Blogs and Wikis, but mostly Blogs

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Blogs and Wikis,but mostly Blogs

• a modified presentation by William Bishop (Bill)
• Note This presentation is a modified version of
  Patrick Crispens blogging 101 presentation
  presented at AETC 2007
• http//www.netsquirrel.com/
• Patrick created the wheel and I polished it a
  bit!

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Goals

• Learn about blogs
• Maybe create a blog at Googles blogger.com
• Figure out some ways to integrate blogging
  activities into our classes
• Find some additional blog resources
• DO ALL OF THIS IN ENGLISH!

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Blogs

• What they are and how they work.

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A blog is

• A weblog, or simply a blog.
• It is a web application which contains periodic,
  reverse chronologically ordered posts on a common
  webpage.
• Blogs can be used as a
• Personal journal or diary.
• Class project page.
• Bookmarks or links page.
• Etc.

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Why blogs are cool

• Theyre web-based.
• Theres no client software to download and learn.
• You can update your blog from any
  Internet-connected computer.
• Theyre absurdly easy to use.
• You DONT have to know or use HTML.
• You DONT have to know or use FTP.
• Theyre not solitary.
• The community of blogs and bloggers make up a
  vast social network.

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Blogs v. Wikis

• Objective
• Blogs are a way to share personal information, a
  way for the owner(s) to express themselves to
  their target audience.
• Wikis are a means of sharing and editing data
  ideas, text, photographs for the creation of
  collaborative knowledge.
• Content creation and control
• Blog content creation and control falls to the
  owner.
• Wiki content creation and control falls to the
  audience although there is an administrator.

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Definitions

• Blog A web log.
• Blogger Someone who creates and maintains a
  blog.
• Blogging The process of creating and maintaining
  a web log.
• Blogsphere/Blogosphere The totality of blogs a
  community or social network of blogs.
• Blogroll A list of a bloggers favorite blogs,
  usually placed on the side of that bloggers blog.

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Blogger

• http//www.blogger.com/

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Setting Up Your First Blog

• Go to blogger.com
• Free blog hosting site run by Google
• Click on the orange Create Your Blog Now arrow
  to get started.

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1. Create a Google Account

• Key in your email address.
• Enter a password.
• Key in a display name.
• This is the name that will be used to sign your
  blog posts!

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1. Create a Google Account

• Key in the CAPTCHA
• Completely automated public Turing test to tell
  computers and humans apart
• Accept the terms of service.
• Click on the orange Continue button.

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2. Name Your Blog

• Key in your blogs title.
• Key in your blogs URL.
• something.blogspot.com
• Click on the orange Continue arrow.

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3. Choose a Template

• Choose a template.
• You can always change your template later.
• Click on the orange Continue arrow.

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4. Celebrate

• Thats it.
• No, really. Thats it.
• Click on the orange Start Posting arrow to
  start your first post.

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Create a Post

• Creating a post is like composing an email
  message.
• Key in the posts title.
• Then key in the posts text.
• FYI Blogger automatically saves your posts as
  you type them.

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Formatting Your Posts Text

• Formatting your posts text is much like
  formatting text in Microsoft Word or Outlook.
• You can add pictures, change fonts, add
  hyperlinks, check your spelling, etc.

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Publish Your Post

• Key in any appropriate labels.
• Scroll down and click on Post Options
• This lets you choose if you want to allow people
  to post comments to your blog post.
• You can also set the date and time your post will
  be published.
• Then click on the orange Publish Post button.

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Now What?

• Thats it. Youre done.
• To view your finished blog,
• Click on the View Blog link or tab, or
• Point your web browser to your blogspot address.

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Finished Post
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Coming Back for More

• Remember
• blogger.com where you make changes to your
  blog.
• blogspot.com where you view your finished blog.
• The next time you return to blogger.com, key in
  your Google username and password.

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Whats Next?

• Click the Posts link to see a list of every post
  youve made.
• Click on the green plus sign icon to create a new
  post.
• Click on the Settings link to change your blogs
  settings.

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help.blogger.com

• For more information, visit help.blogger.com

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Blogging in the schools

• Ways to integrate blogging activities into your
  school or curriculum

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A great place to start is with a school or class
blog
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Blogs and ISTE NETSS

• ISTE NETS technology foundation standards for
  students
• Basic operations and concepts
• Social, ethical, and human issues
• Technology productivity tools
• Technology communications tools
• Technology research tools
• Technology problem-solving and decision-making
  tools

Source http//cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-n
etss.html
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Best Bets for Classroom Blogging

• Ask your students to
• Reflect on their reading or classroom
  discussions.
• Investigate topics online and then report on
  their research.
• Record group progress on a project.
• Talk about shared classroom experiences.
• Copy and paste thought-provoking quotes from
  other blogs, and then offer their own thoughts on
  the topic.
• Invite professional writers to edit their blogs,
  or provide feedback.

Source http//www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techt
orial/techtorial037print.shtml
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Blog Journal?

• Blogs are just online versions of paper-based
  journals, right?
• WRONG!
• Done well, blogs assignments give your students
• An audience.
• A purpose for writing beyond the grade.
• Legitimate peripheral participation in a
  topic-related community of practice.
• If your assignment is just write something, post
  it, and Ill grade it, skip the blog and give
  the students some college ruled paper.

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Example 1 Blog Groups

• Divide your students into blog groups" according
  to their interests (national politics,
  entertainment, sports, technology, etc.)
• Assignment Write a weekly journal that relates
  to the blog groups topic.
• Let your students create their own rubrics.
• The groups collectively decide guidelines for
  each post's content, style, and length.
• This promotes student ownership and stronger
  engagement.

Source http//www.cwrl.utexas.edu/?qnode/233
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Example 1 (Contd) Blog Groups

• Additional assignment Each blog group should
  create a blog roll.
• Identify other blogs whose focus is related to
  your groups topic.
• Discourse norming

Source http//www.cwrl.utexas.edu/?qnode/233
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Example 2 Personal Journals

• Give each student a personal blog.
• Assignment Post reflections about your
  development in the course.
• Responses
• Questions
• Thoughts about the week's reading or activity

Source http//www.cwrl.utexas.edu/?qnode/233
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Example 2 (Contd) Journals

• Start each class by reading from selected
  journals to generate discussion.
• Students better understand their rhetorical
  purposes for writing when they envision their
  writing within a real context. This contextthe
  sense of having an audience who want to engage
  with the writer's ideasalso helps to create a
  rhetorical purpose for writing (beyond just
  fulfilling an assignment).

Source http//www.cwrl.utexas.edu/?qnode/233
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Some popular blog hosts

• I recommend Edublogs http//edublogs.org or
  Bloggerhttp//blogger.com/ as good starting
  points.
• Other popular blog hosts include
• TypePad http//www.typepad.com/ et al.
• WordPress http//www.wordpress.com/
• LiveJournal http//www.livejournal.com/
• For a canonical list of blog hosts, check out
  http//tinyurl.com/6mfc3

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My class blog is hosted at http//edublogs.org
http//bishopblog.edublogs.org
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My professional blog is athttp//blogger.comhttp
//lostjohns.blogspot.com
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I created this blog last night for the high
school renaissance process at blogger
http//haleyvillerenaissance.blogspot.com/
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My class wiki is hosted at http//www.wikispaces.c
omhttp//bishopblogs.wikispaces.com/
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Library Media Center Wiki
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My school website is hosted at http//havc.k12.al
.ushttp//havc.k12.al.us/bbishop
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Go here for all your blogging and 21st Century
Technology needs

• http//abpc.wikispaces.com

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Thanks for attending!