Blogging BasicsA presentation by Vicki Martinez

Step 1: The first step in blogging is to decide on a

blog host. The blog host is the site where your blog will

be located. Once you’ve chosen a host, create an account.

Think of a name for your blog, and choose a template to start setting up.

Some common blogging hosts Educators must choose secure sites that

require information to be processed through the teacher.

www.epals.com http://edublogs.org/videos/ http://www.classblogmeister.com/ www.teacherweb.com

Creating a blog on Teacher Web 1. Go to the Update Index page by clicking

on the bottom divider line of any of the pages. 2. Go to the Add/Delete/Rename pages

button. 3. Once you’ve added a blog page go to the

page and click on the top divider line. 4. You will be prompted to enter a password.

Teacher Web Blogs 5. After logging in you will see “Add Entry”

(new topic) button on the right. Click the button to post a new entry.

6. When you have finished entering text, click “Save Post” to post the entry to your blog page. All comments must be approved by you before they can be displayed. (You will be notified by email when there is a comment.)

Teacher Web Blogs 7. If you’d like visitors to be able to post comments,

leave the “Enable Comments” box checked.

8. All entries you post will remain available on the page until you remove them.

9.Old entries can be accessed from the “Archives” link on the right side of the page.

www.epals.com

Here is an example of an epals site: http://sites.epals.com/mrshernandezsmathclass/ created by Kristen Hernandez at Carolyn Park Elementary.

Blogging Topics Top 100 Education Blogs:

http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs

The difference between wikis and blogs: http://ferret.bemidjistate.edu/~morgan/cgi-bin/blogsAndWiki.pl?WikiAndBlog

Why do teachers use blogs? Some teachers use them to replace class web

pages. Blogs help develop a community of learners.

Loud students and quiet students have the same blog space as well as time to think about responses.

Ways to use blogs in class: Post class related information like homework,

class work, projects, and thought provoking questions.

Post writing prompts. Practice Reading and Responding skills as

they relate to subject matter. Post photos and ask for related stories.

More blogging Propose a science related question prior to an

experiment and ask for student hypotheses. Display student poetry and other creative writings. Create an online book club or literature circle. Post tasks for project based learning. Create a class newsletter based on student writing

and ideas. Provide an article for students to summarize.

Use blogs to create sentences for new vocabulary in context

Create writing portfolios for students. Complete a webquest.