Janetta Garton

Technology Curriculum Director

Willard R-II School District
http://www.willard.k12.mo.us/co/tech/blog.htm

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Table of Contents
How can Blogs be used in education? ...........................................................4
Blog Advantages............................................................................................5
Setting Up Your Edublogs Account ..............................................................6
Logging in .....................................................................................................8
Visitors View................................................................................................9
Your Dashboard.............................................................................................11
Set Preferences...............................................................................................12
Write a Post....................................................................................................17
Adding Media ....................................................................................21
Inserting a Hyperlink .........................................................................25
Inserting Embedding Code ................................................................25
Write a Page ................................................................................................26
Adding a Link to Blogroll/Links....................................................................27
Manage Blogroll ............................................................................................28
Manage Posts ................................................................................................29
Manage Pages ................................................................................................29
Manage Media ...............................................................................................30
Manage Tags ................................................................................................30
Manage Categories.........................................................................................31
Manage Comments ........................................................................................32
Choose Your Design......................................................................................33
Avatar ................................................................................................38
Log Out ................................................................................................38
Additional Blogs ............................................................................................39
Manage Users ................................................................................................40
Blogging with Students..................................................................................42
Acquiring an Askimset Plugin API Key........................................................47




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Teacher Technology 8tandards

I. TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND CONCEPTS

Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:
A. demonstrate introductory knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts related to technology (as
described in the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students).
B. demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging
technologies.
II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND
EXPERIENCES
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers:
A. design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional
strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.
B. apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and
experiences.
D. plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.
E. plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-enhanced environment.
III. TEACHING, LEARNING, AND THE CURRICULUM
Teachers implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize
student learning. Teachers:
A. facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.
B. use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.
C. apply technology to develop students higher order skills and creativity.
D. manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment.
V. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers:
A. use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.
B. continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of
technology in support of student learning.
C. apply technology to increase productivity.
D. use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to
nurture student learning.
VI. SOCIAL, ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND HUMAN ISSUES
Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK12
schools and apply that understanding in practice. Teachers:
A. model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
B. apply technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and
abilities.
C. identify and use technology resources that affirm diversity.
D. promote safe and healthy use of technology resources.
E. facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all students.
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How can Blogs be used in
education?
Class Website: You can place your lessons, assignments, and announcements online;
communicate with absent students; include web site links and upload worksheets;
Parents can submit comments in response to a request for volunteers or supplies to be
donated
Class Newsletter: Unlike an e-mail newsletter or a print newsletter, a blog entry is in
no danger of not getting to its intended audience because it got caught in a spam filter
or discarded on the walk home from school. Plus, if you include an RSS link parents
can subscribe to your newsletter.
Class Blog: instruction tool with students contributing to the blog such as a current
events discussion, or a book study, creative writing
Department/Grade Level Blog: teachers can collaborate and share ideas, have virtual
meetings, plan parent/teacher conferences
Cadre/Committee Blog: members can have virtual meetings, sharing ideas while
viewing others ideas, collaborate on a group project, etc.
Professional Development Book Study: members can have virtual meetings sharing
reflections and applications of a book study.
Mentors/Protegee: New teachers can use blogs to reflect on their experiences and their
mentors can comment.
Student Team Blogs: students collaborate on a project; Students who are not in the
same science class physically, but are in one of Mrs. Rummels 8
th
grade science
classes, collaborates with other 8
th
grade science students assigned to study Jupiter. Or,
student in another District, State, or Country collaborate on a project using a blog.
Blogging Buddies: like penpals, but better
Writing Club: students post their work to a blog, fellow members comment on work
Student Journals: Students can blog their reflections and the teacher can conveniently
leave comments without collecting 25 spiral notebooks.
Student E-portfolios: Students can publish their work on-line, or use it as a digital
filing cabinet for their work. Comments can be posted by parents, aunts, grandparents,
etc.
Activity Updates: Clubs and activities, sports teams, and parent groups use Weblogs to
post scores, meeting minutes, and links to relevant issues and topics.
Building Announcements/Principal Memos: These bulletins would then be archived
for later reference; teachers could subscribe to the bulletins and automatically receive
notification of new postings. Staff members could comment on posts.
Registration Blog: Workshop registration process could be completed using a blog.
The facilitator posts an invitation, all those interested respond with a comment.
Companies serving the education community are using blogs to provide educators
with information that supports teaching and learning.
Professional organizations and associations are also using blogs to reach out to their
members and the greater community.
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Blog Advantages
Convenience and Simplicity: Can be utilized from any computer connected to the
Internet. You dont have to be logged in to your school station/network to make
changes to your blog.
Social/Collaboration: A blog can have several authors or contributors with varying
levels of access for publishing comments or posts and other content.
Engaging/Motivating for Students
Interactive
Multiple Learning Styles: Blogging appeals to multiple learning styles.
Context for Learning: students can create real products for a read audience and get
real feed back.
Encourages Reflection
Tech/Work Place Skills: Students learn technical skills for the workplace.

