Getting a blog up and running on blogger requires less than 10 minutes if you are using Blogger.com. Registering for a Blogger account is free and easy and only requires that you have an e-mail address that already exists. Using your college e-mail address will work fine as Blogger doesn't send out spam or other forms of e-mail solicitation.
To register on Blogger.com, just follow these directions:
1) Go to Blogger.com.
2) Click the big orange arrow in the middle of the page that says "Create Your Blog Now".
3) Follow the steps below referring to the image as needed:
3A) Type in a valid e-mail address such as yourname@yourschool.edu.
3B) Enter a password for your account. Make it memorable! Make sure to enter it in the retype password box also. Typing it twice ensures you don't make a typing mistake.
3C) Enter a name that will be displayed on your blog posts as the author name. Your first name will be fine for now (you can always change it later).
3D) Enter the goofy looking letters displayed in the box in the word verification section. This helps ensure you are a human being not an automated agent signing up for blogs that will be used for nefarious purposes.
3E) Click the link for terms of service and read them. Click the check box to indicate your agreement with the terms of service.
3F) Click the orange continue arrow to proceed.
4) Follow the steps below referring to the image as needed:
4A) Enter a title for your blog. You can always change it later if you don't like it.
4B) You now will be picking a web address (URL) for your blog (or at least part of the address). The URL is the web address you will provide to other people so that they can find your blog on the web. All blogs hosted by Blogger end with ".blogspot.com". You can't change this. However, you can specify the first part of the URL. Stick to something relatively easy for people to remember.
Say you enter mymcccteachingblog in this step. The URL for your blog will be mymcccteachingblog.blogspot.com. And yes, you could always change the URL later (but you would have to notify everyone about the change so that they have the correct URL). It is best to think of a good one now and stick with it.
4C) The URL you specify may already be in use by someone else. After entering a URL, click the Check Availability link to determine if the URL you specified is available. If it is already being used, choose another one and keep checking availability until you hit one that you can use.
4D) Click the orange continue arrow to proceed.
5) Follow the steps below to select a design for your blog.
5A) Use the scroll bar to browse through the available design templates.
5B) To see what a blog will look like using a particular template, click the preview template link under that template.
5C) When you find a template you like, choose that template by clicking the radio button next to the template name. You can always change the template later if you decide you don't like it.
5D) Click the orange continue arrow to proceed.
Congratulations! Your blog is now set up and ready for your first post. Click the orange start posting arrow to create your first post.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Basic Lesson 1: How to Register for a Blogger Account
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Student Blog Links - Good and Bad!
Here are some links to the blogs that our students at MCCC have created as part of our classes:
Fall 2007
Simple Electronics Modding
Martial Arts of the World
Schulzee's Weight Loss Competition
New Tech Toys
Professional Wrestling
Sign of the Times (Current Issues)
New Products Overview
Strictly MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)
Home Theater and Car Audio
Muscle Car Madness
All About Athletic Footwear
Poker's Top Spot
Guitar Unlimited
Fantasy Football Weekly
Up and Coming Rock
Eagles Weekly Preview & Review
Porsche Performance
Philadelphia Eagles
Become a Mobile Notary
Spring 2007
Playing In The Dirt
Calvert Cliffs Fossils
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Daycare
The Art of Attraction
Which Diet Have You Tried?
Beautiful Home
Improving Home Energy Efficiency
My Secret Diary to Higher Learning
Everything Firefighting
Nissan 240SX Project Car
Paintballin
Drifting 101
2008 Presidential Race
And some less than spectacular attempts:
Travel for Theology (I'm still trying to figure out what this one is about)
Philly Street Racing (Yes, we warned students not to do blogs on illegal topics!)
What Blogging Tools Should Faculty & Students Use?
There are many blogging tools and web sites that will host blogs. WebCT and Blackboard also feature blogging tools. We don't recommend using WebCT and Blackboard for blogs however, because they defeat the basic purpose of blogging - free access to a blog. If students want to continue working on their blogs after the semester, they should use a blog tool and hosting site that provides 24x7 access on the Internet.
We have our students use Blogger (owned by Google) to create, manage and host their blogs. The reasons we recommend using Blogger are as follows:
1) Blogger is free - There is no charge to the student or your institution for using Blogger.
2) Blogger is very easy to learn to use - It is usually about 15 minutes from registration to completing the first posting on a blog.
