A How To Guide

Want an easier way to add youtube videos to your post?

First get the unique id of your youtube video.

(The unique ID for each video can be found in the youtube address, the video below was addressed: "...com/watch?v=DiBMJQ27OAY")

Then type in or copy and paste the unique url anywhere in your post: http://www.ytube.com/watch_popup?v=DiBMJQ27OAY and there you go!

 

That's it, you now have youtube on your post, and with this code you can even stack several youtube videos in a row, all within the same post.

YouTube youtube, video

You can post audio files to your blog very easily, and without having to know any html.

 

To post an audio file, first make sure you are logged in.

Then click on the “Audio File Uploader” link under “Administration”.

Browse for your .mp3 file on your computer and click “Upload File” to save it on your blog site.
(If your audio file is not an mp3 file, you will need to convert the file first.)

Once the file is uploaded you can click on “Add Entry” and being your post.

To post the file type into your “Add Entry” editor:

 

To hear the song I’ve uploaded just click the play button:

 

I’ll post Part 2 soon which will show you how to make these audio files into a streaming podcast.

Posting files posting, audio, podcast, files

If your theme does not offer sharing automatically and you want to allow users to share your post, simply type the code below into your post, using the "html" editor.

To access the "html" editor, click "HTML" found at the top left of your "Add Entry" toolbar.

 

Facebook single button:

<script src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<script>
if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('0edd2a95-94b0-4004-b14d-c5195cc06229');</script>

 

Or you can add this Share button by adding this code:

 <!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
<div><script type="text/javascript">var addthis_pub="surf05";</script>
<a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20" onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, '', '[URL]', '[TITLE]')" onmouseout="addthis_close()" onclick="return addthis_sendto()"><img src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" width="125" height="16" alt="Bookmark and Share" style="border:0"/></a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/200/addthis_widget.js"></script></div>
<!-- AddThis Button END -->

 

Posting messages facebook, blogs, embed, posting, posts, sharing, social bookmarks

Dipity is a very slick web-based timeline where you can create events that show a chronology. These events can include text description, photos (which are time-stamped based on creation), videos, etc, making a very rich visual of your topic. Also note the Flipbook feature, which gives you a photo album to flip through, and the Map feature, which can locate geographically tagged photos on a Google Earth map. Amazing stuff. 

Dipity / Flickr dipity, timeline, embed

Don't think of a blog as just a bloviating platform. These are powerful content management systems, and they provide individuals with the capability to create, compile, organize, sort, and search all their productivity and experiences.

Here's a PDF of my CETL presentation on using these systems for student eportfolios.

Here are some examples from other institutions:

• Faculty example
• Another faculty example
  
• Student eportfolio guidelines from PSU
  
• eportfolio site at PSU

 

Content Management posting, writing, cms, blogs

Pages are different from posts in that they are generally more permanent, meaning they are listed in your menu and stay there (posts get archived over time). They resemble traditional web pages where you put content and leave it there. You can use pages to organize the primary content in your class, such as the syllabus, lectures/handouts, group work, etc. However, they are easily updated, so it's perfect for files such as the course syllabus, assignments, etc.You can upload a PDF of the syllabus, but why don't you just type it in this window? Then if you need to make a change you just go to the page on your site, click Edit, type away, then click Save. Done. Otherwise you'd have to upload the new version of your file again, and so on. The point is to make content easy to manage.

Pages pages, syllabus

Probably the most powerful tool provided by blog-based systems is the ability to organize, file, and relate your content. Categories are primary filing cabinets where you can "store" posts based on their topic. However, whereas with a piece of paper you have to decide on ONE file to put it in, you can store your posts in as many file cabinets as makes sense. The point is to make your content searchable and retrievable over time.

Tagging goes along with categories to provide as many keywords as you can think of, again to help you (and visitors to your site) to retrieve content relevant to any particular topic. Don't be afraid...you need to use categories and tags to sort your stuff. You'll be glad you did. 

Categories & Tags posting, categories, tags, search, organizing

There are many reasons for collaboratively writing documents, so here are a few ways to make this happen (other than just sitting around the table together):

1. Wiki - These are online documents where all invited members can write, edit, update, etc. The wiki tracks all changes as well as who contributed what (so you can tell who actually did something). There are a few free wiki services, but PBwiki.com is one that is very friendly to education. 
2. Google Docs - Instead of sending Word files around via email and wondering who has the latest version, just have everyone log into their Google account, go to Google Docs, and they can view, edit, and comment on a doc you've created (or uploaded). Just add their email addresses in the Sharing panel for that doc. When done, simply download as a Word doc or PDF.

 

Collaborative writing collaborative, writing, google docs, wiki

Along with all the complicated, cool tools you can use on your site, don't forget the simple things, like sending a message to your class....such as this one...

"Remember to read your book before class or we'll kick the daylights outta ya. After the quiz, of course. See you Tuesday."

Rather effective, don't you think?

Posting messages posting, messages, updates

So, how can you use a blog site for class discussion? Several ways - the easiest is to post something, an article, audio clip, comment, and then have students write comments to that post. All comments are connected to the original post, so you can see what everybody thinks. Try to do this without requiring x-number of comments per semester, but in a way where students are engaged in adding their thoughts or contributions to the topic.

You can also have students post work for others in the class, as well as outsiders such as experts, to review and comment. This is an excellent way for them to publish and get feedback on their work. This works best if each student is developing their own personal sites where they are compiling their work. Use the RSS feature to feed updates back to the main class site so people know what's been posted. What's RSS? That's another post here...search in the RSS category for more info. 

Class discussion posts, comments, discussion, rss