WEEK 4.3: add a blogroll to your blog

A blogroll is a great way to keep a list of the blogs you would like to dip into every now and again down the right hand side of your own blog. You do this by adding the blogroll widget to your blog. This screencast was posted further down during the widget week of the course but I am adding it again as it is a requirement for this week.

WEEK 4.2 - 34 ideas for a classroom blog (WEBINAR PRESENTATION)

If you have created a classroom blog, this slideshare will give you some ideas. This was the proposed webinar presentation for this week, but as there will be no webinar this week, I am adding it anyway.

34 ideas for a classroom blog

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WEEK 4.1 Blogging course week 4 details

Here we are in the final week of the blogging course. That is the final week in as far as the requirements go for the attendance certificate. However from now on I will be putting up a weekly challenge which I will call Challenge #1, Challenge #2 etc with ideas for those of you that would like to do more with your blogs. Just before schools go back I'll be evaluating the blogs and will send off the certificates.

This week there will be no webinar as such as I know everybody is just so busy. However I will put on to the blog the slideshare that was planned for the webinar.

Here are this week's details:

http://www.box.com/s/3c4vh3o0ytnivccz2pma

Requirements for this week

Your only requirements in order to receive your Certificate of Attendance are:

* Add a blogroll with a couple of blogs on your blog
* Write a reflection post on how you found the course in general.

WEEK 3.4 Get involved in blogging projects (Webinar presentation)

Get involved in blogging projects

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WEEK 3.3 How to use Screencast-o-matic to create instructions for your students

I love Screencasting as a teaching tool. Up to now I have tried Jing, and even paid for Jing pro. Then I heard about Screenr and tried that. It seemed to me that Screenr did what Jing Pro does. Today the thought came to me that I should try Screencast-o- matic. (http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/)

The site tells me that it is the original Screencast programme. That’s interesting!




There is a demo video to watch. I must say, after watching it there seem to be some very nice features in Sceencast-o-matic! Two things I REALLY like is the fact that  your maximum time with the free version is 15 minutes, and that you can upload directly to your YouTube channel.




The next thing to do would be to join the site, It is all free. I joined and found there is a Pro version, but it may not be necessary to have all those extra features for my use.


How to use Screencast-o-matic


1. Click on Start Recording




You’ll notice that a dotted line block appears. At the bottom you can choose the screensize that you want. I really like this feature.


2. Find the page on the internet that you want to start recording from




3. Check your settings


Check the little arrow next to the microphone to make sure you have the right microphone checked (I find that headphones work the best).


Press the red arrow and start recording. You can press it again to pause during your recording session and then continue if you want to.


When you are finished press the word Done. It will take you to a preview page.


4. Listen and decide




If you like what you hear you can press one of the options on the right (or all three one after the other):

* Upload directly to YouTube
* Save in your Screencasts section on Screencast-o-matic
* Download it as a video.


Another feature I really like is that you can arrange your screencasts in folders on Screencast-o-matic’s ‘My Screencasts’ channel page.




I really like this Screencasting programme very much. It just seems to offer me exactly what I am looking for.


An example that I made


I made a recording entitled ‘How to write a comment on a blog’. Here it is:



Ideas for the classroom using Screencast-o-matic


1. Use it to present a lesson online. It can be used to cater for diverse levels of understanding.
2. Use it to explain a homework task. The students can then go over things at home.
3. Students that have been absnt can use it to catch up tasks.
4. The students themselves can use screencasts to illustrate something they have learned.
5. Screencast-o-Matic is perfect for illustrating research methods, and musical instrument tutorials,
6. Teachers can use it to give parents and students simple directions on how to use the class website or wiki

…and much, much more!

WEEK 3.2 How to add a video from YouTube to your Blogger blog

I was very pleased to find out today, through one of my social networking links, that Blogger has its own YouTube Help Channel. It's called BloggerHelp and you can find it here. When I took a look I saw they had one on one of this week's topics - How to add a YouTube video to your blog. So I thought I would add it here. For those of you that are still unsure on how to do this here are some screen shots.

1. Find the video you want to download

2. Click on Share to first get the Internet address and embed button

3. Click on embed to get the HTML code.

4. Paste the code into the HTML part of your blog

5. Your video will now appear miraculously on the Compose side of your blog.

If you are reading this post, why not give it a go. Add a video to your blog right now!

