Blogs for Dummies 2008

7/28/2019 Blogs for Dummies 2008

1/26

BLOGS FOR

DUMMIES

UTFPR - CALEM

2008


2/26

DEFINITION

TYPES OF BLOGS BLOGGING PLATFORMS

HOW TO SET UP A BLOG

WIDGETS / GADGETS TIPS FOR MANAGING LEARNER BLOG

SETTINGS

ADVANTAGES

IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES


3/26

Definition

The name blogis a shortened form ofweblog.

It is a website that is updated regularly. It

often resembles an online journal. It is a website to which an author or

authors (BLOGGERS) contribute with

written postings (pictures, audio, video). It is organized chronologically according to

date, and in reverse order from most

recent entry backwards.


4/26

Standard feature: the opportunity for

readers to respond. It requires basic access to the Internet

and a minimum of technical know-how.

It is one of the easiest ways to publishstudent writing on the web.

Edublog: a blog used for educational

purposes.


5/26

Types of Blogs used in LT

The Tutor Blog

The Class Blog

The Learner Blog(Campbell, 2003)

The Teacher Blog(Stanley, 2006)


6/26

The Tutor Blog

It is run by the teacher for thestudents.

Content: syllabus, course information,assignments, suggestions of websites,articles, etc.

Students participation: write commentsto the teachers posts.

Example: www.calemclaudia.blogspot.com
http://www.calemclaudia.blogspot.com/http://www.calemclaudia.blogspot.com/


7/26

The Class Blog

It is run by the teacher and students ofa class.

It is a shared discussion space between

students and teacher. Content: extra-curricular extension of

the classroom, collaborative discussion

space, international classroom languageexchange, etc.

Examples: http://beeonline.blogspot.com

http://americabrazilproject.blogspot.com
http://beeonline.blogspot.com/http://americabrazilproject.blogspot.com/http://americabrazilproject.blogspot.com/http://beeonline.blogspot.com/


8/26

The Learner Blog

It is run by individual students. The most rewarding type of blog for learners:

they have their personal online space.

It requires more time and effort from theteacher.

Content: students interests, photos, video,audio, favorite sites, etc.

Teachers usually use a combination of Tutor orClass Blog and Learner Blogs. They areconnected by hyperlinks.


9/26

The Teacher Blog

A blog for self-reflection, a learningjournal, a space to record web site linksand information.

Examples: http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/http://namckeand.blogspot.com/
http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/http://namckeand.blogspot.com/http://namckeand.blogspot.com/http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/


10/26

How to set up a blog

Choose a blogging platform.Blog services on the web:charge a feefree

different services different pricing

Examples:Blogger, Word Press, MSN Spaces,

Livejournal, Edublogs, Typepad,Blogmeister,etc.
http://www.livejournal.com/http://www.livejournal.com/http://www.blogger.com/starthttp://edublogs.org/http://edublogs.org/http://edublogs.org/http://wordpress.org/http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/http://home.services.spaces.live.com/http://classblogmeister.com/index.phphttp://classblogmeister.com/index.phphttp://edublogs.org/http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/http://classblogmeister.com/index.phphttp://classblogmeister.com/index.phphttp://www.sixapart.com/typepad/http://edublogs.org/http://www.livejournal.com/http://home.services.spaces.live.com/http://wordpress.org/http://www.blogger.com/start


11/26

BloggerOne of the best knownand most reliable andsimple blogging tools touse with students.

Only three steps:

1st Create an account

(E-mail address, display

name and acceptance ofterms. Take note of

your username andpassword.)
http://www.blogger.com/starthttp://www.blogger.com/start


12/26

2nd Name your blogThe name you choose

will appear on yourpublished blog, on yourdashboard and in yourprofile. You also have to

choose an address. Thisis the address yourstudents will type toaccess the blog. It isalwayshtt://nameoftheblogyouchoose.blogspot.com*Do not use or ~.


13/26

3rd Choose a template

If it is your first blog it

is better to choose oneof the templates given.You can easily changethe template later, oreven create your owncustom template designonce your blog is set up.

Your blog is ready!


14/26

Now you just have to startposting. Click on the Postingtab. Every blog entry is madeup of two basic parts: a title

and the text. The name of theperson who posted the entryand the time and date areadded automatically.

The text-entry window is like

a simple word processor: youcan choose from a smallselection of fonts, you can usebold and italics, set the colorof the font, etc and you canadd pictures, video and createhyperlinks.


15/26

Before you publish yourposting you can click on thePreview link and if you like

it click on Publish Post. Ifyou want to changesomething, click on Hidepreview to go back to the

text-entry box. Your postscan be changed even afterpublished, whenever youwant to change something.

There are three tabs: Posting

Settings

Layout


16/26

Settings: Basic,Formatting,Publishing, etc

Layout: It is herethat you add andarrange the pageelements of yourblog. There areseveral options: ablog list, a slideshow,a poll, a link list, etc.

Here you personalizeyour blog todifferentiate itfrom the others.


17/26

Dashboard: it is where you manage yourblog(s).

Remember: you always have the Helpbutton.

Blogger Buzz: here you read news fromthe Blogger team and keep up with theirlatest features.


