PDF New bloggers frequently struggle with the difference between Post and Pages.
They’ll often publish content on pages when it is better suited to being published as a post.
And unfortunately this can result in the blog being weighed down by too many pages and the content on the pages becoming increasingly harder to manage.
In this third activity you will:
- Be introduced to the differences between posts and pages.
- Learn how to write an About Page.
- Write your About Page or create a Page on your blog.
- Complete the extension activity (if you have time).
Step 1: Introduction to Pages
Blogs are composed of two main areas where you publish your content: Posts and Pages.
New bloggers frequently struggle with the difference between the two, and hopefully the following will help clear it up.
Pages on blogs are normally used for information that you want to share with your readers but don’t expect to update frequently. Not all blogging software includes the ability to add pages.
Key differences between Pages and Posts
Difference in features between Pages and Posts
Please note:
- Traditionally blog themes don’t allow comments on Pages. This is why on most normal blogs you won’t see comments on Pages
- However, most Edublogs Themes are designed to allow comments on Pages because there are situation where educators want the ability to leave comments.
Example of Pages used on blogs
- The most common type of Page on a blog is the About page. Your About Page is used for telling readers more about yourself and your blog.
- Class blogs often use Pages for Blogging Rules and Guidelines (check out these examples of Blogging Rules and Guidelines on class blogs).
Step 2: How to write an About Page
An About page is where readers find out more about you and your blog. Readers often use it to decide whether to bother subscribing to a blog.
When you set up a new Edublogs blog it automatically comes set up with an ‘About page’. Readers access this page by clicking on About in the page links at the top of your theme or in the link in your sidebar.
The idea is you change the default text on this About page by inserting your own information.
What to Write on Your About Page
Your about page is all about letting people know who are you, what’s your interests and what you write about.
Start with telling people more about yourself as people are more likely to engage with your blog if they can relate to you as an individual. Then tell them about your blog and the reasons why you blog.
Not too long and not too short – include photos that help readers relate to you as a person.
Here’s my ‘About page’ on my personal blog.
What’s included on an About Page does vary depending on the type of blog and its intended audience. Here’s tips for writing About pages for Student and Class blogs.
Writing Your About Page
Editing your default About page is as simple as:
1. Click on Pages > Edit
3. Now it is just a case of replacing the default text on your About page with your own images, text etc.
4. When finished all you need to do is click Update Page
Video
Watch the video below to learn about Writing New Pages
Step 3: Write your About Page
Now it is time for you to write your About page. However, if you don’t feel comfortable about writing personal stuff about yourself yet — then we recommend you focus on writing another type of page.
One idea would be to create a new Page with a list of helpful resources you would like to share with others.
Once you have written your About page or Resource page come back to this post and leave a link to the page you have created so that others can check it out!
Step 4: Extension activity – Optional
Visit at least five blogs belonging to fellow challenge participants from this list and do the following:
- Pay close attention to the layout and how they use pages and posts
- Find the “About” page if one is present and read about the blogger
- Comment on the About page (or a post you like) if comments are open and introduce yourself to the blogger with a link to your blog
A little late…okay a lot late…here is the link to my blog with my updated about me page.
http://tiffanythompson.edublogs.org
I am working on the beginner and advanced challenges of activities 3, 4 and 5 at the same time, so my contributions are a little topically challenged. (I already posted to activity 4.)
I wrote the About pages on my blogs, Digital Substitute and Stefras’ Bridge prior to and during the first activity. However, I just updated my Stefras’ Bridge About page by adding images. And I created a Find Me page which I placed on both blogs.
I tried to also add a Contact page, using the series, Creating a contact page, on , but failed to create it, since WordPress(.com)does not allow plugins.
I am still drafting a post combining activities 2 and 3, regarding effective posts and pages. That should be posted soon.
That last comment was posted before I finished it. I love computers; they always do things you don’t ask them to.
Anyway, this paragraph was incomplete:
I tried to also add a Contact page, using the series, Creating a contact page, on Blogging Tips, but failed to create it, since WordPress(.com)does not allow plugins.
Well, I think I’m finished my objective. Just posting to test if my gravatar is working.
Hi Scott,
Your gravatar looks fine.
Scott,
Can you tell me how you embedded the Polldaddy link in your blog? I have been trying to do this and I do not know which widget I am suppose to use.
Thanks,
Colby
Once again you all pushed me to the next level. Thanks for helping me think through how to help others set up their guidelines for posting on blogs.
Yikes, It appears I’ve done something wrong with my link. Here it is http://wwwatanabe.blogspot.com/2011/01/tips-for-student-comments-on-blogs-and.html
Ok. I actually did this one on time. Unfortunately I’ve been stumbling around trying to figure out how to make the page appear on my blogs home page.
It’s ok now I’ve had my aha! moment and figured out that it was loaded as a preference in my widgets.
Come visit me at:
http://mrsbrown15.edublogs.org/all-about-me/
I have been trying to post this on the 3rd DQ, but for some reason can not seem to get it right. So, I think I’ll post it here until someone can walk me through what I might be doing wrong.
The questions were about what I learned about pages and how what would I share about this with others? Below are my responses:
When I saw Amy Alrawi’s Pages, it really helped me grasp the value of Pages. You can see her blog at http://century21teacher.blogspot.com/
It allowed me to understand to the person was behind the voice, and it provided tangible artifacts such as lesson plans and discussion papers.
