You might have read a blog post before, but have you ever considered starting your own blog? Blogs are basically online journals. They are online spaces for people to share their expertise, opinions, and thoughts with others. And many educators are blogging already about their experiences in the classroom. In fact, what you're reading write now is a blog post!
This week, we're going to introduce you to the world of blogging. We'll help you create your own blog with the popular blogging service, Blogger, which is available with your 'Iolani Google account.
How to Get Started
Featured Tool:
Blogger is one of the most popular blogging tools and it's also easily available with your 'Iolani Google account.
You can access it by visiting www.blogger.com in your browser.
Here are instructions for How to Create Your Own Blog with Blogger.
Click here to open the Google Doc.
Advanced Tips
Customize Your Blogger Design
You can customize the design of your blog by visiting the Template setting (see step 7 in tutorial above). Choose from a variety of templates, create a custom background, and adjust the various colors of text, links, and more!Add Widgets to Your Blog
Use the Layout setting to move different parts of your blog around and add a variety widgets like visit counters, email subscription, link lists, and more!Check Out Your Viewer Stats
If you want to learn more about who your viewers are, you can use the Stats page to see information like the pageviews over time, where traffic is coming from, where your viewers are in the world, and more!Other Resources
Some of our very own 'Iolani teachers are already blogging! They've graciously allowed us to share their blogs here. Check them out!
- Passions and Ponderings by Robin Dyrensborg
- Appertizers by Lara Lee
- GettingSmart.com blog posts by Susan Davis
- 'Iolani's Kdg- S.T.E.M. Lab by Matt Dillon
- blog.EdTechnocation.com by Michael Fricano II
Blogger isn't the only service that teachers use. There are two others worth mentioning:
Edublogs is a free blogging service for teachers and students. Teachers can create blogs for themselves and their class or set up blogs for their students. It's designed for education so its safe, secure, and reliable.Wordpress is another popular blogging service among all types of bloggers. This one offers A LOT more customization options, widgets, and plugins.Your Task
Choose at least one of the 3 options, and share in the comments below:
- CREATE your blog and first post. Once your blog and post are created, share the link to your blog in the comments below.
- REFLECT on and answer this question: How might a blog help you and/or your students? How might you use a blog next school year?
- SHARE some of your favorite blogs and explain why they are your favorites.
Upcoming EIL Summer Workshops:
EIL is offering Open Help Sessions on campus on June 25, July 8, & July 20 from 10:30am - 2:30pm. Want some extra help exploring blogging? Sign up here (other open help topics are welcome).
How to Comment
Hi, everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking out this weeks EdTech blog post on BLOGGING!
Participate this week by completing the "task"!
This has been my goal for the summer - to start a blog. Thanks for the help, Patti and Mike!
ReplyDeletehttp://smartteachingandlearning.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1