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Week 2: Understanding and Starting a Blog

During this week, participants will:

• get to understand blog jargon
• open an account at Blogger or Wordpress
• choose a theme for their blog
• edit their blog profile
• consider moderation options for the comment area
• consider adding word verification in the comment area to avoid spam
• post their first entry to their own blog
• add a comment in the group blog defining the purpose of their edublogs and the target audience
• understand the basics of tagging and tag their first post
• edit and format their entries
• add images and links to their blog entries
• enter their blogs in a database of participants' blogs

Extension: The World of Microblogging in Twitter

Task 1 - Learning about Blogging Jargon

• Check our Blog Glossary
• Have fun with our Crossword Puzzle on Blog Jargon

Task 2 - Reflecting Upon Blogging with Students

• Take a look at this video about blogging Blogging: In Their Own Words
• Post a comment on our Blog

Task 3 - Starting a Blog

We had already commented on Blogger (Week 1) and Edublogs (Week 2).

Choose one of these blog hosts to create your own blog.

Consider the following issues:

• Define the purpose of your blog (Is it a personal journal? Is it for professional development issues? Is it a class blog? Is it a family blog? Is it a travel log?)
• Define the target audience
• Choose a Title (It will be the header of your blog)

If you chose Blogger,

1. Read our Tips to Create a Blogger Account 
2. Check the tour at Blogger
3. Create a Blogger account at http://www.blogger.com/start

If you chose Edublogs,

1. Click on Sign Up for free
2. Fill out the form
3. Check your mailbox for your account confirmation

Make sure you edit your profile that is shown on your blog. People need to know who's responsible for the blog.

Consider moderation options. Are you going to moderate comments or not?

Consider adding word verification to the comment area to avoid spam.

Task 4 - Writing your First Post

a. Log in to your blog account.

b. Write a post with the purpose of your blog, your target audience and how you plan to achieve your blogging goals.

c. Add tags to your blog posts (always add blogging4educators as it is our session tag)

By tagging you're labelling, attaching personal keywords to your posts

d. Include your Blog URL in the folder labelled Participants'Blogs in our Yahoogroups Links Area.

Going Beyond: add an image and/or a link to your blog entry.

Remember to resize your photo to post on the blog.

You can use EasyThumbnails or Picasa to do it.

Optional Activities and Extra Resources

Check our Pageflakes for blogs of the week, microblogging in Twitter and an interesting reading.

Office Hours - Synchronous Interaction

Bee Dieu's Presentation - Social Media in English Language Teaching