I also took the tip that Sue Waters wrote above about taking comments off of Pages (or at least the About the blogger page).
As a result of visiting blogs such as Amy’s, I’ve created a much stronger About Page of my own and added one Page of some original PBLs I had done in the past. wwwatanabe.blogspot.com So, once again, thank you for all the help!
DQ #3 – How has your idea or understanding of pages changed?
Initially, when I began looking around the blog I created, I had the hardest time understanding what made the difference. But, now I get the static nature of Page and the more vibrant nature of posts. I do like how the Page option does allow for comments, while will be useful when I try to extend the blog to students and parents.
When working with someone just starting out with blogging, or when introducing blogging to students, how will you explain the difference between posts and pages? What content is best left for pages?
That will be a little difficult to describe. I think what I’ll do is probably demonstrate using my blog during a lesson, and then show how editing and adding appear on both Page and Posts. Then, I will probably do a venn diagram with the students because there are some similarities that might make it confusing, but also some major differences that might help to clarify.
Here’s my about page:
http://alawrence112.edublogs.org/about/
I am having trouble with my pages. Right now I have parent pages and then pages under my parent pages and when I put pages in my sidebar it lists every page I made. My idea is to have parent pages listed in the sidebar, but everything included under that parent page hidden, so that only when you click on it, it lists the pages under that parent page. Is this possible? Thanks for your help.
Hi Arisdon, Can you give us your Blog URL so we can have a look?
roreyrisdon.edublogs.org
When it did not work out the way I wanted it to, I took it out of my sidebar. I can put it back so you can see it and help me out with it.
Thanks for replying to me. I appreciate the time you are offering to help me.
Cheers,
rorey
Hi Rorey, in your case you would be better using a theme like WPMU-Dixi (which is what we use on this blog). It has nested pages so your sub-pages would be be listed below the parent in the top navigation.
For example, if you hover your mouse over About you’ll see the sub page Participate listed. However, if you used this theme you would need to shorten the page tiles.
Thanks so much for the help Sue. I really appreciate all of the hard work you are putting into this and how much help you are offering teachers all over the world. I will play around with it and see what I can do with the new theme. Your suggestion sounds perfect.
Hi Sue,
Can you help me with one more thing about WPMU-Dixi? How do you make it so your homepage shows all of the post, not just a snip-it with the title. I want it just like a regular blog where as you scroll down, you see the most recent post in its entirety and then you see the next one, and so on.
Thanks so much,
rorey
roreyrisdon.edublogs.edu
I think after reading this, I am wondering if there is a way to set up an about me page for adults and one separate one for students.
http://itsaselfcontainedlife.blogspot.com/2011/02/need-help-blogging.html
Hi Lisa,
I didn’t see any pages on your blog using this theme. Your About Me is a widget/section at the bottom of your home or posts page. Do you have the option to add pages in your Dashboard?
If you do, you can create two pages. One About page about the blog and you. Another About page about your class and students. All that is required is that you give them different titles.
I am not sure if that helps. In either case, good luck. I hope you figure something out.
Shawn
Lisa- maybe password protected area?
I have an about page! It’s not everything I (eventually) want it to be yet, but I’m satisfied with it for now. Go check it out and leave me some comments (I love comments)! Thanks in advance!
http://sarajo.edublogs.org/about/
I have just written my about page. It was written very quickly as I am a bit time pressed this morning. Anyhoo, it is there! It has been great looking around at other people’s blogs but I can see that I will really have to lift my game in terms of the appearance of my blog, particularly the sidebars.
My about/resources page features a musical treat by an ethereal soprano Hila Pitman… she’s doing a cover tune of the 80′s hit “voices carry”.
This page was very useful and some of it a little self explanatory. In the “About” section I guessed that it would be about yourself. I’m a “click it and figure it out-er”. Actually, taking the time to read about how these different pages and posts work was more helpful when I went to do the activity and lessened the stress for completing the task. I’m starting to get the hang of this!
My About page contains information in regards to the 1980 United States Men’s Hockey team that beat the Soviets and then went on to win the Gold Medal. Specifically, I discuss the importance of the sport of hockey in terms of politics when it came to the game against the Soviets as well as the importance of the United States victory to our overall morale at a time when people were not feeling confident about our nation’s future.
Very informative, thank you!
My blog is: http://sketchfun.edublogs.org/
@Sketchfun Glad our posts are helping. Your blog is coming along really well. I love the use of the images of the drawings to show the students ideas. One thing I would add to the sidebar would be email subscription since it is targeted at both parents and student.
http://writerofredleaves.edublogs.org/about/
Feel free to click on the above link and check out my About page. My hope is that eventually, students in my classroom will be blogging with students from all parts of the US if not further, and so I wanted a general about page offering more of the purpose of our blog than just being about me.
I made this about page… I mentioned my kids and grandchildren and some hobbies. I wasn’t sure at first how long to go on about myself or when to stop…not exactly as easy as I thought it’d be!
On our self-hosted WordPress site I can have posts appear on multiple pages using the Blog-in-Blog plugin. Does anyone know if such thing is possible in Edublogs? Thanks.
Hi Carolyn, can you give us a link to the plugin you are using so I can check it out in more detail and let you know?