WordPress
WordPress is blogging software that helps you publish to the web instantly, whenever the urge
strikes, from any computer connected to the Internet. More specifically, instead of publishing
your posts in Mozilla Composter and uploading to a server, you make posts to your blog by
submitting a simple form on the Edublog web site, and the results immediately show up on
your site, with your design.

Edublogs
Edublogs is a free, weblog-hosting service for educators and students that uses WordPress
software. They also offer a subscription account. There are other weblog services/websites that
also use WordPress, or other blogging software.
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8etting Up Your Account

1. Using your browser, navigate to Edublogs.org at: http://edublogs.org

2. Click the SIGN UP HERE link.


3. Enter a Username.
4. Enter your school email address. If you type an incorrect email address, youll have to
start over and the great name you originally chose for your blog will no longer be
available.
5. Click the I Agree box.
6. Enter the Verification code.
7. Click the Next >> button.

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8. Enter a domain name. This cannot be changed later.
9. Enter a Blog Title. This can be changed later if necessary.
10. Set the Privacy option according to your preference.
11. Select a Blog Type.
12. Click the Signup button.

13. This confirmation message will be displayed. You need to look for an email with a
link for activating your blog. If you dont do this within 2 days, you will have to sign
up again. You can close this browser window.



14. When you receive the Activate
email, similar to the one
pictured below, click on the
link to start your browser and
activate your new Edublogs
account. Or, you can copy and
paste the link into your
browser if necessary.
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15. Make note of your username and
password for future reference.
16. Copy your password.
17. Click the link to Login.
18. Enter your username and paste in your
password.
19. Click the Login button.



20. You will then receive the second
email with your blog address, login
address, username and password.

Logging in
1. In your browser, navigate to Edublogs.org.
2. In the Log in to Edublogs box enter your username and password.
If you have LOST your password, click the Youre your password? link.
3. Click the Login to Edublogs button.
4. Check the Remember me box only if you are the only user of this particular computer.

5. The Dashboard for your blog is displayed.

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Visitor's View
1. From your Dashboard is displayed, click the Visit
Site button to view your blog as a visitor.
2. Your blogs homepage will be a list of your
postings in chronological order.

Posts
In the middle of your page is a chronological list of
your posts, newest on top.
After a point, determined by you (5 posts, 10, 1), posts are archived and no longer
appear on the homepage, but are still accessible.
The title of a post is a clickable link that will take you to a full-page view with any
comments.
Currently it displays only one post, Hello world! which was posted Edublogs.
















Each post includes the date, author, category, and any comments.
If click one of the categories, it will display all the posts with this same category.
If you click Comments, it will display all the comments.

8ide Bar Widgets
The side bars have design widgets, or blocks of content. You can control what widgets are
displayed. Some of your choices include Links, Pages, Categories, Calendar, etc.

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Pages
These are static pages that you create, not posts or comments.
When you click on a page title the blog posts in the middle are replaced with the page
contents. The side bars remain.
Currently 1 page exists, an About page. You can add more pages or delete the About
page and not have any pages.
Examples include About Mrs. Carey, Our Schedule, Supply List, Calendar, Solar
Energy Unit, etc.
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Your Dashboard
When you log in, your Dashboard is displayed. From here you control what appears on your
blog. You can click the small Justice tab at the top to return to your Dashboard from other
pages.
1. To customize the widgets that appear on your Dashboard, click the Widgets link at the
top.


2. From the list of Available Widgets, click the Add link for the widgets you want
displayed on your Dashboard. The ones I prefer are displayed below on the Current
Widgets side.
3. Under Current Widgets, click the Edit link to remove or customize a widget. Not all
widgets can be customized.
4. Click and drag the widget bars to arrange them.
5. Click the Save Changes button. If you want to restore the default widgets or resent
widget options to their defaults, there are link at the top for each.

