Creating a Weblog

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Creating a Weblog

• Another Way to Improve Student Motivation

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Why bother?

• Original interest in HTML
• Weblogs simple and accessible
• Enhance classroom interest
• Create student motivation
• Avoid the ESLboring (because not authentic)
  equation

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MotivationExternal V. Internal

• From parents
• From teacher
• From peers
• Career goals

• What the student is interested in
• What the student is fascinated by
• What turns you on?

Does the student really care about what she is
doing when she hasnt bought into the
project/activity?
Is your focus better when you are working on
those things?
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Multiple Intelligences

• Visual
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal

Plus allows students to create identities and
personalities
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Why are weblogs motivating?

• Computer based - everyone loves playing with toys
• Wider audience - the entire real world
• Venue for students to express their ideas
• Connections to other students - class blogs
• Casual writing style -
• like thinking out loud -
• just write -
• dont need to make it perfect -
• immediacy
• Fun to write, fun to read other blogs

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Student samples . . .
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And what are weblogs anyway?

• Web (as in internet)
• Logs (as in journals)
• Like a webpage, but
• Easier to update
• No code involved
• Very accessible to the normal human being (as
  opposed to computer geek)
• New vocabulary
• blogger
• blogging
• blogosphere
• edublogger

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Some examples . . .
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Getting Started in Blogger

• Www.blogger.com
• Screen to sign in or create account
• Press the orange arrow

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Enter the information for your blog

• Username
• Password
• Display name (title)

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But sometimes it doesnt work out . . .
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Your blog title has been accepted . . .

• Choose a template
• Template a design, what you want your blog to
  look like

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Composing a post--just like a word processing
program . . .
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Editing capabilities . . .

• Change font - limited choices
• Change color
• Change size of font

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And you can insert pictures . . .

• Click picture icon
• Browse to find location of picture
• Choose text placement

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You are now ready to publish your blog . . .

• Click on the publish blog icon at the bottom of
  the page
• Click on view blog tab at top of compose box
• And--voila--the finished product

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Some caveats . . .

• On line--anyone can access
• Many blogs and comments are commercial
• Free blogs ads

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Blog hosts

• Blogger - www.blogspot.com
• MoTime - www.motime.com
• Xanga - www.xanga.com (eprops)
• 20six - www.20six.co.uk (sweeties)

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Any questions?
Jump for joy now that you know how to do this!