Here is the same information in a TIPSHEET in case you want to print it. Click on this link.

http://www.box.com/s/7y2slikxomnsq5y48hmm

WEEK 3.1 Blogging course week 3 details

Click on the icon below and listen to the plan. (I have added this to show you how easy it is to add verbal instructions to a blog). Here is the result:

This week's details

Well, here we are in the third week of the blogging course. Please don't hesitate yo let me know if there is anything you don't understand or you are struggling with and I will help as much as I can. Here are this week's details: (Click on the link to open the document)

http://www.box.com/s/6fopszxirg1d9s1r5mkj

Requirements for this week

Although there will be posts about photos, slideshows, videos and screencasts, and you can add as many as you like, your only requirements in order to receive your Certificate of Attendance are:

* Add one photo to your blog this week
* Write a reflection post on how you found this week's task.

WEEK 2.7 A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool

There are five Web2.0 applications that I think make a blog a really worthwhile teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom. They are:
1) Box.net where you can store documents that you have created and link to them.
2) Embedit.in which allows you to embed anything on your blog.
3) Slideshare which maakes an e-book from a PowerPoint or PDF. This is so useful for instructions.
4) Screencast-o-matic where you can explain and show at the same time.
5) Vocaroo.com where you can give verbal instructions to the class.

Best of all - they are all free!

This slideshare shows you how to use each one of these applications.

Your blog as a teaching tool

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WEEK 2.6 Adding photos, slideshows, and videos to a blog (Webinar presentation)

How to add photos, videos and slideshows to a Blogger blog

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WEEK 2.5 Add a clustr map to your blog

A clustr map is a great asset to a blog. It is a free gadget which is just a little map that captures the country that your visitors come from by placing a red dot on the map after several visits from that country. It is very encouraging to see that others pick up your blog, and you get to feel that the world is actually a very small place. 

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXXqFCupL

WEEK 2.4 Add a blog roll to your blog

It is very useful to keep a record of meaningful blogs down the side of your blog as a blog roll. This SCREENCAST will show you how it is done.

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXXb01u4Q

WEEK 2.3 How to add pages to your blog

The great thing about a blog is that it can look like a website with all the pages you can add to it. In Blogger you can add 20 - 24 pages.

*Take a look at this TIPSHEET For a step by step guide on doing this. http://www.box.com/s/0n7mlllvp442syfhqnr1

*I have also used an application called Embedit.in to EMBED the document here. Let's see if that makes it easier to read.

WEEK 2.2 How to add a gadget/widget to your blog

This week everything revolves around adding a gadget to a blog!  A gadget and a widget are the same thing - the little inserts that go down the side of a blog or across the top of a blog. Blogger refers to them as ‘gadgets’, and other sites use the word ‘widgets’.

* Here is a TIPSHEET on how to inset them into a blog in case you want to print the instructions. http://www.box.com/s/ajxfdut231y6hnh9cvkh

* I have also EMBEDDED the instructions into this post using Embedit.in . Here they are:

WEEK 2.1 Blogging course week 2 details

Well, here we  are in the second week of the blogging course. I do hope you are finding the instructions clear enough. Please let me know if there is anything you don't understand or you are struggling with and I will help as much as I can. Here are this week's details: (Click on the link to open the document)  

http://www.box.com/s/ceyu2htxrthlvuvr32k0


Requirements for this week

Although there will be posts about all kinds of gadgets, and you can add as many as you like, your only requirements in order to receive your Certificate of Attendance are:
* Add one widget/gadget to your blog this week
*Write a reflection post on how you found this week's task. 

WEEK 1.6 Questions from the webinar

Thank you to those who attended the webinar. Silly me for forgetting to press the record button dueing the webinar. Anyway, several questions were asked at the webinar, so I am going to answer some of them here.

