Print Friendly Print Get a PDF version of this webpage PDF

Welcome to the Edublogs open and free professional development series on Class Blogging.

Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing posts that will walk you through the ins-and-outs of starting and maintaining a class blog.

The activities can be completed at your own pace and in any order!

In Activity 1, you will:

  • Discuss the benefits of having a class blog
  • Sign-up for your own blog if you don’t already have one
  • Be introduced to the main features of a blog
  • Write a comment on this post with a link to your class blog

Step 1: Why Blog?

The term blog originated from the blend of the term “web log”.

Nowadays blogs compete with mainstream media in delivering news and information.  Important events, war coverage and celebrity deaths are often reported quicker and more accurately on blogs and Twitter than traditional news service.

Why?  Because any one can easily set up their own blog and share their thoughts (known as their voice) online.

Blogs are written on just about any subject and for a wide range of purposes, including personal, business, work and sharing news stories.

Reasons why educators blog include:

Reasons why educators blog

Top Uses of a Class Blog

Class blogs are like a class website where parents, students, and others can visit to keep up with what is going on in class.
Here are few ways many educators use class blogs:
  1. Post homework
  2. Daily summaries of what was learned in class
  3. Weekly news posts – much like a traditional printed newsletter
  4. Class calendars of important dates, tests, field trips, etc.
  5. Extending class discussions outside of class by asking students to reply to questions and comments
  6. Posting course documents, expectations, and contact information
  7. Have more ideas – leave a comment on this post sharing!

Step 2: Get a Blog!

While the majority of the activities apply to blogs of any type and host (WordPress, Blogger, KidBlog, etc.), most of our specific directions and screenshots will be geared towards Edublogs.org – the largest community of education blogs on the web.

Here are some important things to consider when choosing a blog platform. 

Signing up with Edublogs is quick and free on the Edublogs.org homepage.

Here’s some things to consider before creating your blog:

#1 Username and Display Name

Your username is what you use to sign into your blog dashboard and is displayed on posts and comments you write. While you can’t change your username, most blog platforms do allow you to change how your name is displayed.

In most cases it’s better to choose a username that makes it easier for others to relate to you as a real person. For example, compare spwat3 with suewaters — which is easier to relate to?

And if you would rather not use your full first and last name online — then use a display name like Miss W or  Mrs Waters.

Username vs display name

#2 Blog URL

During the creation of your blog you’ll have to select a URL for it.  When you want others to visit your blog you give them the URL link of your blog.   For example, the URL for the Teacher Challenge blog is http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/

Think carefully about your blog URL.

Ideally you want to keep your blog URL short, easy to remember and suitable to be reused for several years.

#3 Blog Title

Your blog title is one of the first things a first time reader sees when visiting your blog.  Ideally you want your blog title to relate to what your blog is about while capturing your readers attention.

But don’t stress too much!  You can always change your blog title any time via Settings > General in your dashboard.

Example of a blog title and tagline

Create Your Blog

Now you’ve done all the research it’s time to create your blog.

Here are the instructions to follow if you would like to set up your blog on Edublogs:

  1. Signing up for your blog
  2. Logging into your blog dashboard
  3. Using your blog dashboard

Step 3: Learn About Your New Blog

We’re about to throw a bunch of terms and ideas at you, but don’t worry – we will go into all of these in much greater detail in future activities.

We’ve given links to more information for all of the sections, but these are just here in case you want to jump in right away. You don’t need to visit all of these and have everything set up immediately unless you would like to.

Blogs are normally made up of the following main elements:

1.  Dashboard

This is the back-end area of your blog where you make changes and edits.  This area is only accessible to logged in blog administrators, editors, authors, contributors or subscribers.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

  1. Logging into your blog
  2. Using your blog dashboard

2. Theme

Usually one of the first things bloggers do is pick out a theme.  This is the template or look of the blog that people see when they visit your blog.

This is what gives it your personal touch.

We will go in much more detail in the next activity, but here’s where you’ll find more information on:

Your blog theme

3. Theme layout

Blog themes normally include a header, a content area (for your posts), sidebar area (for your widgets) and come in several standard layouts:

  • Single column with no sidebar (widgets are located at the bottom of the blog)
  • Two Column – normally a wide column for content and narrower sidebar
  • Three Column – with sidebars side-by-side on one side of the blog or either side of the wider content column
  • Four Column – one content column and three sidebars. The content column is often the same width as the other columns. This type of layout tends to be cluttered looking and less suited to reading lengthy content.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

Layout of a blog

4.  Header

The header is the area at the top of a blog where the blog title, graphics, and possibly navigational links appear.

5.  Posts

Posts are where you normally publish the latest upodate or new article on a blog.  They are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order with the most recent post at the top of the page.

Most of the content published on a blog is normally written as Posts.   E.g, information on what’s happening in your classroom, assignment instructions, homework and discussion topics are normallypublished as Posts and not on Pages.

Blogs are designed to have only one Post page which normally displays on the homepage of the blog.  Check out The Edublogger to see how posts are displayed in reverse chronological order on the home page.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

Features of a post

6. Comments

Posts commonly allow readers to publish comments on the posts they read.  This is where the reader can share their thoughts, connect with the blogger and interact with other readers.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

7.  Pages

You normally use pages 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.

The most common type of page you’ll find on a blog is an About Page.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

Example of an about page

8.  Sidebar

The location and even existence of sidebars depend on your theme.  Some themes even have 3 or more sidebars.  You can add and rearrange widgets in your sidebars using your blog dashboard.

The most common theme layout are two columns with one sidebar and on content area.

Example of a sidebar

9.  Widget

These are the blocks that make up sidebars.  Popular widgets include the ability to subscribe to a blog, user statistics, and suggested links.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

Example of widgets

Step 4: Leave a Comment

Hopefully by now you have created your own blog.

Leave a comment below with a link to the blog and let us all take a look!

Also feel free to leave any questions you are having (or tips/advice) as well.

See you soon in activity 2!

Share|