Blog Post #11 - One More to Go!

Hello everyone!

You still have one more entry to do! (if you have already done ten of the prompts, you're exempt but you can still write one!)

We've covered a lot of the basics of Blogspot (polls, videos, images). So, for the final entry, I want you to take a look back at one of your other prompts and choose to use one of those. Video, image, it doesn't matter, and you can pick more than one if you want.

Thank you guys for a great semester! Your blogs have been a pleasure to read, and I hope you all consider updating every now and then!

Blog Post #10 - A Crazy Cacophony of Creative Titles

In class, we discussed ways to produce creative titles for your papers. (Hint: "Spiritual Geography" is NOT a creative title for your spiritual geography essay.)

So, for this week's post and all subsequent posts, be conscious of your titles. Make titles that grab our attention, use alliteration, or reverse a commonly understood adage. You may write about anything regarding your blog's theme as long as you include a catchy title.

Creative titles! To infinity, and beyond!

creativetorbay.com

Blog Post #9 - Shout Outs!

One of the benefits to blogging is creating a network of like-minded bloggers. Remember that there really are people reading your blog and that there are folks out there who are blogging on similar topics that might be beneficial to you.

For this week, write your own blog post as usual, but also give a "shout out" to at least one other blogger this week, perhaps by posting a link to their blog and definitely by explaining what you like about their blog and how it relates to yours.

For example, I might give a shout out to Rojo the Llama's blog. He's one of the best therapy llamas in the country, and you can read about him and his friends' adventures here. Do I even need to explain how this relates to our class blog? I think not.

You can link to someone's blog in the class, or another blog on the internet.  Just make sure that you reference another blog, in particular, not just a website.

Blog Post #8 - Polls

Time to poll your faithful readers by adding a quiz to your blog! Here's what Blogger's Help Center has to say:

Do you ever wonder about your visitors' opinions? Maybe you'd like to find out what your readers think about controversial subjects, or perhaps you just want a vote on whether your should change your blog's font to Verdana. Either way, it's simple to do by adding a poll to your blog.

Step 1: You'll start by going to the Layout tab from "Design" like last time.

Step 2: Click the "Add a Gadget" link that appears in the sidebar for your layout. Refer to Blog Post #7 if you forgot how to do this.

Step 3: Scroll down. The "Poll" gadget is right above the "Blog List" gadget that you had to use last week. Click on the (+) next to the gadget.

The poll settings let you enter the question you want to ask, and the possible answers you want to allow. You can enter as few or as many possible answers as you like; if you need more than are shown, just click the "add another answer" link.

By default, polls are set to run for a week before they stop accepting new votes, but you can change this time frame by entering a new date in the settings. You can also check the option to allow people to vote for multiple answers, if appropriate.

Once you've saved your poll, it will appear on your blog. The "Vote" button will cast a vote for whatever option is selected, and will display the current tally of all votes.

You can also click "Show Results" to see what votes have already been cast without making a vote of your own.

PLEASE VISIT ONE ANOTHER'S BLOGS AND VOTE! MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN THE CLASS HAS A FEW VOTES.

Blog Post #7 - Blog List

Write your weekly post as usual, but also, now that you're familiar with the blogosphere, it's time for you to create your very own blogroll. A blogroll is a list of blogs that you like. Perhaps they have to do with your blog's theme, or perhaps you simply enjoy reading them. My blogroll includes all of my classes' blogs on the righthand side. I also have a blogroll of favorite blogs from previous semesters. Now it's your turn. Here's how:

Step 1: click Design on the upper right hand corner of your blog. On the left in the new page, you will see Layout (three from the bottom).

Step 2: On the right side, select "add a gadget".

Step 3: Choose "Blog List" it is the 17th down.

Step 4:  With this gadget, you will be able to paste in URLs of your favorite blogs so that anyone can see them. Consider having fun with other gadgets as well, there are plenty of options! Enjoy!

IMPORTANT: Remember to write a full paragraph along with posting the gadget

Blog Post #6 - YOUR CHOICE WEEK!!