6. Click the Dashboard link at the top to view your customized Dashboard.
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8et Preferences
Update Your Profile & Password
1. From your Dashboard page, click the Users tab.
2. Choose Your Profile.
3. Personal Options: I would recommend leaving checked: Use the visual editor when
writing.
4. Name: Enter first and last name, and a nickname (Mrs. Garton).
5. Scroll to the bottom and click the Update Profile button.
6. In the Name section, use the menu to choose what name to display with your posts.
7. About Yourself: Enter a new password.
8. Update any other information that you prefer.
9. Be sure to click the Update Profile button at the bottom.

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Activating Plugins
Plugins are bits of programming scripts that add additional functionality to your blog. These
are the only plugins available for you to use. Plugins I recommend: AddThis Social
Bookmarking, Akismet, Subscribe to Comments.

1. Click Plugins on the right.
2. To activate a plugin click the Activate in its row.


3. To turn off an active plug-in, click Deactivate.


To utilize the Akismet plugin you will need an API key. See the Akismet section later in the
handout for directions on how to get one.

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General 8ettings
A menu appears below the blue bar: General, Writing, Reading, etc. Some of the plugins you
activated may appear to allow you to configure them. The next few pages will lead you
through some of the settings. Feel free to explore the others as needed.
1. Click Settings.
2. Click General.
3. Enter a Tagline.
4. Choose Timezone UTC -6.
5. Make any other changes according to your preferences. I would not recommend
checking the Membership box. This greatly limits who can comment on your blog.
6. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.






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Reading 8ettings
Click settings.
Choose Reading. Front Page displays: by default this is Your latest posts, but you can
choose a static page.
Blog pages show at most: set how many posts to show on home page
Syndication Feeds show the most recent: how many posts should be included in your
feed
For each article in a feed, show: choose Summary if you want subscribers to have to
visit your blog to read the full post.
Click the Save Changes button.

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Discussion Options
These setting may be overridden for individual posts or pages.
From Setting, click Discussion.

If you do NOT want to allow comments:
for Default article settings uncheck:
Allow link notifications from other blogs
Allow people to post comments on the article and uncheck
Click the Save Changes button.

If you do want to allow comments:
for Default article settings check only:
Allow link notifications from other blogs
Allow people to post comment son the article
For E-mail me whenever check only:
A comment is held for moderation
for Before a comment appears check only:
Ad administrator must always approve the comment
Comment author must fill out name and email.
Click the Save Changes button.

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Write a Post
1. From your Dashboard, click Write. The Write Post page is displayed.
2. Enter a title for you Post in the Title field.
Avoid using the same title twice.
You can use commas, apostrophes, quotes, hypens/dashes, and other typical
symbols in the post like "My Site - Here's Lookin' at You, Kid".
3. Click the Show/Hide Kitchen Sink button to display additional buttons.






4. Type in your text. If you paste in your text it may contain some hidden formatting that
causes it not to respond to your formatting choices. When pasting in text you can:
Paste in the text, select it, then click the Remove formatting button .
Paste in the text using the Paste as Plain text button .
Use the Paste from Word button if the text is from a Word document.
You can use the Full Screen Mode button to view just the Editor pane for
more composition area. You can also resize the writing area by clicking on the
shading in the bottom right corner of the box and dragging.
5. Use the various text formatting tools.





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6. Enter Tags, separated by commas. Click the
Add button.






If you want to delete a tag, you can click the
X beside it.


7. In the Categories box, click +Add New
Category.







8. Enter the text for the New
Category.
9. Use the drop down menu to
choose Parent category to
create a main category. If you
want to nest the category under
an existing category, choose it.
10. Click the Add button.
11. Check the appropriate categories
for this post.



Tags vs. Categories
Both serve the purpose of helping readers quickly
locate information.
Categories create a Table of Contents while Tags are
like an index.
Categories can be phrases Best of Web 2.0 while tags
are usually 1-2 words
You may not need to use both
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12. If you want to edit the comment options, click the
triangle boxes to open the Comments & Pings
section.



13. Indicate your preferences.






14. Here you can require a password to view this post.




15. Use the Spell Check button . Misspelled words will be identified with a red
underline. Click on the word to access a menu of suggested spellings.


