How 2 of Web 2.0 activities

Listen to audio sybablog.mp3

Please check out the links below and read a little about the original program.

• Stephen Abrams on 23 things.
• About the program – Helen Blowers’ site.
• Students Today – a superb video showing exactly why libraries need to keep up with the changing needs of today’s users.
• Mike Temple Blog for helping you to set up your blog
• For more information on writing posts and editing your blog - an excellent video can be seen here

Why blog?

People blog because they want to share with others. They may share their opinions, rants on particular topics, or news from a holiday. They may even have a professional blog where they share views on their industry, or they may have a blog all about their pet. When you’re blogging, you can adopt any persona you like. Some people have written from a cat’s perspective.

Many companies have an ‘official’ blog, where they release news about the company and views about the industry. Some blogs are highly successful due to the personality of the blog’s author. Some blogs have multiple authors. Blogs can be used very effectively for educational purposes: a shared project by students can be created and showcased on a blog; teachers can post notes, lectures, FAQs and various resources on a central blog for their students.

This program is based upon blog entries and during its course, you’ll need to write a blog post about each ‘thing’ you complete. That will let the administrators track your progress. You should also think about the audience for your blog: can anyone read your blog – will you show it to your family, your friends, or will you just keep it to yourself? Will you want to continue blogging after you’ve finished? Have a look at the links at the end of this post for ideas and inspiration.

Activity

Create a Blog.

There are many blogging sites available but for the Syba Signs ‘How 2 of Web 2.0 Program’ a special, secure forum has been created based upon Wordpress Blogs.

To create your blog:

1. Go to the Global Teacher site.
2. On the left-hand side under the Admin menu, select Create a Teacher Blog

Now you will register with Global Teacher

3. Enter your Username – this must be unique to the system. Some people prefer to create information which is not “familiar” to them, which will maintain some anonymity throughout their blogging. This is completely up to you.
4. Enter the email address you wish to use for the program, and that you have regular access to as you will need to authenticate your blog account.
5. Leave the radio button set to “Gimme a blog!” and click Next.

Now you will create your blog

6. Enter a blog domain – this will make up your blog URL and must be unique (you will be told if it is not unique when you try to create your blog)
7. Enter a blog title – this can be changed at a later date if you wish, but will serve as the title of your blog in the mean time
8. Set the privacy and language and click “Create Blog”

*Make sure you write down your login and password*

Once you’ve created your blog here are two important things to know:

• You can always access your blog by logging in at http://www.globalteacher.org.au.
• You can also directly type in your blog address which will be http://(xxxx).globalteacher.org.au (xxxx=is the unique identifier/name you entered in Step 2, i.e http://maryslearning.globalteacher.com). You will be able to login to your blog using the ’site admin’ or ‘meta’ area on your blog.

*Be sure to also write down your blog address*

Also, save your blog to your bookmarks or favourites folder so you can return to it quickly later. You’ll need to add an entry to it for each task you complete.

I would also like you to write your very first post on your blog. You may want to introduce yourself, or your persona, or explain what the blog is for. Simply go to the admin site of your blog (sometimes also called ‘meta’), login and this will bring you to your dashboard. Click ‘write’, and create a post.

Register your Blog

• When registering your Blog: Type or cut and paste the url (address), of the blog YOU have created (this can be found in the address bar on the page from which you are viewing your blog), into an email and send to learning@yprl.vic.gov.au – or you can use our online form to submit your blog address.
• As you address each exercise please make this the title of your post. eg. # 5 Flickr, #8 RSS feeds etc..
• Tracking your blog: To enable your blog to be tracked during the program, it is important to note that only blog posts can be tracked automatically by administrative staff. If you choose to add a new page to your blog for each (or any) activity you will need to send an email to learning@yprl.vic.gov.au to alert admin staff that you have completed a new task or tasks.
• Posting to your blog: Feel free to update your blog posts with your thoughts on the program and the things you are discovering. Your feedback is welcome throughout the entire course, and your thoughts and experiences will be helpful for other participants in the program.

Once you have registered your Blog it will be listed on the Learning 2.0 Participants’ Blog List.

The participants’ blog is a good place to gain inspiration and support each other via the comments

section in the individual blogs.

Additional Resources if you have time

• How to change your template or theme
  
• Scott Leslie’s ‘Some uses for Blogs in Education’
  
• Blogging in Plain English-educational video
• Edubeacon (Education Blog by Camilla Elliot)
• Lucacept – a great blog post on utilising blogging in the classroom

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