Because you have been working so hard on your problem solving essay over the past few weeks, I would like to gift you with a "your choice post." You may include anything in this week's blog (as long as it relates to your theme). Just a simple post will do, but try to be creative! :D

www.pinterest.com

Blog Post #5 - Labels

When composing a new blog post, there is a section to the right, under "Post Settings", called "Labels." In some blog programs, these are called tags.

Labels like this are important because they help your readers find your posts by categories. By typing in a word, say, "Eastern University," as I have here, Blogger automatically creates a new category. When I publish this post, Blogger simultaneously files this post both on the main page chronologically, like it did every time before, but it also now files it under the new Eastern University category.

You can add multiple labels to the same post. I have added the word "labels," "Eastern University" and "St. Davids." The first two are self-explanatory. I added St. Davids because it's good to label a post with a location, either where I'm writing from, or what I'm writing about. This helps readers, as well as Google, know more about you.

Having categories is important for your regular readers. It also helps you find old posts if you need to reference them in the future.

Categories are also important because they're a piece of puzzle Google uses to find your blog. Now that I have added an Eastern University category, Google will rank my blog higher on the search list when someone searches for Eastern University. However, don't think by adding the label Eastern University, your blog will reach the first page of Google.

When I do a search for Eastern University, 41 million searches come back. I'm just saying that instead of being at the 40 million mark, Google might move me up to 20 million simply by adding a category with the same search term. Google does, however, push your blog higher on the search results page if you were to add Eastern University to every blog post, as you add more posts in the Eastern University category, and after getting many more hits and more traffic to your blog.

Your task for this week? Create a post about anything related to your theme. Then, in the labels section to the right of your new post screen (directly to the right under "post settings"), add a label or labels for this post. You may also want to go back through your past posts and add labels to those too (as I have done). If you want these labels to appear on the side of your blog's screen, you need to go into your "Layout" menu, and add a Gadget on the  side of your blog page. Then scroll down to "Labels" and click on the plus sign.

Blog Post #4 - A Hyperlink

OK, this week, I'd like you to practice adding a link in your blog without typing out the entire URL. So, let's say I want to link you to my husband's and my photography website. I could tell you to go to www.jpgphotography.com but that is both clunky and unclickable. Instead, I would tell you to go to my husband's and my photography website, and include the link itself in the words "photography website," as I've done here.

It's pretty simple. Right up next to where the picture icon is, it says "Link." Click on it. Type in the text you would want people to click on under "Text to display," then type in a URL and then click "OK." That's all!

Please do not forget to write your regular blog post as well, making it the appropriate length. 

Have fun!!

Blog Post #3- A Picture

Hi Students!

For Blog #3 you will be learning how to post a picture! Make sure that you are not just posting a picture, but explaining the picture in complete detail; this is a huge part of your grade.

To insert a picture from the Web:

Step 1: Click the photo icon

Step 2:  Click the drop-down arrow next to More, and then select from a URL

Step3: Paste a URL into the search bar

Step 4: Click Add Selected

From your computer: Basically the same process, just select "Upload" and then choose your file.
After you insert your picture, continue writing, and then submit the entry as usual.

A new feature blogger also has, is now you can simply drag a picture into your blog post, from both your computer and from the internet. The above instructions still work, and the below copyright issues still remain, but that may be an easier way to get a picture into your post.

Blogger's image upload feature allows you to upload and display images in your posts. This is great when you want to add a photograph you shot or an image you created. However, there are a few details to note when it comes to images that are legally protected or hosted at someone else's expense.

If you choose to 'Add an Image from the Web' using the image upload feature in Blogger, you shouldn't use an image location that is hosted at someone else's expense without their permission. Sometimes this is referred to as 'stealing bandwidth' because every time your blog loads, the image is loaded from their server, and this person likely incurs an expense.


Copyrighted Materials

Watch this video to learn about creative commons: 

Before you put an image in your blog, keep in mind that some images are protected as intellectual property through copyright. This means that the creator has sole legal rights to their works and may not want you copying and displaying them. If you're unsure whether or not an image is copyrighted, it's best not to risk it. However, there are places that make it easier for you to find images you're allowed to use:

• Open Photo

• Flickr: Creative Commons

• Creative Commons Search

When using the photos from the links listed above, you still need to give proper attribution to the original creator. You do this by:

Step 1: Download the image

Step 2: Upload the image onto blogger. If you don't remember how to do this, review the instructions above.