16. Use the sidebar on the right to Save or
Publish your post.
If you save the post, you can continue
working on it now or later. Your visitors
can not see the post. As you work, it is
good to Save occasionally, just in case of
technical difficulties. Saving also allows
you to preview the post before publishing.
When you Publish the post, it is available
for your visitors. It can still be edited.




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Edit a Draft
1. If you saved a post, but didnt publish, and need to work on it again, click Manage. All
your posts will be listed, published and drafts.
2. You can use the Filter option: Drafts at the top to find the correct post.
3. Click the title for the post you would like to work on.


Visual Editor Toolbar

Bold, Italic, Strikethrough

Text Color, Remove Formatting
Style, Underline

Outdent, Indent

Insert/Edit Link, Unlink

Insert/Edit Image, Insert More Tag

Paste as Plain Text, Paste from Word

Insert/Edit Embedded Media, Insert Custom Character

Bullets, Numbered List, Blockquotes

Alignment
Spell Check, Full Screen Mode, Show/Hide Kitchen Sink

Undo, Redo, Help

Add an Image, Add Video, Add Audio, Add Media

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Adding Media
The media (image, video, audio, document) that you add to a post can be uploaded to Edublogs
or, if youve uploaded the media elsewhere, such as Flickr or Podomatic, you can use the direct
URL for the media to insert it.

Upload Media
1. Position your cursor where you want the media in the post.
2. From the Visual tab click the appropriate Add media button, image, video, audio or
media.














From URL
1. If the file is already available online and you have a direct URL to it, copy the URL.
2. Paste it into the URL field.
3. Enter a Description and any other preferences.
4. Then click Insert into Post.
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From Computer
1. To upload a file from your computer, I
recommend using the Browser uploader at
this point. Click the Browser uploader link.




2. Click the Browse button and navigate to the
file on your computer.
3. Once youve selected the file, click the
Open button in the File Upload window.
4. Click the Upload button.




5. Complete the fields according to
your preferences. The only
required field is Title.

Images
Image files include Alignment and
Size options. Your visitors can click
the image and it will display a new
web page with the full-sized image.

Videos
You can upload videos up to a size
of 10MB to Edublogs. A link to the
video will be displayed for your
visitors to click to open or download
the file

Documents
Document files include: Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, and PDFs. A link
to the document will be displayed for
your visitors to click to open or
download the file.

Audio
A link will be displayed that visitors can right click on to download the file. Or they can click
the included play button to stream the audio from your post.

6. Click the Insert into Post button. Clicking the Save all changes button instead will save
your upload to later use.
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To nsert Previously Uploaded Media
1. To access your previously uploaded files, click the appropriate
Add Media button.
2. Click the Gallery tab to display all the media uploaded during
this session.
To insert all the image files in your Gallery into your
post, click the Insert gallery into post button.



To insert a non-image file from your
Gallery, click the Show link for the
file. Then click the Insert into Post
button.












If the uploaded file is not available in the Gallery, click the Media Library. You can then use
the Menu at the top to filter out the choices and quickly locate the file.




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In the example post below Ive inserted the gallery, an audio file, a word document, and a
video. On the left is the view while editing the post, on the right is what my visitors will see.

Editing an Embedded mage

When you insert in an image (jpg, gif) into a post you can choose thumbnail or medium
sized. These dimensions can be set by you under Setting>Miscellaneous.
You can click the image and use the handles to resize it. Making it larger will result in a
pixilated image.

1. Select the image.
2. Click the Insert/edit image button in the toolbar.
3. Make your changes.
4. Click the Update button.

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nserting a Hyperlink
1. Type in a title for your link and highlight it.
2. Click the link button .
3. Paste in the URL.
4. In the Target field I usually choose Open in a new window so that my blog will remain
open while readers access this link in a new window.
5. Choose a class (alignment).
6. Click the Insert button.


















nserting Embedding Code
You can use the HTML tab to paste in embedding code to display various items into your
article. You might use this to embed a Slideshare show, a Schooltube video, a Flickr
slideshow, etc. This works for most embedding code, but not all.
1. Copy the code you wish to embed.
2. Click the HTML tab.
3. Paste in the code in the appropriate location.
4. Click Save and then Preview to see what your visitors will see. If you switch from the
html to visual and back your code may disappear.

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Tips for 8ome Popular tems
Bubbleshare: Use the Gizmo player and check the box to Optimize for Wordpress
Slideshare: Use the Embed in your blog code
Flickr: badges dont work, but other mashups such as FlickrSlidr do work.
Dotsub: copy provided embedding code
Voice Thread: copy provided embedding code

Write a Page
Pages behave differently than posts in your blog. They are mostly used for static content that
rarely needs updating. Creating a page is the same as creating a post. The editor is the same.
There are 2 additional Advanced Options: Page Parent and Page Order.

