Blogging Basics

Presented by Brandi Lust

Why Blog?Student Blog Benefits

1. Audience2. Access3. Use of research and resource integration 4. Use of multimedia 5. Engagement

Teacher Blog Benefits

6. Modeling writing, research, thinking7. “Flipping content” 8. Providing student access to resources9. Communication with other educators

To Explore

1. Go to www.wordpress.com2. Login as

1. User name: pickeringtonschools@gmail.com2. Password: study2hard

Homepage

To Work with a Blog

1. Go to “My Blogs” 2. Choose a practice blog or create a new one3. If you choose a blog already created, select

“dashboard”4. If you make a new one, select “dashboard”

after you name your blog and choose a site name

Dashboard

“Appearance”: Themes

“Appearance”: Widgets

Creating Content: Pages versus Posts

•Pages have mostly static content •Examples: links, “about” page, an accumulation of resources etc.

Creating Content: Pages vs. Posts

• Posts appear in your “blog”

• Each new post appears in the top with all other posts in reverse chronological order

• Posts can be searched • Recent posts appear to

the side of the blog

Creating Posts: Linking to Other Content

5. Cut and Paste the URL from the search bar

6. The “title” will appear as the highlighted text you have already selected

7. You can also link to previous posts via an “existing content search

Creating Posts: Linking to Other Content

1. Type in content you want to be linked

2. Highlight the intended selection

3. Select the “infinity symbol”

4. A new dialogue box will pop up

Inserting Media: Power Point, Word Documents, Video

1. Similar to a link, you type the text you want to be linked

2. Highlight the text and select the “add media” tab at the top of your post

Inserting Media: Power Point, Word Documents, VideoFrom here you can: 3. “Insert media” and then “Upload File” and find anything within your

current documents to upload (image, file, or video) and then “insert into posts”

4. To insert a video, the easiest thing to do is “insert from YouTube” and search for the video you want; if it is done this way, the video will be able to be played from your post

5. Images will appear in the post; Word documents and Power Point files will not

Inserting Images

1. File has to be a jpeg file to be uploaded2. If you have an image that won’t upload, do

the following: 1. Open the file 2. File 3. Export 4. Under “Format” change to “JPEG”

Creating Posts: Gaining Readers

• When creating a new post, there are ways to draw in more readers through creating the following

• Categories: “broad grouping of posts”

• Tags: more specific information about a single post.

• Featured Image: will appear in the “reader” feed and with any links to your posts

Stats

• Visitors: unique individuals who visit blog

• Views: Total number of pages or posts viewed

• Tags and Categories are listed by popularity

• Referrers show the search engines or social media used to find your blog

“Grab”: Creating Images

Grab is an applicationused to create separateimage files for items onthe computer screen: • Internet images • Power Point slides • Screen shots Can be used for manypurposes (presentations andhandouts included

Using “Grab”1. File 2. Search 3. Applications 4. Grab 5. Add the file to your dashboard6. When you want to use it, click on the scissors7. Select “capture” next to File8. Use “select” and click and drag over anything on the

screen you want to turn into an image9. May have to use “export” to change file type for the

blog

Quicktime Player

Quicktime can be used to create movie, audio and screen recordings to post on your blog. You can create a video of a lesson using this in conjunctions with Power Point, you can demonstrate or model use of technology or writing skills etc.

Quicktime Player

• Search “File” • “Quicktime Player” • “File” • “New Screen Recording” for Power Point or

other documents on the computer • “New Video Recording” to use a camera• Can be hooked up to a document camera to

record

To use Screen Record in Quicktime

1. “New Screen Recording” 2. Click the red button 3. Click for full screen or Click and drag over the

selection of the screen you want to record 4. Click the same button again when finished

recording 5. Name and save the file6. Upload your file to your blog using “Upload Media”

OR upload to Youtube and link to your blog

Starting Blogs

1. Teach blogging as a genre and make sure students know vocabulary, norms and practices

2. Students should examine and evaluate other blogs before creating their own

3. Begin by having students comment on the teacher’s blog posts first

4. As students begin to post, choose one student’s content to “repost” on the class blog. From there, students can more easily build on what other’s are saying

5. Make it a contest- most likes on a post, most views, most unique visitors etc.

Blogging is not the same as Writing an Essay

• Use blogging as a critical thinking tool that incorporates technology

• Mandate the use of research in posts: video, links, images, quotes etc. for different purposes

• Use blogs as a way to connect in-class content to outside content/ideas

• Example: We have been discussing the topic/theme of ___________ in class. Find an online resource that deals with this topic/theme and respond to it on your blog beginning with a quote. Your post must include one image/video.

Commenting on Blog Posts: Stems for Students

• I want to build on. . .• I want to connect my thoughts to. . .• I agree/disagree with. . . because • I have a question about what Cameron said earlier; “Cameron, you said. . .”. Did you mean. . .? • I’ve changed my mind about ____ based on what ____ or what was stated in the text. • I think ___________was trying to say. . .• Emily said. . . I think/wonder if she meant. . .