18/26

Widgets / Gadgets

A widget is a piece of reusable code that you can pluginto virtually any website. A gadget acts just like awidget, often fulfilling the same purpose, but it isproprietary. It only works on a certain website or a

specific set of websites.For example, Google Gadgets can look and act likewidgets. But they only work on Google pages.A widget, on the other hand, works on any page thatlets you add an HTML block. You can put them on yourblog, or your personalized start page, or your personalwebsite.(http://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htm )
http://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htmhttp://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htmhttp://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htmhttp://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htmhttp://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htmhttp://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/widgetgadget.htm


19/26

Suggestions

a clocka sitemetera local weather indicatorhttp://www.classtools.net/http://bunnyherolabs.com/adopt/ (a pet)http://www.voki.com/ (a speaking character)http://www.widgetbox.com/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/http://www.eyejot.com/features/eyejotthis.htmlhttp://odeo.com/inbox
http://www.clocklink.com/http://www.sitemeter.com/http://weatherpixie.com/http://www.classtools.net/http://bunnyherolabs.com/adopt/http://www.voki.com/http://www.widgetbox.com/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/http://www.eyejot.com/features/eyejotthis.htmlhttp://odeo.com/inboxhttp://odeo.com/inboxhttp://www.eyejot.com/features/eyejotthis.htmlhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/http://www.widgetbox.com/http://www.voki.com/http://bunnyherolabs.com/adopt/http://www.classtools.net/http://weatherpixie.com/http://www.sitemeter.com/http://www.clocklink.com/


20/26

Tips for managing the LearnerBlog

Settings Permissions add yourself asAdministrator of the Learner blog sometimes students forget usernames orpasswords and it can also help if inappropriate

posts are published. Settings Comments turn the comments

feature on. This will allow the others torespond to things the students write on theirLearner blogs.

Settings Comments - Comment notificationemail whenever a student publishes you willreceive an email.


21/26

AdvantagesBlogs provide a real audience for student writing. are interactive. expose learners to authentic uses of the language, stimulating and

challenging them in ways that classroom experiences cannot. provide extra reading practice for students. guide students to online resources appropriate for their level.

increase the sense of community in a class. encourage shy students to participate. stimulate out-of-class discussion. encourage a process-writing approach. work as online portfolio of student written work.

help build a closer relationship between students in large classes. can involve students in international cross-cultural projects. can be useful to teachers implementing a system of formative

assessment with their students. foster learner autonomy because students take more responsibility

for their own learning.

can be used to practice the four skills.


22/26

Ideas for activities(Stanley, 2006)

Teachers tell students to check the class blog to findout about homework instead of telling them about itin class.

Teachers post preclass activities for students on the

class blog. Students who cannot attend class send their excuses

and apologies to the class blog. When teachers respond to individual learner posts

they should end with a question, thus encouragingstudents to reply.

Teachers should exploit the fun factor. For example,ask students to bring something blue to class. It is agood way of checking to see who has read the blog

before coming to class.


23/26

Ideas for activities(Stanley, 2005)

Mystery guest invite another teacher orsomeone from another country as a mysteryguest to your blog. Ask the students toengage him / her in dialogue and guess their

identity. Project work develop a project with other

classes or classes from different countries. International link-ups contact another

school to see if they are interested in a jointblogging project.

Photoblog Any suggestions?


24/26

Some final comments

First become familiar with blog capabilities beforeusing them with students. Start a tutor blog and postto it regularly in order to understant what it reallymeans to do so.

Start small. Begin with just one class blog. Dont useblogs with all your classes. Its almost impossible torespond to all students.

It helps if the blog is an integral part of the courseand students receive credit for blogging.

Always respond promptly to learner posts. Writecomments regularly and encourage others to do sotoo.


25/26

References BLOOD, R. 2000 Weblogs: A history and perspective.

Rebeccas pocket. Retrieved June 11, 2008 fromhttp://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html CAMPBELL, A. P. 2003. Weblogs for use with ESL classes. The

Internet TESL Journal 9 (2). Retrieved June 11, 2008http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html

SHARMA, Pete; BARRETT, Barney. 2007. Blended Learning

Using technology in and beyond the language classroom.Oxford: Macmillan Education. STANLEY, G. 2005. Blogging for ELT. Retrieved July 6,2008

from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elt

STANLEY, G. 2006. Redefining the Blog: From Composition

Class to Flexible Learning. In: HANSON-SMITH. E., RILLING,S. (edited by). Learning Languages through Technology.Alexandria: TESOL. p.187 200.

WARD, J. 2004. Blog Assisted Language Learning (BALL): Pushbutton publishing for the pupils. TEFL Web Journal 3 (1).Retrieved February 5, 2007 http://www.teflweb-

j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdf
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.htmlhttp://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.htmlhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teflweb-j.org/v3n1/blog_ward.pdfhttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elthttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.htmlhttp://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html


26/26

UNIVERSIDADE TECNOLGICA FEDERAL DO PARANCampus Curitiba

CALEM

2008

UTFPR - Universidade Tecnolgica Federal do

Paran.Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165 - CALEM80930-201 - Curitiba, PR - Brasil

Telefone: (41) 33104597Fax: (41) 33104597Homepage: www.utfpr.edu.br

[email protected]@utfpr.edu.br
http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/www.utfpr.edu.brmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/www.utfpr.edu.br

Documents

Blogs for Dummies 2008