Introduction to blogging in SED 445

Set up your own blog to use this semester for your responses to readings and to share readings or other interesting items you would like to share with us during the week.

A blog (http://plpnetwork.com/2012/06/22/blogging-persuasive-essay/) is your own personal online response journal. It is public, in that I and your classmates can read it and comment on it, but it is your space and you can control most everything about it. (If you want to make it private so that *only* members of this class can read it, see below).

In the context of this course, your blog has two purposes:

1) This is an opportunity for you to intellectually grapple with the theoretical and practical foundations of the readings. Remember that we are reading and writing as potential writing teachers. Please post by 6 p.m. Tuesday so we can read and comment before class.

You may formulate a response as you read, or you can consider using one or more of the following prompts as you prepare your blog each week:

• Take a walk with a line/quote from this reading.  Tell us about a “golden nugget” from this article or chapter that deserves some further discussion or musing.

• Tell us who or what this writer reminds you of or why s/he sounds familiar.  Post some links if appropriate.
• If you had dinner with this author, describe what you would ask or want him/her to explain further.  
• From what you know of secondary schools and classrooms, describe some benefits and barriers regarding this author’s approach to teaching writing.
• List some “burning question/s” you have after reading this. 

But importantly, your blog is a public space and as you post (and comment on others'), you will gain a much richer understanding of everything we read and discuss in class. I want you to think of it as interactive and intertextual in that way.

2) Creating your own blog will also introduce you to the blogosphere if you don't know this place already. I hope that you will discover creative uses for this online medium. You will see how easy it is to use blogger.com, and perhaps it will inspire you to bring blogs into your own classroom someday.

To start your own blog, you will go to:

www.blogger.com

SET UP AN ACCOUNT:

If you do not already have a Google account, you will need to create one.  If you do have a Google account, sign in in the box at the right.
  

Click the button that says NEW BLOG (you will see this even if you have blogged before) and follow the instructions to get started.  Don't forget your Username and Password!! You will need them to login every time. Please write them down on the top of your syllabus so you don't forget!  

NAME YOUR BLOG:

As you fill in the info, you will be asked to name your blog. This title will appear at the top of your blog. (Mine is called "SED 445_IntentionalWriters)

CHOOSE AN ADDRESS:

Every blog has its own URL, or web address.

_______.blogspot.com

This will be the web address associated with your site. You can call it anything you like. Be clever or simple (or both) -- it is up to you.

CHOOSE A TEMPLATE:

You will also need to choose a design template for your blog. Look through the options listed and see what appeals to you. You can change this later so don't worry too much about it initially... 

START POSTING:

Once you have the account set up, you can start posting. A “post” is an entry on your blog. (For clarification, you have one blog, but many posts). Give the post a title and then compose as you would any journal entry. When you are finished, hit the button that says Publish. It will not appear on your blog until you publish it. You can always go back and edit old posts and create new ones.

Your First Post:

Read:

-Christensen Introduction; Gallagher ch. 1; and:

https://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/to-high-school-english-teachers-and-all-teachers/

Write a response blog addressing the three pieces. 

Here is a list of emails to cut and paste into the BLOG READERS box in your Permissions Settings.jjohnson@ric.edu; purplelightning26@gmail.com; danrochford95@gmail.com; jsimpson_2019@email.ric.edu; s.hart@mail.com; csev91@gmail.com; jenna.fonseca@gmail.com; katieshea247@gmail.com

POST A COMMENT WITH YOUR ADDRESS:

When you are done creating your blog and posting your first entry, please come back to this blog and post a comment at the end of the first post (scroll down) that includes your name and your blog address so that I can post it in the blog list to the right.

Some Tips and Helpful Hints:

·         Once you are in your blog, look at the top right corner of the screen. If you click on the word DESIGN, you will be able to make design changes, create new posts, edit old posts, etc. (You can only do this if you are logged in to your blog.)

·         Once you are in the DESIGN screen, you can do all kinds of things to make your blog a bit more interesting. Change your fonts and colors, edit a post, change your settings. See the tabs at the left side of the screen for all kinds of options.

·         Poke around online and make a list of websites related to writing, teaching, or anything else relevant and post them on your blog. You can add all kinds of things by ADDING A GADGET from your LAYOUT screen.

·         Just do the best you can with this. If you get stuck, don't fret... I am happy to help you anytime as you work on getting this started. And remember: you can't break it. It is just a blog. Everything can be changed if need be!