2. Blogging Basics A presentation by Vicki Martinez

3. Step 1:  The first step in blogging is to decide on a blog host.  The blog host is the site where your blog will be located.  Once you’ve chosen a host, create an account. Think of a name for your blog, and choose a template to start setting up.

4. Some common blogging hosts  Educators must choose secure sites that require information to be processed through the teacher.  www.epals.com www.epals.com  http://edublogs.org/videos/ http://edublogs.org/videos/  http://www.classblogmeister.com/http://www.classblogmeister.com/  www.teacherweb.com www.teacherweb.com

5. Creating a blog on Teacher WebTeacher Web  1. Go to the Update Index page by clicking on the bottom divider line of any of the pages.  2. Go to the Add/Delete/Rename pages button.  3. Once you’ve added a blog page go to the page and click on the top divider line.  4. You will be prompted to enter a password.

6. Teacher Web Blogs  5. After logging in you will see “Add Entry” (new topic) button on the right. Click the button to post a new entry.  6. When you have finished entering text, click “Save Post” to post the entry to your blog page. All comments must be approved by you before they can be displayed. (You will be notified by email when there is a comment.)

7. Teacher Web Blogs  7. If you’d like visitors to be able to post comments, leave the “Enable Comments” box checked.  8. All entries you post will remain available on the page until you remove them.  9.Old entries can be accessed from the “Archives” link on the right side of the page.

8. www.epals.com  Here is an example of an epals site: http://sites.epals.com/mrshernandezsmathclas s/ created by Kristen Hernandez at Carolyn Park Elementary. http://sites.epals.com/mrshernandezsmathclas s/

9. Blogging Topics  Top 100 Education Blogs: http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100- education-blogs http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100- education-blogs  The difference between wikis and blogs: http://ferret.bemidjistate.edu/~morgan/cgi- bin/blogsAndWiki.pl?WikiAndBlog http://ferret.bemidjistate.edu/~morgan/cgi- bin/blogsAndWiki.pl?WikiAndBlog

10. Why do teachers use blogs?  Some teachers use them to replace class web pages.  Blogs help develop a community of learners. Loud students and quiet students have the same blog space as well as time to think about responses.

11. Ways to use blogs in class:  Post class related information like homework, class work, projects, and thought provoking questions.  Post writing prompts.  Practice Reading and Responding skills as they relate to subject matter.  Post photos and ask for related stories.

12. More blogging  Propose a science related question prior to an experiment and ask for student hypotheses.  Display student poetry and other creative writings.  Create an online book club or literature circle.  Post tasks for project based learning.  Create a class newsletter based on student writing and ideas.  Provide an article for students to summarize.

13.  Use blogs to create sentences for new vocabulary in context  Create writing portfolios for students.  Complete a webquest.