Using a Blog

What is a Blog? Online journal to weblog to blog. Easily updated. Reverse chronology. Allows for two-way communication through reader comments. Can offer subscriptions through RSS.

How Are Blogs Used? personal journals breaking news --especially from areas poorly served by traditional journalism. commentary on news and politics. commentary on arts and culture. group discussions.

Anatomy of a Blog post: the smallest unit of meaning in a blog; at the very least, a title and some text. Posts appear in reverse chronology, with the most recent at the top. page: a larger division in a blog; a page can be a collection of posts on a given topic or a single post (“About Me,” or “FAQ”)

Anatomy of a Blog comment: a response by a reader to a given post. blogroll: collection of links to other blogs or websites. tag/tag cloud: a ‘keyword’ for your post. permalink: a URL, usually automatically generated, that will always bring a reader back to a particular post. archive: a record of recent posts.

Anatomy of a Blog

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment. personal blog or online journal.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment. personal blog or online journal. blog in another language.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment. personal blog or online journal. blog in another language. blog with a tag cloud.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment. personal blog or online journal. blog in another language. blog with a tag cloud. tag with fewer than 10 hits.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment. personal blog or online journal. blog in another language. blog with a tag cloud. tag with fewer than 10 hits. tag with more than a 100,000 hits.

Blog Scavenger Hunt blog about presidential politics. blog about a favorite type of entertainment. personal blog or online journal. blog in another language. blog with a tag cloud. tag with fewer than 10 hits. tag with more than a million hits. blog mentioning a local person, place, business, or institution.

How Can I Use a Blog?

Creating A Blog Go to the link for your site. If you don’t have a link, go to www.wordpress.com

Create A Username and Password Make your username distinctive and easy to remember. If privacy is important, avoid personal details. Password should be easy-to-remember; hard to guess.

Designing Your Blog

Global Dashboard

Site Dashboard

Writing Pages pages allow you to separate sections of your site. pages can be nested within one another. pages can be password protected.

Using Pages Mr. Smith’s Page--main page English 9 A Block English 9 C Block English 11 D Block College Writing E Block Short Stories F Block Useful Links Student Work

Using Pages English 11 D Block Class Summary and Homework Outside Reading Resources

Using Pages Ms. Smith’s 4th Grade Language Arts Reading Math Science Social Studies Student Work Parent Information

Using Pages Parent Information Welcome Letter Newsletter 10/31 Field Trip Permission Form

Writing A Post Select ‘post’ from the ‘Write’ menu. Write a title. Write your post! Visual / HTML View Add tags and choose categories as appropriate. ‘Save’ to review later; ‘Publish’ to post immediately.

Getting Fancy Add various extras to your post with these controls. __________ ______ ______ _______ _____

Widgets small bits of code that provide tools and features for your site. To enable a widget, drag it to the right of the screen. ‘Edit’ options if applicable, and save changes.

Custom Image Header the ‘header’ is the top of your page. use the supplied format or upload your own picture.

Tasks Create username & password Comment on another blog. Create your own blog. choose a theme. add “meta” widget add other widgets as desired.

Tasks Write a post. Add a hyperlink in a post. Add an image to a post. ‘Block quote’ text from another source. Add a document to a post. Create a blogroll/links list.