Blogging in the Classroom - March 19, 2013
Life Beyond Posterous and more great tips for technology in the classroom
We had some great tech time today in Room 518. First off, a big thanks to Kristina Banks, Audrey Asplund, and Juliet Fine for collaborating with me to make today’s sessions a reality. Thanks also to Dan Doggett for the use of his room.
We had some very differentiated instruction going on today in our two sessions. One teacher created a blog for the very first time. Others discovered and successfully used the Blogger app for the iPhone (it’s awesome, and SUPER easy to use). Still other teachers got their “Digital File Cabinets” up and running for the first time today.
If you couldn’t make it, here were some of the most popular topics, listed below. If you don’t see instructions for something you’d like to learn how to do, or if any of the instructions below seem a little complex or confusing (sometimes digi-speak can be a little muddled), e-mail me at rippolito@hartdistrict.org. I am happy to make some time to help you one-on-one, or if it’s something that lots of people might benefit from, I’ll create a how-to video and post it right here in my workshop notes (or we can do both!). Thanks for your interest in using technology to improve student learning!
Creating a Digital File Cabinet using Blogger and Google Docs/Google Drive - Watch this video for step-by-step “how-to” instructions for creating a file repository you can place in your blog to keep digital handouts organized for students to access, print, and download from home. http://youtu.be/3noc1vjedOQ
Importing from Posterous to WordPress - click HERE for instructions. If you a have Posterous blog, don’t let that archive slip away forever. Take the time to preserve your content by migrating your data to a site like WordPress. Please note that it could be a multi-day process (the Posterous import is working slowly for me), so don’t wait until April 29, since Posterous is shutting down April 30. It’s not something that requires leaving your computer on all the time, but it will require time for the Posterous servers to package your data. I have been waiting over 24 hours for my Posterous blogs to export, and as of this posting, they’re still not ready.
Posting via e-mail using Blogger - Click HERE to learn how you can do the same thing you do in Posterous, only you can do it in Blogger (a free service from Google). With Blogger, you will setup your “super-secret e-mail address” that only you should know. If you give it out to others (especially students), you will be giving them access to post to your blog as if they were you. That could be bad. That’s why you keep it “super-secret.” As soon as you create your secret e-mail address, I recommend you save it to your phone as a New Contact so you can easily access it later if you are taking photos of your agenda on your whiteboard and e-mailing them to your blog.
Posting via e-mail using WordPress - Click HERE for instructions. AND, I just learned that you can post attachments with WordPress (not possible with Blogger). This is a NEW feature recently added to WordPress that will make it function similar to Posterous. Same concept as Blogger, just a different interface. The BIG difference between WordPress and Blogger is the attachment function. At this time, WordPress supports file-hosting of attachments, with a total capacity of up to 3GB. Unless you’re attaching large audio or video files, or huge PowerPoints with lots of images, the average teacher would take YEARS to fill up 3 gigs of space.
Adding a Gadget to Blogger - Click HERE for instructions. Use this to add side panels to Blogger. If you look at my site (http://www.MrIppolito.com) or Laura Arrowsmith’s site (http://arrowsmith-us-history.blogspot.com) and you’ll see a “Digital File Cabinet.” Coach Collins is doing it, too! His site is here: http://collinsmodciv.blogspot.com. This is just one of many side gadgets that can be added using Blogger. You can add this in your blog settings by selecting “Layout,” “Add a Gadget,” and then selecting the “Image” gadget. Again, if you’re looking to create a “Digital File Cabinet,” you can watch this HOW-TO video here:
Migrating to Tumblr. - I caution Hart District teachers against migrating to Tumblr. Because Tumblr blogs are frequently associated with sexual and other inappropriate content, Tumblr is blocked on student computers. Therefore, if you choose Tumblr as your blogging platform, any student trying to access your blog from a student connection at school will be blocked.
Some other great examples and tips. - I got some great examples and great ideas from lots of other teachers right here at West Ranch. Go Wildcats! Here they are:
Michael Smith has very clean, sharp-looking Blogger blogs for his English classes. Plus, Mr. Smith is using PBWorks for his Digital File Cabinet. Besides Google Docs, it’s another great choice.
http://english10adventures.blogspot.com/
Ron Manalastas has a rockin’ site using Weebly. I haven’t really played much with Weebly, but it seems to make class handouts super easy to find. Kudos to Ron on Weebly. Great first name, too.
http://wranatomyclass.weebly.com/index.html
Christine Hirst is my shining example of Google Sites. She’s got great content on there, and Google Sites makes it really easy to embed things like Google Docs Forms. Her earth science website is here:
https://sites.google.com/site/westranchearthscience/
Lots of my teacher friends at other schools swear by WikiSpaces. The only West Ranch teacher that I know uses it is my neighbor, Jed Blaugrund. He loves it!
http://blaugrundenglish.wikispaces.com/