Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Website vs. Blog





11 Things You Should Know About Blogging

Blog Uses

Here are some of the changes that are occurring more frequently and on a consistent basis in most blogs of the school:

•    Teachers are discovering the convenience and possibility of extended learning opportunities by adding age appropriate links to their sidebar.
•    Teachers are loving the WordPress blog Image gallery features. The blog is becoming a digital scrapbook of their school year.
•    Embedding slideshows via slide.com , PowerPoints via Slideshare.net, stories via Voicethread.com, movies recorded with flip cameras and edited with MovieMaker
•    Learning about keeping students safe, by not posting images coupled with their names, not mentioning last names anywhere.
•    Using the SmartBoard software to take screenshots and then upload to blog with a link to the website.
•    Using an event calendar in their sidebar to alert parents
•    Creating questions of the week and each student comments (signed in as teacher) identifying themselves with a class number
•    Highlighting events happening in the classroom during the week
•    Creating student usernames/password (Upper grades) to encourage questions on the blog
•    Adding rubrics of special projects
•    Scanning in of student notes for review purposes
•    Adding categories to blog posts when posting for multiple classes or grade levels
•    Informing students, parents and colleagues of upcoming community events
•    Keeping track of inter mural competitions
•    Homework helpers & Quiz reviews


How To Choose A Blog Name

Before settling on your own blog name, let me give you a few items to ponder.
  1.  First and foremost, don’t settle on a name just because it’s worked for others. I feel, however much advice you receive, deciding on your blog name is a very personal choice. A choice made through thinking, pondering & maybe even some spiritual guidance. Feel the name choice.
  2. Simple and concise. Don’t let your blog name get too long and rampant.
  3. Use the tools available to you for guidance and inspiration. Take a look at a dictionary or thesaurus and find fun replacement words you might enjoy.
  4. Don’t let your title become too restrictive. For example, “My Thoughts on the Pythagorean Theorem” would be a very small niche to work towards, unless the Pythagorean Theorem is the only thing you want to discuss on your blog.