Step 3: Place the photo where you would like it on your post. Then click on the photo so a menu comes up like below. Then select add caption. 

Step 4: Properly citing your source with links.

Check list do you have the following:

1. Title? "blowing in the wind"
2. Author? "Anne Davis 773" - linked to her profile page
3. Source? "blowing in the wind" - linked to original Flickr page
4. License? "C.C BY-NC 2." - linked to license deed. Refer to the picture below to find where the author's rights.

You are linking to the actual detailed deed of the license not the summary page. 

The summary page is below, it is where we get the abbreviations for the last part of the citation.

Complete product:

For a more detailed explanation or questions refer to the FAQ's of creative commons.

Helpful Tip: You link by highlighting the text you want to link, then click the word "Link" next to the picture icon on the toolbar. Make sure "Link to Web Address" is selected, then paste the URL.

Important: 
For those who have a photo on their first blog post that does not properly cite their source (unless it is a photo YOU personally took):

1. Use this image search to trace the origin of the photo.
2. Look for the oldest date that is present online.
3. See if has creative commons or not.
         a. If not: find a new picture that has creative commons
         b. Give proper attribution to the author and the license like I listed above.

Blog Post #2 - A Video

Time to figure out how to add that video! This week, choose a video from YouTube, or you can also choose a video from your cell phone or personal video camera.

PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO POST YOUR VIDEO.

Here are your instructions, taken from Blogger's Help Menu, as usual:

IF YOU ARE UPLOADING A VIDEO FROM YOUR COMPUTER (i.e. one that you took with your phone or camera), the process is similar to adding a picture to your post.

1. Click the clapperboard (the thing movie directors use to say Action!) icon on the post editor toolbar.
2. In the popup window, click the tab that says "Upload".
3. Then click "Choose a video to upload" to find the video on your computer.

HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE UPLOADING A VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE THE PROCESS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT! Please read the following instructions carefully.

1. Click the clapperboard (the thing movie directors use to say Action!) icon on the post editor toolbar.
2. In the popup window, click the tab that says "From Youtube".
3. Then search for the video you want.
4. Your video should pop up. If it does, click to select the video and then press the "select" button at the bottom of the pop-up window. You should be able to see your video on your unposted blog post, and if it does not work there is often times a problem with the YouTube video or it is copyrighted.
5. When you publish your post,  a lovely video should be posted like this:
7. 
   If this does not happen, try a different computer or a different browser (Internet Explorer vs. Firefox, for instance). Have fun!

Your first blog post!

Welcome students! As you envision the creation of your new blog, remember that you must have a focused THEME. It can be about places you've traveled, things that annoy you, or maybe family. In the past, students have written about fitness, fashion, music or even simply the ridiculousness of life. Or, you can make it about something more meaningful to you, such as a ministry in which you volunteer or your philosophy about changing the world. (If you haven't figured it out yet, the clickable links in the previous sentences lead you to some of my favorite "A" blogs from past semesters.)

Also, remember to take the tour on blogger before you begin. It will give you a quick frame-by-frame intro to the world of the blog. Then, remember to visit the Help Center, where you can search for assistance on adding cool things to your blog. In particular, the Getting Started Guide will walk you through the basics: writing a post, adding pictures, adding videos, changing your layout, etc. Play around with these different options. Have fun!

Your first post should give an introduction to your blog, as well as an example of what you'll be pursuing this semester. Think of it as both an introduction and a first entry.

Post your link on Brightspace, so I can add you to my blogroll. Please make sure to include your full name when you do so. (That way, I can be sure to give you credit for your blog!)

How to change your font:

Step 1: On your overview page select template on the left column like the picture below. 

Step 2: Select customize under "Live on Blog" section. See below.

Step 4: Select advanced on the left column. See the picture below.

  
Step 5: Scroll down and select what font you want to change. The example below changes the font of my Blog Title, but you can change anything you want on the list.