Page Parent allows you to arrange your pages in a hierarchical style. For example, you
might have a Science Links parent page with Space, Plant, and Animal Unit pages
under it.
Page Template: some designs include Page templates. This is a way to automatically
create an Archive page that lists all your posts, a Links page that lists all the links in
your blogroll, or a Site Map (this option hasnt worked for me.)
Page Order allows you to override the alphabetical list of your pages.




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Add a Link to Blogroll/Links
The Blogroll is a list of hyperlinks. Bloggers usually include links to other Blogs that they
read. For the Blogroll to be displayed you need to have the Link Widget in your sidebar. See
the section on Design for how to do this.

1. Click Write.
2. Click Link.
3. In another browser window copy
the web address for the link.



4. Enter a name. The Name is what will appear in your Blogroll as the hyperlink.
5. Paste in the Web Address.
6. Enter a description of desired.
7. Enter/choose a category for a link.
8. Under Advanced Options in the Target box choose to set the link to open in a blank
window if desired.
9. Click the Save button.





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Manage Blogroll
1. To edit your Blogroll/Links click Manage and choose Links.
2. To locate a particular link you can use the Search Links box or the Filter options at
the top.

1. To delete a click select it by click the box by the title. Then click the Delete button.
2. To edit a link click on the name of the link.




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Manage Posts
1. Click the Manage.
2. Choose Posts.
3. Use the Search field, Filter options, or Page navigation to locate the post of interest.

a. To edit a post click its Title.
b. To delete a post, check the box by its date then click the Delete button.
c. To view your Drafts only click the Drafts link.
d. To view all the posts by a particular Author, click the authors name.
e. To view all the posts with a particular category, click that category label.
f. To view all the posts with a particular tab, click that tag label.
g. To view a post click the Published link under status.


Manage Pages
Manage Pages is similar to Manage Posts, but with fewer columns and no filter.

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Manage Media
1. Click Manage.
2. Click Media Library.
3. Use the Search box, Filter or page Navigation to locate the file.

a. To edit a file and add a title, caption, or description, click the Media title.
b. To Delete media, check the box in the files row and click the Delete button.
c. To view the direct hyperlink for the file click Permalink
d. To edit the post with the media click the Appears with title.

Manage Tags
1. Click Manage.
2. Click Tags.
3. If necessary, use the Search box to locate the tag, or the page navigation.

a. To delete tags, check the box by the tag, click the Delete button.
b. To add a new tag click the Add new link.

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Manage Categories
1. Click Manage.
2. Click Categories.
3. If necessary, use the Search box to locate the category.

a. To delete categories, check the box by the category, click the Delete button.
Deleting a category does not delete the posts in that category. Instead, posts that
were only assigned to the deleted category are set to the category general.
b. To add new categories, click the add new link.
c. To convert your categories to tags use the tag converter link.


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Manage Comments
1. Click Comments.
2. If necessary use the search box and page navigation to locate the comment(s).

a. To access the comments awaiting approval click the Awaiting Moderation link at
the top.
b. To edit the comment click the authors name.
c. To delete a comment click Delete.
d. To report a comment as Spam click Spam.
e. To unapprove a previously approved comment click Unapprove.
f. To apply actions in bulk, check the boxes for the comments and click the
appropriate button at the top.





nserting a Hyperlink in a Comment
WIen IeuvIng u commenL, II vou wIsI Lo IncIude u IvperIInk, you need to manually enter
the hyperlink using HTML code. Type it exactly as shown.

<a href=url>Title of link</a>
Example: <a href=http://jgarton.edublogs.org>Fusion Finds</a>



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Choose Your Design
At any time you can select a new Theme for your blog. Different themes feature different
layouts.
1. Click Design.
If you plan to use a lot of static Pages dont use a theme that has navigation links
that run across the top of the page.
If you plan on using a lot of images in your posts, dont use a theme with a narrow
content area.
The RSS link on some presentations does not work.
2. When you see a theme that you want to try, click once to select it.
3. Click the Visit site. If you are not happy with this choice go back to Design and choose
a different Presentation theme.
4. Some themes offer additional customization options such as: Custom Image Header
and Colour Options.


