What is a Blog?

The term “blog” is a blend of the words “web” and “log”. Originally, blogs were used as online journals,

etc.., but they are quickly becoming as widely used as a website, and today, many people/businesses

actually use blogs as their websites. Why? They are MUCH easier to use than a website. Websites are

generally static. However, blogs are constantly changing as stuff is added to them….making them great

for teachers! Anyone can have a blog. Wordpress, Blogspot, and Blogger are just a few blog companies

that you may have heard about, but they are open to everyone and could have questionable content.

That’s why Wordpress started Edublogs.

Edublogs is a blog strictly for education. Edublogs gives schools options to purchase their own blogs

with their own web address. That’s why we have Clyde Blogs. Edublogs does have a free option, but

free blogs have ads on them that get in your way, and they have limited options. Therefore, Clyde

purchased Clyde Blogs giving us more options, our own social network and our own web address

(blogs.clydeisd.org).

The use of blogs in the classroom varies from teacher to teacher. Some teachers post daily assignments

on their blog. Others post weekly assignments. Some put information out there for parents, so they can

better assist their student on homework assignments. Many teachers post pictures and video of their

class projects. Some use it to replace their newsletter. The list goes on. Visit the following website to

find some ways you can use a blog in your classroom. http://edublogs.org/10-ways-to-use-your-

edublog-to-teach/

I also recommend looking through Clyde Blogs and seeing how fellow Clyde teachers are beginning to

use their blogs, and Googling for blogs in your content area/grade level is always an excellent idea when

creating or working on your blog. It’s nice to see what others are doing.

The Basics of Blogging

To go to your blog, go to the Clyde website. Once there, you will see an icon on the left hand side that

looks like this . Clicking on it will take you to the Clyde Blogs homepage.

Log in by typing your username -

first initial and last name (ex:

aburson) and your password - a

random letter number combination

that you received in an email. (We

will change this to your normal

password shortly.)

Once logged in, you will see (“Welcome Back” followed by your username). Click on your

username to enter your blog dashboard.

Dashboard – This is the first term you will need to know. It is essentially the back side of your

blog. It’s where you edit and add things on your blog. Only you can see it. Think of it like a car’s

dashboard – where you navigate and control the vehicle.

(Back side of a blog)

You can see the front side of a blog at anytime by clicking here.

Important! Click

here (your login

name), scroll to

bottom of page, and

change your

password. Don’t

forget to save at the

bottom of the page.

You will log in here.

Once

you’re

ready for

your blog

to be

visible , let

me know,

and I will

put it here.

To

know

what

the

icon

stands

for,

just

hover

your

mouse

over it.

(Front side of a blog)

Blog Avatar

I will refer back to the terms in text boxes in a minute. Now, we are going to skip to the fun

part…setting up our theme.

Appearance is where you will decide how you want your blog to look by

choosing a template and personalizing it. Hovering over the icon will open a

menu that looks like the image on the right. We will start by choosing themes.

Blog Avatar

POSTS

LINKS

WIDGETS

Custom Header

Different themes have different layouts. Some have two columns, and some have three.

Basically, what you need to know is that the main content area is for posts and pages and the

sidebar is where you put your widgets. (None of which have been discussed yet, but will be

discussed shortly, so hang with me ).

You may preview any

template and see what

it will look like. When

you find what you like,

activate it. This can be

changed at anytime.

MAIN CONTENT AREA

POSTS will go here. Posts

will usually be assignments

or any news that you want

to post. Posts are ever

changing. The latest post

will always be at the top

and the oldest post will be

at the bottom.

Your PAGE info. will go here

much like a post, but pages

are static, so unlike posts,

that information will not

change. On pages, the

information will take the

place of a post, and the

sidebars will stay the same.

Look around Clyde Blogs

and see how others are

using Pages.

SIDEBAR 1

Sidebars are

where you

will choose/

customize

information

for your

blog.

SIDEBAR 2

Widgets go

here. You

decide

which

widgets suit

you and

your blog.

This blog has three

columns; therefore, it has

two sidebars. Blogs with

two columns only have

one sidebar.

Widgets are also under the appearance tab. Widgets are much like apps. You will assign

widgets to sidebars by dragging them over to the right. Here you can see what my blog looks

like from the back side under “widgets”.

Remember that just because you create things (pages etc…) doesn’t mean that they will show up on your blog until you tell them to (by dragging widget to sidebar).

The header is located at the top of your blog. Using a custom image header allows you to manage what is up there allowing for a much more personal touch to your blog. Here’s where you’ll find more information on uploading your custom image header http://help.edublogs.org/2009/08/04/uploading-your-custom-imageheader/

Changing your Blog’s name

All blogs default to your login + blog (ex: aburson’s blog). To change that, you will need to go to

settings.

Make sure you save at the bottom of this page.

Save button not shown on the image.

Type blog name

here

The “Subscribe by

Email” widget is

AWESOME! By putting

this widget on your blog,

parents/students can

EASILY subscribe and

instantly be notified by

email every time you

make a new post!

Posts - Most of the content published on a blog is normally written as a post. Information on what’s happening in your classroom, assignment instructions, homework and discussion topics are normally published as Posts, not Pages. Blogs are designed to have only one Post page which normally displays on the homepage of the blog.

Main Features of a Post

The back side of this post looks like this.

Title

Date of post Categories

Image

inserted into

body of post

There is no

text in this

post. If there

was text, it

would go

above or

below the

image as that

is the body of

the post. You

will also put

videos, word

documents

etc.. here.

Title

Body

Categories

Let’s start a new page by going to Posts and Add New

After you have finished your post, you should save your draft and preview it. When you are sure you like the way it looks, you will Publish. This publishes it to the web for everyone to see. Categories are an important part of your posts. All posts will go on the homepage as they are written, but if you categorize them, your reader can filter them. The more posts you have, the more important categories will become. Categories can be whatever you want them to be. For example, if you teach different classes you might want to categorize the posts that way so that your students or parents can find their information easier. If you are the sponsor of a club or organization, you might want to make that a category.

Click here

to upload

an image –

see details

on adding

an image on

the next

page.

Click here to add a word

document or any other file

from your computer.

Adding Files, Images, and Video to a Post or Page To add an image, first select your file by clicking on “Select Files” and double click on the image you want to insert. After that, you will see this screen. Choose your image alignment and size then “Insert into Post”. You will add a Word, Excel, Pdf or any other document the same way you add an image.

We will discuss adding videos later. Contact me, and I will come walk you through that.

Pages – To add a page, you do it exactly as you did a post. However, pages are different because they are static. People usually use pages for information that they don’t change often like an “About” page. Check out some Clyde Blog about pages for ideas.

Links are pretty easy to use. All you need to know when adding a link is to give it a name (ex: Clyde CISD) then type in the entire web address (http://clyde.esc14.net). I just usually copy the web address. It’s easier. Categories are also important with Links because it helps organize them for the reader. You’ll see links referred to as a blogroll on your blog. Blogroll is the default category and can be changed to whatever you want it to be. Remember to “Visit Site” at anytime to see your blog.