SHOULD I BLOG?

If you're interested in having an on-line presence, and know nothing about HTML source code (heck, I don't, but I sound smart just saying it), then blogs are for you! It's as simple as using a Word Document, and there's so much that you can do with a blog. In the next bunch of posts, I'll talk you through creating your own blog, then give you tons of time to play around with Blogger (it's free, so it's a good place to start).

For inspiration, check our my department's blog

source: morguefile

MY DAILY POSTING

What would be the purpose of a daily posting?  Maybe you've got a lot to say, or maybe you want to do it as a journal entry, where you'd write a comment, thought, topic, etc... and students would be required to post a comment by a certain time.  Or, they could have to leave a comment about a video that you've seen.  Worried that students would just copy and paste someone else's comment?  Under "settings" and "comments", you can hide comments, and ask students to email you their comment instead......


When you enter a new post, it automatically becomes the first page on your blog. So, that means when you've first begun your blog, you may end up with things out of order, unless you really, thoroughly plan what you want before you begin (like that's ever going to happen). However, I've just figured out in Blogger how to change your mistake. I clicked on Post Options at the bottom, then just change the time that the post was posted......

My school's front page has a welcome, as well as an opportunity to contact the teachers via email.  It's simple, direct, and to the point.  We've got a picture of an apron, but there's lots of free photos available online--morguefile is free and simple to use (just make sure to cite it when you add your photo).

PUBLIC OR PRIVATE?

So, do you want to keep it quiet, or do you want everyone to know about your blog?

I chose to keep mine public, so that everyone (that means anyone with a computer) has access to it. This means that parents, former students, and someone from Latvia can all access stuff on the computer. I like the fact that former students can access old recipes, and that parents (and the public) can stumble on the site and get an idea of what Home Ec REALLY is

However, there are benefits to keeping things private (especially for course purposes). You may want to have a blog where students can leave comments about a topic or assignment. In that instance, I'd keep things private. However, with free hosting, you may have a limit on the number of invitees to your private site. Plus, you'll have to remember to delete students at the end of the year.

FREE OR PAY?

What are the benefits of a free vs. paying for a blog?

Well, free is my favourite word, but there are definite limits to free. You may not have access to features that you'd like, there's often a limit on the size of your blog, you may have to have advertising on your blog, the company's name may be part of your address.

Pay means you have to spend money. However, it may not be as expensive as you think. I'm lucky, in that my teacher-librarian pays for our blog.

Blogger is free, but it charges $10/year to create your own URL (the hosting is free).  Otherwise, you get ____.blogspot.com

Typepad (which my school uses) charges from free to $30/month--the more you pay, the more you get

Wordpress (which I have used) costs from free to $300/year--there's a ton of pricing options in this blog
Posterous (free).  I don't know much about this site, but another teacher loves it, and it allows you to post using email, rather than going into the site.

How to Create an Account

First, you need to create a Google account.  The best thing about a Google account is that now you have an account with Blogger, Gmail, Picasa, and more.  Some may not like Google having access to so much, but that's for you to decide.

Once you have an account, then you need to go to Blogger to create an blog.  Click on Create a Blog, then come up with a title and URL (or web address).  You want something that's simple enough for students to remember, but not so simple that you everybody and their dog has thought of it, thus meaning you need to find another address.

Once that's done, you can start to create a post, or if you're like me, spend way too much time designing the  blog, and only later start to think of content.......

How to Create a Post

It's quite simple: Click under posting, New Post, then create a title and type away! Two important things to remember:

1. SAVE everything! Save as draft allows you to save. but..........
2. Remember to click PUBLISH POST when you're done, or it won't end up on your blog. You can preview (it's the on the top right hand section of this little window). And, if you go into Edit Posts, you can publish something that you forgot to post, and make changes and additions at any time.

If you want to add a word document, you have 2 options:

1. If you have Word 2008/201o, you can publish directly to your blog.  Under File, Choose Publish or Save and Send.  Follow the instructions to post directly to your blog (know that it will end up on the first page of your blog, so you may need to go back and change dates if that's not what you want....
2. If not, then you need to either create or upload your document to Google Docs (which you have, since Google owns Blogger). Under the main Google Homepage, across the top you'll see Web, Images, etc.  The last one says More.  Click on that, then on Documents.  You can simply cut and paste your document into a Google Doc.  Don't forget to save! Then, you need to click"share","publish to web", then save the web address that the item has become.  Then, you simply insert it as a link.......

HOW TO INSERT A PHOTO

It's as simple as simple can be.

If using a stock photo, I went to Morguefile and found an appropriate photo, then downloaded it to my computer.  Then, you click on the little photo on the toolbar, then inserted it.  You can also use any photos in your computer, such as my oh, so cute niece.......

Just make sure that at the bottom of the photo, you cite the source, especially if you didn't take the photo (all I put at the bottom is SOURCE: whoever, like morguefile, Bob's House of Internet Photos, Flickr [which you also have if you have a Google account--it's like they're a ginormous company or something!])