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Widgets
Widgets are the items that appear in your sidebar.

1. Latest Posts: a list of your most recent posts
2. Blogroll/Links: a list of web links of your choice.
3. Archives: links here will display monthly chronological views of your posts.
4. Meta: A must have; author tools: Site Admin, Logout/Login, Create another blog, links
to Edublogs homepage, support and campus (subscription based service).
5. Search: A search form for your blog
6. Pages: a list of the pages included in your blog.
7. Categories: You can choose to use Categories to label your posts. This helps readers
locate posts on a particular topic without scanning through a list of chronological
postings. For example: Todays Assignments, Homework, Newsletters, Spelling
Words, etc. A category is not displayed on your Blog navigation until it contains posts.
8. Tag Cloud: Your tags in a cloud format
9. ClustrMaps: Displays a map with your visitors indicated by red dots
10. Calendar: a calendar of your blogs posts
11. Text: arbitrary text or html code
12. RSS: subscription button your visitors can use to subscribe to your blog
13. Recent Comments: displays recent comments left on your posts
14. Delicious: displays your delicious links by the tags you specify
15. Vod:Pod Videos: add your favorite videos from hundreds of sites.
16. Blog Avatar: displays your online caricature
17. Twitters: displays your latest twits on Twitter
18. Google Search: Google search form
19. Email Subscription: a form your visitors can use to subscribe to your blog via email,
instead of using RSS to subscribe with a reader.
20. Flickr: displays flickr images as indicated by your choices
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Manage Your Widgets
1. Click Design.
2. Click Widgets.
3. The Available Widgets are listed on the left. You can use the Drop down menu to
show all widgets, unused widgets, or used widgets.
4. The Widgets you are currently using on listed on the right. If your Theme has more
one sidebar you can use the menu to choose which sidebar to show.





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Add a Widget

1. To add a widget to your sidebar, click
the Add link for the widgets. It appears
in the sidebar on the right.







2. Click the Edit link for the newly added widget and
configure the widget. Click the Change button. Not
every widget has options.















3. Rearrange the widgets in the sidebars with a click
and drag.
4. Click the Save Changes button when you are
finished.


The more widgets you have the slower your blog will load.
The widgets I recommend include:

1. Meta
2. Pages (unless your pages are
displayed somewhere in your
Theme)
3. Links
4. RSS & Email Subscription
5. Categories/Tag Cloud
6. Archives
7. Search
8. ClustrMaps
9. Text (as needed)

Remove a Widget
1. Click the Edit link for the widget you want to
remove.

2. Click the Remove button.















3. Click the Save Changes button.

nserting code in a Text Widget

This can be used to insert code from sites like flickr, meez, zoho polls, etc.

1. From your dashboard click Design.
2. Click Widgets.
3. Add a Text box to your Sidebar.
4. Click the Edit link in the Text box under
Current Widgets.
5. Paste in the code.
6. Click the Change button.
7. Click the Save Changes button.


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Avatar
An avatar is an Internet user's representation of himself or herself. This avatar will be visible
on comments and blog listings across Edublogs. You can also choose to display your avatar in
your sidebar by including the avatar widget in your presentation.
1. Click Users.
2. Click Your Avatar.
3. Click the Browse
button and navigate to
the image file (jpeg, gif,
or png) you want to
use. You are able to
crop it after you have
uploaded it.
4. Click the Upload
Image button.








5. The next window provides handles on your image
that you can click and drag to crop it.
6. Click the Crop Image button.





Log Out
If you do not log off before closing your blog site, the next time that web address is accessed
from this station, you will still be logged in.
From your Dashboard area you can click the Log Out link in the top right hand corner.
From your blog you can click Logout available in the Meta Widget of your sidebar.

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Additional Blogs
You will use the same user name and password with all your blogs created from the same
email address. You will just have a different blog URL address for this new blog.
1. Login to your blog.
2. Navigate to: http://edublogs.org/wp-signup.php
3. Complete the form and click the Create Blog button.

Up to 4 of your blogs will be listed across the top of your dashboard. You can click on the blog
title to access its Dashboard.

If you have more than 4 blogs click the All my blogs link to view a drop down menu of your
blogs.

