blogging

=Beginning Blogging=

The term **blog** is short for **Web log**. It is sometimes described as an online diary. The [|Wikipedia entry for blogs] defines a blog as "**a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.**" Blogs are designed so that the author can easily add content; he doesn't need access to a server, Web-page creation software, or extensive knowledge of html (although a little html knowledge can be helpful). Another important feature is the ability of readers to post comments to a blog. The comments can be read by the blog's author or other readers.

Examples of Blogs
Blogs can contain a variety of content, including text, hyperlinks, images, audio files, and video files. Blogs can be useful tools in the classroom. Here are some examples of education-related blogs. Some of these blogs were created by classroom teachers, while others are "professional" blogs maintained by educational consultants. [|Here is an excellent article] to help you formulate a plan for your blog. Here is another resource for the beginning blogger.
 * [|PESD Technology Showcase] || [|Bethune News] || [|Mr. Acedo's Writing Class] ||
 * [|Ms. Shores' Class] || [|Mr. Quick's Class] || [|Moving at the Speed of Creativity] ||
 * [|Mrs. Bernal's 2nd Grade] || [|PESD Innovative Classrooms] || [|Educational Technology and Life] ||

Tutorials
There are many online tools for creating a blog. One of the most popular is [|Blogger]. [|The Getting Starting Guide to Blogger] is good starting point. Below, on the left, is a video tutorial about blogger. On the right is slideshow produced by Cheryl Davis of Google Teacher Academy. It explains how teachers can use severl Google tools, including Blogger.


 * media type="google" key="-5915464943634140676&hl=en" width="400" height="326" || media type="custom" key="2711019" ||

Deleting the Navbar
If you're going to use Blogger with students, you should delete the **Next Blog** link (also known as the **Blogger Navbar**) at the top of the blog. This link allows you to see the blog whose title follows yours alphabetically. The contents of the next blog may be inappropriate for students. [|Here are instructions] for deleting the Next Blog link.

Feel free to contact me if your have questions about using Blogger.