3) You can maintain multiple blogs - With one Blogger account, you can have many blogs. Some students prefer to maintain blogs for classwork as well as personal blogs. This is very easy to manage with Blogger.
4) No Installation of Software is Required - Blogger works with any current web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox).
5) There is no Technical Support Burden on your Institution - Blogger is hosted and maintained by Google. Your IT staff won't give you dirty looks when you are walking across campus!
If you would prefer to use another blogging site for hosting, here are a few free ones we can also recommend:
Harvard (yes, that Harvard!)
Edublogs
Wordpress
Aeonity
Blogates
Blogthing
Why use blogs for Writing Across the Curriculm?
Blogs provide several distinct advantages over using word processors or
1) Blogs are Cool - Students expect to use modern technology as part of their educational experience. Out in the business world, they will use technology every day. Shying away from using technology just makes us professors look like we're stuck in the 1960s!
2) Students are More Engaged - We've assigned plenty of conventional writing assignments in our day. But when we started using blogs, we noticed an increased level of student engagement. Blogging is more fun than writing an essay...even though students are actually doing the same thing!
3) Students are Already Blogging...Even if They Don't Realize It - Facebook, MySpace and other social networks all feature tools that are similar (if not identical) to blogs. Students are already used to communicating with their friends using these tools so we might as well let them use tools they've already mastered to do their schoolwork.
4) The Learning Curve is Minimal - Blogging tools are designed to be easy to use. If you have the skills to write and send e-mail, you can create a professional looking blog. No complex technical skills (such as knowledge of HTML) are required.
5) Blogs Foster Peer Review - Peer reviews are a fantastic way to improve the level of student writing. Students often respond better to suggestions from peers than from teachers. Since blogs are web pages and are designed to be accessible by everyone, it is easy for students to review and comment on the blogs of classmates.
6) Blogs Can Live On After the Semester - There is no reason that students have to stop blogging at the end of the semester. Some of our students have established informational blogs that they plan to continue expanding.
Writing Across the Curriculum - Why do it?
When we talk with employers and ask what skill sets they look for in our graduates, the employers in Montgomery County, PA universally say "communication skills." To develop communication skills, students need practice.
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) initiatives have been around since the 1980s and their importance for students is well documented. An excellent resource is The WAC Clearinghouse hosted by Colorado State University. As stated on their web site, the basic principles of WAC are as follows:
1) Writing is the responsibility of the entire academic community
2) Writing must be integrated across departmental boundaries
3) Writing instruction must be continuous during all four years of undergraduate education
4) Writing promotes learning
5) Only by practicing the conventions of an academic discipline will students begin to communicate effectively within that discipline
One or two writing courses just isn't enough practice to learn to communicate effectively. But, "What's in it for me?" I hear you cry.
If you require your students to write, you should find you are better able to gauge how well students understand information. This provides you with guidance regarding the concept upon which you need to elaborate. And as more teachers require writing in their courses, students become better communicators just through sheer practice. Wouldn't you love having more students who can express complex ideas clearly? We sure would.
Having students write (perhaps about what they learned in class this week) is beneficial to the students also. Students' learning is increased when they need to think about what they've learned and express it in written form. This also prepares students for the "real world" where they will be communicating on a daily basis. If students don't take notes and we only give them objective tests, students could avoid writing for an entire semester! That isn't going to sharpen their skill base.
What is a blog?
A Blog (short for weblog) was originally envisioned as a type of web site designed to act as an online journal. Naturally, the web allows easy and frequent updating of a journal and people can easily share their thoughts with the entire Internet community (if they so desire). Blogs are very easy to update at any time as you can even use a cell phone to create and post your blog entries while you're on the run!
Blogs take on many forms today, but most stay with the same basic journal format. Blogs can be informational in nature such as Gizmodo, a blog which reviews up and coming new gadgets. Many blogs are news and opinion blogs such as the Huffington Post written by Arianna Huffington who is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of ten books. Small Biz Rocks is a web site developed by a professor for business majors who want to learn about small business. Or a blog can simply be the random thoughts of an individual.
The Blogosphere (as the world of blogging is known) has had a significant impact on conventional media as bloggers have broken major news stories before established media outlets. The proliferation of political blogs published by presidential candidates and political parties help get news and opinions out and create buzz for candidates, especially among young voters.
