Welcome!

Since we only have an hour... I'll try to do as much as I can in the time we have. Should you be interested enough in using blogs to enhance your courses, you can always return here at your convenience or ask me anytime to give you a hand.

What is a BLOG anywyay?

6 months ago I had no idea what a blog was or why anyone would want to use one.

A blog in its simplest form is like a web-based journal, only it's one that can't be lost or left at home. It's definitely multi-media since teachers and students can add images and sound files. They can also be used to point to an ever increasing amount of online video content. Best of all, teachers don't need to drag them around the school in bags and bundles. They are more confidential than a journal (which may be misplaced) since bloggers are able to determine exactly who views them.

But that's my view. Have a look at what a couple of our students have said:

Matt Brockwell

Max Krawec

So the links above point to the blogs where students do their work. I can read their work and leave comments, or I can actually highlight specific areas and leave post-it notes on their work. More about that later.

All the students' blogs show up in a nice convenient list for me (the photo above). I can see who has updated recently and who might be falling behind. I use a blog of my own creation for each of my classes. So students make blogs and teachers make blogs. If you can use email, you can maintain a course blog. I spend less time now getting materials together for absent students than I ever have before. I love the fact that making all the information students need available on a course "website" transfers ownership and accountability for their success to them.

I am not suggesting that 100% of any course should be delivered through a blog. We still do discussions, debates, lessons and seminars. I simply use my course blogs to communicate like an enhanced blackboard--one that parents can access. Here is a blog that Cam and I put together at Summer School . Here's Mr. MacDonald's.

SO... enjoy some time to just start playing with Blogger. If you are interested in creating your own blog, have a look at the next post.

Getting Started...

Step 0. Open a second tab to use when following the instructions below (just click the blank square beside the X in the red circle). Now you can click back and forth between the two tabs without losing your place on this blog.

Step # 1. Create a Google account. If you have one, go to step 2. If you don't, you really

should get one, even if you don't plan to start a blog. Google has so many services available for free that you can access (I've only really discovered the tip of the iceberg). Google uses your email address as your username so you will never forget it--clever, huh?

Step # 2. Once you are signed in (your email will appear just like in the photo), type "blogger.com" into the address bar in your internet browser.

Select "Create a Blog" to make your own (Don't be afraid to mess around, you can delete it when we're done).

Once you have given your blog a title, a web address and chosen a template you are ready to put up your first post. After you have entered a few wise words you can SAVE NOW (which will NOT put your blog into cyberspace) or PUBLISH POST which will make your entry available worldwide.

You can also email ewcwriter@live.ca (don't use this link--it won't work) using your Google ID account and ask to be added to the Stamford PD blog. Now it will show up on your dashboard. You can also invite me to join your blog so that it will show up on my dashboard and I will be able add posts and leave comments.

Just click on the SETTINGS tab when you are in your blog and then either COMMENTS or PERMISSIONS to adjust your privacy settings.

Intermediate Blogging

In order to take advantage of the ease with which you can make information available, you need to make hyperlinks. You are already accustomed to clicking on hyperlinks when you are browsing online. Blogger makes hyperlinking embarrassingly easy.

Any text you write into a blog entry can be converted to a hyperlink. You might want, for instance, your students to read an article you have found on line. Here's how to do it:

Switch to your other tab, find something you might want students to read and copy its web address to the clipboard. Now switch back to your blog post and type in whatever text you would like to make clickable (e.g. NEWS ARTICLE). Select the text and click the hyperlink button (pictured top right). Paste the web address (URL) into the box that pops up. Hit "ok"-- you are done, but the link won't work unless you either "Preview" or "PUBLISH POST."

Now, it's time to introduce you to Google Docs, if you haven't discovered it already. Google Docs is a Web-based word processor. You can access your files from any computer in the world that has an internet hookup. You can also publish your files to the web which makes them accessible to your blog. I use this feature for handouts. You can keep these files private, make them public or available only to a select few people.

Try uploading something innocuous from your M-drive into GoogleDocs. If it is a Wordperfect file, you will need to save it as a Word document or an .RTF file. Once the file has been uploaded, click the empty box to its left and click the "more actions" button. Click the "Publish" button and then the "Automatically republish when changes are made option" (Now any links to the file will be updated when you make corrections or additions). Googledocs now generates a unique web address for your document which you can cut and paste into your clipboard to make hyperlinks.

Assessing Blogs

One of the issues with blogs is giving the students feedback. In some cases, if their blogs are riddled with errors it can be impractical to just make a few comments at the end of their work. I highly recommend Diigo (a free app downloadable from Diigo.com).

Once you have Diigo up and running you can highlight a student's blog and leave post-it notes attached to the highlight. After some trial and error I've discovered the best way to do his is to click on the entry title first so that your post-it's will be attached to the individual URL for that post. The student's main page is too dynamic... once their posts are archived you will lose your Diigo post it's. Of course, Diigo allows so much more... but that would be another in-service...

Questions?

I hope you are finding the session today to be useful.

I'll try to answer questions as best as I can in person, but you can also help each other by posting your questions here in the comment section and answering them too.

It also occurred to me that this blog may live beyond today... so don't hesitate to add questions at any time, even a week or a month after our in-service.