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Manage Users
Typically, the administrator of a blog is the only one who can publish posts, pages, and has
control over visitors comments. Visitors can post comments, if allowed, but cannot publish
posts or other content. If you would like other users to have access to these features of your
blog you can use the Authors & Users tab on the Users Page to set them up. The users must be
registered at Edublog. The role that you assign a user defines how much they can do.
The Administrator: access to all the options
Editor: publish and manage posts and pages; manage comments, uploads, categories;
edit the blogroll and the profile;
Authors: publish posts; edit and delete their own posts; manage uploads moderate
some comments.
Contributor: write posts that must be approved by an author, editor, or administrator
before being published; moderate some comments;
Subscribers: publish comments

Add New Users
1. Click Users.
2. Click Add Users.
3. Enter the appropriate email address for the new user (It has to be the email address
they used when registering for Edublogs).
4. Choose the Role.
5. Repeat as needed.
6. Click the Next button at the bottom.



A confirmation message will be displayed
when the task is completed.




7. Click Authors & Users. You should now see the new user listed in the All Users table.
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Delete Users
1. Click Users.
2. Check the box next to the username.
3. Click the Remove button.


Edit a User
1. Click Users.
2. Check the box next to the username.
3. Use the menu to select the new role.
4. Click the Change button.

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Blogging With 8tudents

Examples of 8tudent Blogging

Blogs are a wonderful vehicle for students to use to publish to a worldwide audience, and
receive feedback. Some examples of student blogging include:
Scribe for the day: student post notes about that days class, or even demonstrate skills
learned
Work samples: student published documents or creative writing; photos of projects or
artwork; embed videos, slideshows, podcasts, etc.
Reflections: students reflect on their learning
Book Reviews: students post book reviews
Building News: students publish class announcements, reminders, report on activities
and events, post polls and surveys, post school photos
Teacher question posts: the teacher posts a question and the students all respond with
a comment.
Collaborative projects: using a blog to communicate and collaborate when working
with another class on a project
Historical fiction: students write blog posts from the view point of a historical figure
or during a time in history.
Audio posts: Students recordings/podcasts can be posted on the blog (read creative
writing, their own poetry).
Scientists: Student post data, photos, or videos during a science activity.

Develop a Class Blogging Policy

Here are some possibilities:
1. I will not give out any information more personal than my first name. This means no
pictures myself, age, email address, home address, school name or location, phone
numbers, or other sensitive information.
2. I will not link to other sites that can identify my geographical locations, such as a
school or district website.
3. I will not share my password with anyone besides teachers and parents.
4. If I see something online that makes me uncomfortable or afraid, I will minimize my
screen immediately and report this to my teacher.
5. I will take blogging seriously, posting only things that are meaningful and taking my
time when I write.
6. I take responsibility for what I post on the blog. I will only post pieces that I am
comfortable with everyone seeing (teachers, family, clergy), even 10 years from now
(colleges, employers, coworkers).
7. I will use my blog as an extension of the classroom, posting on any school-appropriate
subject.
8. I will express my ideas, while not over generalizing or making derogatory or
inflammatory remarks.
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9. I will use only constructive criticism.
10. I will support any idea, comment, or critique I have with evidence.
11. I will only post comments on posts that I have fully read.
12. I will evaluate what I find online.
13. I will be respectful of others and their opinions.
14. I will not insult my fellow students or their writing.
15. I will not bully others in my blog posts or in my comments.
16. I will never access another students account.
17. I will not provoke other students in my blog posts or comments.
18. I will not reveal anyone elses identity in my comments or posts.
19. I will use language appropriate for school.
20. I will try to spell everything correctly and use correct grammar.
21. I will not plagiarize. I will abide by copyright laws for anything posted on my blog
including videos, images, audio files, etc.
22. I will not spam.
Follow Through With Consequences
Warning
Deletion of some or all of the post
Temporary loss of blogging privileges
Detention
Suspension
Permanent loss of blogging privileges

8et Teacher Controls
Approve all student posts prior to publication. With older students, teachers can use
their judgment as to if this is necessary during the entire course. If the teacher views the
blogs content frequently, any issues will be identified and dealt with quickly.
Approve all comments prior to publication.

