Blogging Basics

presented by Tiffaney Lavoie, Instructional Technology Consultant, KEDC

What is a blog? The word comes from two words – web and log = blog! Blogs can be
used in a variety of ways and can be created in about five minutes!! So, how do you get
started?

1. Create a Google account or Gmail account

a. You can use an existing email to create your Google account –
www.google.com/accounts
b. You can use your Gmail account

2. Create your blog

a. Go to: www.blogger.com
b. Sign in using your Google account
c. Click the “Create Your Blog Now” arrow or the “Create a Blog” link at the top-
right corner of the page
d. Enter a blog title
e. Choose and enter a blog address. This is the address visitors will use to get to
your blog. Consider creating a “sandbox” blog to practice before launching one
to use long-term
f. Complete the word verification and then click the Continue arrow
g. Choose a template that you like and click continue (you can change it later)
h. Click the “start blogging” arrow

3. Post to your Blog on www.blogger.com

a. After clicking the “start blogging” arrow, you are ready to enter your first post
b. Enter a Title; ie: Welcome
c. In the body area, enter your message
d. Choose publish – you have just entered your first blog!

4. Post by emailing from your computer

a. On your blog page, choose the customize button
b. Click the Settings tab and then the email link
c. Enter the desired Email Posting Address – this is the email you will give students
if they want to post to your blog via their email address
d. Go to your email client and compose your email. Please note that the email
subject will become the title of the post, and the email message will become the
body of the post
e. If you attach a photo to your email, it will be posted in your blog message!

5. Post by emailing from a cell phone or mobile device

 a. If your cell phone has email capabilities, you can easily add posts to your blog
from your phone
b. On an iphone, take a picture and click the share link and choose the email
option
c. Enter the address you created as the mail-to-blogger address
d. Add a subject, type a message, and send
e. Within a few minutes or even seconds, the image, title, and message will
appear as a post

Classroom Blog Ideas

Teacher Blogs
• Weekly Newsletter
Instead of sending home a paper newsletter, do it as a blog. Simply provide
parents with the URL and they can check it regularly

• Sharing Student Work

Share student work including drawings, writing, voice recordings, and even
pictures of the students in the classroom through a blog

• Spelling Lists
Use a blog to post your spelling lists, vocab lists, etc each week

• Teaching Tips
Create a blog and share your own teaching tips with other teachers – collaborate
and post comments together to highlight newly found resources

• A Blog of “Widgets”
Create a blog to house tools like the random name picker, video resources, etc

• Resources for Parents

Post effective websites, movies, hands-on manipulatives, at-home activities, etc
that would help to extend the classroom to the family room

• Feedback from Parents

Post a question or prompt and allow parents to comment to your blog pos
(Consider switching your settings to allow for a preview of the post by you before
being published)

• Lesson Plans
Post lesson plans each week for both administrators and parents/students alike

• Absent Student Info

 Provide a place for absent students to view Powerpoint presentations they missed
in class, post assignments, etc

Teacher/Student Blogs
These blogs are set up by the teacher and do not require student Google accounts
• Daily Journal
Post a prompt or question each day to your blog and students can comment to
answer or respond

• Online Debate
Ask a challenging question or post a thought-provoking prompt and then let
students add comments, arguments, and/or justifications

• Reading Response Journal

Post questions regarding a book you are currently reading and allow students to
respond

• Photo Essays
Create a blog that provides a theme prompt that students must respond to in the
form of a picture (ie: freedom). Provide a “mail-to” email address to post to the
blog. Then students can take pictures with a cell phone or digital camera and
email the picture to the blog along with a description of why the photo represents
the theme.

Widgets for Your Blog

• Slideshare
Allows you to create a PowerPoint presentation and upload it to this site so that it
can provide embed code to paste into your blog post. Go to www.slideshare.net

• Vocaroo
Allows you to record yourself and then it provides embed code that you can paste
directly into your blog. This is also a great way to introduce podcasting to your
students. www.vocaroo.com
 • Random Word Picker
Create name banks of the students in your class and use the “fruit machine” to
draw a name from the bank to see who answers the next question, etc.
www.classtools.net

• VozMe
This site will read any text you enter, and will then turn it into an mp3 so that it
can be downloaded or saved and emailed. This can help student understanding of
complicated text and is also a great proofreading tool. www.vozme.com

• Wordle
Allows you to type in a description of yourself, or any topic and then analyzes that
text and creates a word cloud based on how often certain words were used. Other
uses include sticking a story in the site to see if there is over use of inappropriate
words, or perhaps what the main ideas of the story are. www.wordle.net
Resources
http://tiffaneystechnologyblog.blogspot.com Tiffaney’s blog

http://www.techtrekers.com/PP/

www.todaysmeet.com

www.odosketch.com

www.imaginationcubed.com

www.online-stopwatch.com

www.spellingcity.com

www.wallwisher.com

www.xtranormal.com

www.primarypad.com

www.google.com

http://earth.google.com – Google Earth - take virtual fieldtrips, embed videos, add

your own pictures

http://sketchup.google.com – create, share, and modify 3D models – must

download the program
 http://picasa.google.com – organize, edit and share photos

Tiffaney Lavoie, Instructional

Technology Consultant
Tiffaney.Lavoie@KEDC
.org
1-800-737-0204