Classroom Blogging 101

So, you're ready to jump into the world of blogging? Fear not, getting started is easy!

Why Blog?

Reason #1
Blogging is a quick and easy way for teachers to distribute information to students, parents, and other educators. For example, you can post assignment due dates, course notes, interesting articles or videos related to your course.

Reason #2
Blogging is an excellent forum for discussion. Post a thought-provoking question or picture, and have students respond in the blog or have students author their own blog, and post their reflections online. Moreover, blogs offer shy students an avenue to creatively participate in class discussions.

Reason #3
Students can demonstrate and record their learning on a blog, essentially creating a digital portfolio of what they have done in your class. Furthermore, students can view and learn from each other's blogs and parents, other teachers, and administrators will be able to see all of the wonderful work your students are doing!

Reason #4
It's FUN! You and your students can get creative and have fun with blogging.

How Do I Start?

Setting up a blog is easy. There are numerous free blogging services available such as Blogger, Edublogs, and ClassBlogs.

Blogger is a great option for beginners, as it is very easy to create, use, and navigate. To create a blog using Blogger:

1) Go to www.blogger.com
2) Sign up for a Google Account, or use your existing Google Account to sign in
3) Give your blog a name. Blogger will let you know if that name is available.
4) Choose a design template for your blog.

That's it! Now you're ready to start blogging! Just a couple of tips to get you on your way using Blogger:

Tip #1
The "Dashboard" is your home base. Here you will find access to your profile and blog settings, and options for your blog design and posts.

Tip #2
To post to your blog, click on NEW POST from the Dashboard. You can embed pictures and/or videos directly into your post.

Tip #3
Add gadgets to your blog by clicking on "Design" from the Dashboard, and then "Add a gadget". Try adding gadgets such as "Follow me by email" so that readers can stay up to date with new posts via email, or a"Search box" of content in your blog, or a "Poll" to find out what readers are thinking, or perhaps an "RSS" feed option for readers.

Here are some helpful videos that will also help you on your journey to blogging.

How to create a blog using Blogger


How to create a blog using Edublogs


Good luck, and have fun!

"Spice It Up with Geometer's Sketchpad 5" Now Available Online

For those of you interested in learning about some of the new features of GSP Version 5, this presentation is now available online and FREE of charge!

Simply visit my YouTube channel, and follow the Playlist on the right hand side of the page.

I only ask that you take a few minutes at the end to complete this evaluation form.

In-Service Presentation Brochure

**Click to enlarge view

To sign up, please use the form below.

New Blogging Statistics

Yesterday, I came across an intereting blog. It's called blogworldexpo.com. They posted some interesting statistics about the size of the "blogosphere" as of 2009.

Here's are my top three picks of interesting statistics. I especially take note of the third point, as our students will soon be entering the workplace.

1. Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
2. Over 57 million Americans read blogs.
3. 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.

I also did a bit of research about who exactly is the current day blogger, and found some interesting information about "The State of the Blogosphere 2009". This report indicates that the majority of adult bloggers are highly educated and earn above average income.

Here's a pie graph to illustrate the education levels of bloggers who were surveyed.

Since I started my own blog, I have really come to appreciate the vast amount of information that blogs have to offer, and the endless topics for blog readers to choose. It's a fascinating aspect of our culture.

Free Images!

Shutterstock is a webiste that has a large collection of royalty free images. This is a great source for enhancing PowerPoint presentations.

2009's Best Presentations on SlideShare.net

Check out the winning presenations for 2009.

Here's the presentation that took second prize.

Sheltering Wings

View more presentations from Sarah Cullem.

Easily Share Presentations and Documents Online

SlideShare.net is a host side for sharing presentations and documents. It supports a number of different formats (listed below), making it a versatile tool for uploading various types of presentations and documents.

Supported Formats
Presentations: pdf, ppt, pps, pptx, ppsx, pot, potx (Powerpoint); odp (OpenOffice); key, zip (Apple Keynote).
Documents: pdf, doc, docx, rtf, xls (MSOffice); odt, ods(OpenOffice); Apple iWork Pages.

The slideshow may be embedded into a blog or website. The example below is called "Shift Happens", and was originally created by Karl Fisch. Since then, different versions have been created utilizing music and more graphics, and posted on YouTube. Have a look and compare presentations!

SlideShare.net embedded slideshow:

Shift Happens

View more presentations from Jeff Brenman.

YouTube embedded slideshow as a flash video - Version "Did You Know 2.0"