The Dashboard

First, sign in to your blog. On the top right side of your screen you should see "Customize." Click there. Then look to the top right of your screen again and see "Dashboard."

The Dashboard is the area that pops up if you click to find out who is following you, or if you check out someone's comments on your blog.

From the Dashboard you can change your profile, add or change a photo etc. Click whichever link your prefer on the left side of your screen. Gr. 6s -- I suggest that you do not put a full-face close up as your photo. This photo will be the one that shows up under "Followers" on any blog you choose to follow.

Add as many, or as few details as you wish for your profile. Again, I suggest being a bit vague with your information. For example, don't put your full home address -- just list the town, or province.

At the bottom of the dashboard there are some neat links to check out. Blogs of Note is one of my favourites. The brains at Blogger choose a worthy site to highlight every week or so. I've learned a lot by checking out these amazing blogs. Even if you aren't interested in the content, it's neat to see the layouts and possibilities.

Technology in schools

Wow! Our Principal of System Technology sent out this UTube video link to all principals. It's from the New Brunswick Department of Education, but I believe it applies to all schools, world wide. I've attached it here for you to view and think about.
Inspiring!

Following

Followers are people who like your blog to want to keep up with it. When you get followers, you can click on their picture to view their profile, you can also see a list of other blogs they follow. Anyone who reads your blog can check out your followers too. You see how this gets bigger and bigger....and you find more and more to read...

If you find a blog that you want to follow (maybe this one?) go to the right or left side of the screen and find "followers." It usually has a bunch of small square pictures under the title "Followers." Near those photos will be "sign in." Click on the sign in. You will need the email you used to sign up for your blog, and your blog password to sign in. Once you have typed that in, follow the instructions. At some point it will ask if you want to follow publicly or privately. If you follow publicly then your "picture" shows up on the blog under "followers." If you follow privately you will get information whenever the blog is updated, but your profile will not be accessible from the website.

You don't have to follow anyone, if you don't want to. If you love a certain blog, you can just key in the blog address and check it out when you want to.
If you do follow, then the blogs you follow will show upon your Dashboard. We will be talking about the dashboard next lesson.

creating links, posting pictures

Next step today is learning to create links. You can create links to other blogs or websites, or you can link back with one of your previous blog posts. Linking to your own blog is useful because it means you don't need to repeat or re-explain something.

So, here's how.

Step 1. Type whatever blog post you want you. When you link it is most useful to use words in the blog itself, rather than the actual address. For example I might write:

"I'm trying really hard to follow along with the lessons in Mrs. B's blog." Instead of typing "I'm trying really hard to follow along with the lessons in http://www.mrsbsteachingblog.blogspot.com/." Make sense?

Step 2. Highlight the word(s) you want to be linked. In the case above, I highlighted "Mrs. B's blog." You highlight by clicking and dragging your mouse over the words, so that a black rectangle shows up over the words.

Step 3. On the toolbar above click on the green circle thing (you know you have the right spot if the word "link" appears when you put your cursor over the green spot.)

Step 4. A box called "Hyperlink" will appear. Beside the URL (it already says "http://) type in the address of the link you want to make. Don't get rid of the http:// part! So if you wanted to link up with this blog you would type www.mrsbsteachingblog.blogspot.com after the http://. Then click "ok." You know it worked when you see your text change colour in you post. If you still don't believe that it worked, click on the link to see where it takes you.

Posting a picture.

So now you see that most of the tools you will need are on the toolbar above. I find it a bit easier to post the picture first, then to type after. But you don't have to do it that way. You will have the chance to decide where you want the picture to be located, and you get to choose the size. It helps to know what you want to post, first....

Step 1. Know what picture you want to post. If it is from your computer documents, you need to have the number etc. Click "Browse" under My Computer.

Step 2. Choose the photo you want from My Documents (depending on where you keep your photos, it might be in a folder in My Documents).

Step 3. Choose your layout (left, right, centre etc.) And choose your size.