Educate the Parents
If the students Technology Usage Agreement gives him/her permission to post work
online, then he/she may participate in a blog.
However, you should still educate the parents on the educational benefits of blogging
and the safety procedures that are in place.
Encourage parents to visit the blog and leave comments.
Share the Class Blogging Policy.
Teach 8tudent to be 8uccessful Bloggers
Read blogs
Accept the challenge of blogging to their personal best
Show improvement in their posts, with practice and guidance from others
Keep the focus of blogging on academic collaboration insightful
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Frame thought-provoking questions at the end of their blog entries that will invite
valuable comments
Follow writing conventions
Respond to posts by others, either through comments, or by writing a post
Connect to a larger community of learners
Compose posts that include textual references to support opinions
Respect others
Celebrate their successes and those of their peers

Teach 8tudents to Comment Like a Pro
Moderate student comments
Write meaningful comments that add to the conversation.
Dont be afraid to comment, even if you are a new blogger.
Show the author that you hear them. I hear you saying.
Use your comment to show why you think the topic is important.
If youve written about it, link to your post.
Read the comments posted after yours.
Be respectful of other people and their opinions.
Constructive criticism only, no derogatory or inflammatory remarks
Model good spelling and grammar
Support yours comment with evidence.
Only comment on post that you have fully read
Comment 8tarters
This made me think about.......
I wonder why.......
Your writing made me form an opinion about.......
This post is relevant because.......
Your writing made me think that we should.......
I wish I understood why.......
This is important because.......
Another thing to consider is.......
I can relate to this.......
This makes me think of.......
I discovered.......
I don't understand.......
I was reminded that.......
I found myself wondering.......
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Create a monitored blog for each student

1. Click Users.
2. Choose Blog & User Creator.
3. Choose the Blog Type.
4. Choose Yes to add yourself as a co-administrator of the blog.
5. Enter a username for the first student.
The web address for the blog will be their username.edublogs.org.
Dont use first and last names for student safety.
Use some unique with numbers or the school initials to avoid conflicts with another
edublog account.
6. Students can use their epals email addresses, or you can use a gmail alias. (See the
later section on gmail alias.)
The students will be emailed their usernames and passwords.
Warning: This email also contains a link to create a new blog.
If you use a gmail alias all those emails will come to you.
7. Repeat for each student.
8. Click the Create button at the bottom.
9. If you have more than 15 students, repeat the process.


You will see the confirmation message when the
process is complete.


1. Click All my blogs from the top of your dashboard.
2. Use the drop down menu to select one of the new student blogs that you just created
and click the Go button.
3. The title of the blog will be Usernames Blog. But this can be changed in
Settings>General.
4. When you view the users of the blog you will see yourself and the student both listed
as administrators. If you would like to approve each post written by the student before
it is published, change the students role to contributor.
5. The students are also added as subscribers to the blog for which you used the dashboard
to create their blogs. A subscriber has permission to read your blog.











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Create One Class Blog to Which all 8tudents
Contribute
1. Create Edublogs accounts for each of your students, choosing just a username
please instead of a blog. Students can use their epals accounts or you can use a gmail
alias. (See the later section on gmail alias.)
2. Create the class blog using your Edublogs account. See the previous section on
creating additional blogs.
3. Click Users.
4. Choose Add Users.
5. For each of your students enter their email address in the User Email field (epals or
gmail alias) and choose the role Contributer. This role will allow them to compose
articles that will have be approved by you before they are published on the blog.
6. The form includes fields for 15 students. If you have more just repeat the process.


Using Gmail Aliases to Register Your 8tudents
With a gmail account, you can receive messages sent to your gmail address AND a gmail alias,
[email protected]. For example, messages sent to
[email protected] are delivered to [email protected].

1. Create a gmail account at: https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount.
2. Create student blogs with email alias accounts by using the plus (+) sign and student
first name

[email protected]
[email protected]

you can have as many aliases as you like per Gmail username
the bit after the "+" sign in the alias can be just one character long, or longer if you
wish, and can consist of letters and numbers.
you can apply Gmail filters to individual aliases to help organize your
correspondence
3. All the authorization and management matters related to your students blogs will come
to your gmail account.


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Acquiring an Akismet Plugin
AP Key
1. When you active the Akismet plug in this will be displayed.
2. Click the link for enter your WordPress.com API key.



3. Click Get your key.








4. Click Sign Up.
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5. Complete the registration form.
6. Click the Next button.













7. Check your email.
8. When you receive the email
form WordPress.com, click the
activation link, or copy and
paste it into your browser.






9. Click the Login link.
10. Log in.







11. In the top left corner, click My Account and
choose Edit Profile.


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12. Copy your API key. Make a record of it for future reference.









13. Log in to your Edublog.
14. Click Plugins in the top right corner.
15. Click Akismet Configuration.





16. Paste in our API key
17. Click the Update options button.