1. Can you go over the process of making a blog using Blogger.com again please

Here is a screencast of the process. (Remember that you must have Java loaded on to your computer to view screencasts, but most computers automatically have the free Java download. )

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXXIDnu6G

Here are TIPSHEETS that will give answers to the following questions:

2.  How can I edit  post that I have just written?

http://www.box.com/s/zlpbr5fejuqso143opiz

3. How can I change my background?

http://www.box.com/s/3lz7a53gbu07y108nnbj

4.  How can I set my comment box so that people can write in it?

http://www.box.com/s/mqvmbsgxsdtj0ehih23v

WEEK 1.5: Adding bells and whistles to your blog (Webinar presentation)

Tonight we had our first webinar on blogging in preparation for next week's lessons on widgets and gadgets. I called the webinar "Adding bells and whistles to your blog". Here is the presentation from the webinar - I uploaded it to Slideshare so that it can be posted on a blog via an embed code.

Adding bells and whistles to your blog

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WEEK 1.4: Write your new blog address here

Here is a wallwisher wall (http://wallwisher.com) for you to write your new blog address once you have created your blog. I will then write it down and take an occasional look. To write, click on 'Post a sticky'. It will take you to the main wall. Write your blog address with your name in brackets. Good luck.

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/7PdgjfXere


If you would like to find out more about how you could use Wallwisher in your classroom read this post that I have just written:
http://schoolnetsa.blogspot.com/2011/11/have-you-ever-considered-using.html

WEEK 1.3: Create your own blog

I hope that you will be able to follow this step by step instruction on creating your own blog using Blogger.com. Enjoy! (I just hope I haven't made any errors!)

How to create a blog using Blogger.com

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If you would prefer to print this information from a TIPSHEET, here is the link:
http://www.box.net/s/qdhxh34g9lobdryf4905

WEEK 1.2: Different types of blogs

There are so many different types of blogs. In this post I will just introduce you to a few.  As you look through them, think about the type of blog you would like to create.

Photo a day
http://beesphotos2010.blogspot.com/
http://yollis365project.blogspot.com/

School blog
http://techblog.stcyprians.net/

http://rockacademynews.blogspot.com/

Technology blog
http://schoolnet.org.za

http://digiteacher.wordpress.com/

http://icteducator.blogspot.com/

http://karenstadler.wordpress.com/

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

http://fionabeal.edublogs.org

Specific blog

Glen’s computer club blog – http://sunridgecomputerclub.blogspot.com/

Monnie's art class blog - http://monniart.wordpress.com/

Arthur's Headmaster blog - http://headthoughts.co.za/

A project blog - http://www.e4africa.co.za/

An English blog - http://rosenglish.blogspot.com/

A quad-blogging blog - http://mistea.edublogs.org/

Classroom blogs

http://theedublogger.com/check-out-these-class-blogs/

Grade 0

http://stmarysptagrade0.blogspot.com/

Grade 1

http://mrspatterson.edublogs.org/

Grade 2

http://2kmand2kj.global2.vic.edu.au/

http://thesmarties2.blogspot.com/

Grade 3

http://yollisclassblog.blogspot.com/

http://lannerhousegr3.weebly.com/

Grade 4

http://horn34.edublogs.org/

http://mskreul.edublogs.org/

Grade 5

http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=152060

http://trefz.blogspot.com/

http://year5rc.edublogs.org/

Grade 6

http://partlowpowerhouse.edublogs.org/

Grade 7

http://mcmillan.wordpress.com/

Middle School

http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/

http://millwardb.edublogs.org/

http://techmunoz.edublogs.org/

High School
http://dailyenglish11.blogspot.com/
http://www.mrs-claassen.co.za/

WEEK 1.1: Welcome!

Well, here we are, all ready to learn how to make our own blogs. Welcome!!!! I hope that you won’t find the course strenuous and that you will end up with a blog that you love!

Introduce yourself

The first thing I would like you to do is introduce yourself in the Comment box below this post, and mention:
* Your name
* Which institution you are attached to and which town it is situated in
* How you spend your day there

How to write in the Comment Box

Here is a screencast entitled 'How to make a comment'  to show you how it is done. (You can find written instructions on a page entitled  'Make a comment'  just under the Header at the top of this blog).


This week's details

A summary of this week's tasks can be found here: (just click on the link below)
Blogging course week one details
(This is the same document that was attached to this week's email).

Requirements this week

*Write a comment introducing yourself in the comment box under this post.
*Create your blog and add your blog address to the Wallwisher wall
* Write a reflective post on how you found the week