This one is posted "left/medium size." I borrowed it from the Macro Photo Competition finalists at Pioneer Woman.

Step 4. Sometimes you have to check the Terms of Service agreement. The click "upload image." And wait a moment until it uploads (be patient).

Step 5. Once it's uploaded you'll get a message. Then click "done."

Step 6. If the photo ends up in the wrong place you can click on it and drag it to where you want it. BUT, if you clicked left and you decided you want it on the right, it won't go there. It will go farther down or up on the left, but won't move to the centre or right. So if you don't like it on the left, you'll have to delete it (click the photo and use the delete key) and then start again.

Cool huh?

This photo was found on the Shared Directory of photos on the school server -- I don't know who took it, but I love the bubbles!

...had a great time today, Gr. 6s. Reminds me that I really miss being in the classroom!
See you next week for lesson 2!

getting started

First -- read the previous post.

Then read to the bottom of this post before you click on any links!

To get started I suggest you take a look at a few blogs to see the set up. There are things I like about some of these, and some things I don't like. You can make up your own mind.
You should look for:
*layout
*purpose and audience
*language and writing style -- notice that these are written like journal entries -- no MSN, or texting short forms!

check out:
(My all time favourite) Zen Habits
An Apple A Day (also my favourite, for different reasons...)

Once you have your blog template you can find "Blogs of Note" that the folks at BlogSpot choose as most interesting blogs that week or month. The following are blogs that I thought you might find interesting (my choices above are probably not "your thing")
Blogs of Note:
Abby's Blog -- Abby is 16 and blogging about her adventure...
Running from Camera -- the photos and idea behind this blog are just funny....

The last one is a website with a blog imbedded. When I grow up, this is what I would like to produce. To find the blog go to Pioneer Woman and then click the "Confessions" tab near the top of the page.

What you should realize from browsing a few blogs is that there are many, many possibilities. You should see how it is possible that I learned one new thing every day all summer (that's about 60 new things!)

You ready for your own blog? Read these instructions before you start!
Go to www.blogspot.com. There are other blog developing sites, but this is the one I am familiar with. Click on "create a blog" and then follow the instructions. You will need a current email address and password. If you already have a Google account, use that email. If not, you can use another email, such as hotmail. Just follow the steps.
It's as easy at that. If you create a layout that you don't like, you can always change it later.
Remember to write down the whole blog address and your password somewhere safe. It does little good to have a blog, and not know how to get back to it.

Welcome Grade 6s

Hi
I am pretty excited about teaching you about blogging. I am no expert, but I have learned that one learns more by teaching others. (Yeah, you thought it was all about you, didn't you?)
A year ago I want to a Principal's conference. The topic was technology. I was asked to introduce the guest speaker. The problem was his topic was "Blogs, Wikis and Twitter," and I didn't know what any of those things were. I had to Google them (I knew what Google was) before I could write my introductory speech. How embarrassing. I was inspired by the speaker, Will Richardson (you should Google him, he has some interesting things to say about education and technology) and decided that I would take on his challenge to become more "googleable."
I decided I would learn to Blog. My goal was to learn one new thing about Blogging every day all summer. I did that, and I discovered some pretty neat things -- about blogging, about the power of Internet 2.0 and about myself.
I discovered (or re-discovered) how much I enjoy writing. When I was younger (much younger...) I wrote alot -- at school and at home for fun (imagine that!) As I got older I kind of lost that as I got busy with being a "grown up." When I blog a few minutes a couple of times a week I get back to that creative side of me that has lots to say (some would say "lots to say about nothing"). Secondly, I was ridiculously excited about learning something brand new; something "scary" that I thought was beyond me. It's a powerful thing to realize you are capable of more than you imagine. Lastly, I learned that this technology-thing I was avoiding opens up so many possiblities -- in life and for teaching. I can't wait to figure out what else I can learn about that I can bring into the school. Wouldn't it be amazing to have wireless and ipads for everyone. Imagine the possibilities of that kind of classroom!