Now” arrow to get started.

1. Create a Google Account

• Key in your email address or sign in if you already have a Google account.

• Enter a password.• Key in a display

name.– This is the name that

will be used to sign your blog posts.

1. Create a Google Account

• Key in the CAPTCHA– Completely

automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart

• Accept the terms of service.

• Click on the orange “Continue” button.

2. Name Your Blog

• Key in your blog’s title.• Key in your blog’s URL.

(This WILL be the web address/URL for your blog.) – something.

blogspot.com– Check availability

• Click on the orange “Continue” arrow.

3. Choose a Template

• Choose a template.– You can always

change your template later.

• Click on the orange “Continue” arrow.

4. Celebrate

• That’s it.• No, really. That’s

it.• Click on the

orange “Start Posting” arrow to start your first post.

Create a Post

• Creating a post is a lot like composing an email message.– Key in the post’s

title.– Then key in the

post’s text.• FYI: Blogger

automatically saves your posts as you type them.

Formatting Your Post’s Text

• Formatting your post’s text is much like formatting text in Microsoft Word or Outlook.

• You can add pictures, change fonts, add hyperlinks, check your spelling, and much more.

Publish Your Post

• Key in any appropriate labels. (These are like keywords and will help you more easily find posts later.)

• Scroll down and click on Post Options– This lets you choose if you want to allow people to post

comments to your blog post.– You can also set the date and time your post will be

published.• Then click on the orange “Publish Post” button.

Now What?

• That’s it. You’re done.

• To view your “finished” blog,– Click on the “View

Blog” link or tab, or

– Point your web browser to your blogspot address.

Our “Finished” Blog

Coming Back for More

• Remember:– blogger.com = where you make changes to your blog.– blogspot.com = where you view your finished blog.

• The next time you return to blogger.com, key in your Google username and password.

What’s Next?• Click the Posts link to

see a list of every post you’ve made.

• Click on the green plus sign icon to create a new post.

• Click on the Settings link to change your blog’s settings.

• Click on the Layout link to make changes to your blogs appearance.

• Click on the view blog link to see your blog.

The Dashboard

Navigating the blogger site

While in blogger, the tabs will help you get to the area you want to edit or change. You can always clickon the blogger icon as well to go back to the dashboard.

Settings

If you’d prefer your blog be more private, make sure the No is selected for both Add your blog to our listings and Let search engines find your blog.

Settings

Unless you’re comfortable with advanced editing and HTML, you’ll want to make sure the compose mode for all your blogs is set to yes.

Settings

You’ll need to decide who can comment to your blog. Keep in mind the more boundaries you create, the more steps it will require to post to the blog.

SettingsIf your blog is “open” to everyone, you’ll want to review comments before they are actually posted.

Do you want to require “commentators” to key in a CAPTCHA? This should reduce spam.

Settings-Team Blog

How many people (authors) do you want to allow to post to your blog? Click on add authors to invite others to post to your blog.

Settings-Team Blog

To add authors, simply enter the email addresses of people you want to write to your blog.

Settings-Team Blog

An email will be sent and others can respond. You have the ability to decide what privileges will be given.

Layout To work with the blog layout, you’ll click on the edit button.

Layout - Page ElementsI would recommend adding the following gadgets to your blog:

Blog list - You can add links to your colleague’s blogs here.

Subscription links - If you’re familiar with RSS, others can “subscribe” to your blog and be notified when changes are made to your blog.

Labels - This will allow you to list your labels or “keywords” in your sidebar. It will make it much easier for others to find information on your blog.

There are other page elements as well. You can easily survey others by creating a poll.

help.blogger.com

For more information, visit help.blogger.com