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Create Your Own Blog

Page history last edited by Lisa Huff 13 years, 8 months ago

Now it's time to create your own blog!


We'll be using Google Blogger to create your blog. It's simple, quick, and easy. Really! You may also find Google's "Getting Started" Tutorial page helpful.

 

Step 1:  Plan

  • What's in a name?
    • Spend a few minutes planning the name and address (URL) of your blog. For inspiration, you may want to peruse some of the sample blogs listed on the explore page. You can also check out this wiki page designed to help students craft a metaphor or theme for their blog titles and addresses.
    •     Use the planning guide to walk you through the process. 

 

Step 2:  Set Up Your Blog

 

Step 3:  Publish First Post

  • Bloggers usually include an About section. Adding an About section gives readers information about you–the author of the blog. Since one of the first rules of information literacy is to evaluate the source of information, it is vital–if you want readers to count the information on your site as trustworthy–that you explain who you are, giving credentials to validate yourself as a legitimate source of information. For your first blog post, you'll create an About post.

  • First, check out Sue Waters’ tips on creating an About page. Note: Sue gives step-by-step directions for creating an About page on Edublogs, a different blogging platform. But, her other tips apply to any blog, including the one you're creating.

 

Step 4:  Tweak Your Sidebar

  • The info you include in the sidebar is a matter of personal preference. But, there are few key items (called widgets in Blogger) every blog needs to help your audience navigate your site:
    • Include a search box to allow visitors to search for specific info on your site.
    • Help reader's find content by adding widgets that display categories or labels (sometimes called tags) or archived posts or all of them.
    • Allow readers to subscribe to new content you add by adding a subscription widget.
    • Add links to other sites--sites for students or parents, or other blogs you read.  Use the same strategy (link sidebar gadget) you used to create link to About Me page.
  • There are other optional widgets: Explore them in the Dashboard in the Layout section. Watch the video below to learn how to add gadgets to your sidebar.

         

 

Step 5:  Embed Images and/or Video

 

Step 6:  Read and Comment on Three Peer Posts

  • Blogging is all about conversation! Exchange blog addresses with members of your group. Then explore the blogs of your group members. Read what they've done thus far and leave them a comment. 

 

How Do I Get Back to My Blog?

  • The easiest way to return to your blog is to...
    • Go to Blogger.com
    • Log in with your gmail username and password.
    • You'll be in your blog dashboard where you can add to, edit, or view your blog.

 

 

 


You know the basics! Want to learn more? Check out these Blogger's Tutorials.


Creative Commons License

Blog to Teach by Lisa Huff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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