E-Activity - Declare yourself

Key points

In this course we invite you to "declare yourself" by posting an introduction on your course blog and reflecting on the activity of creating a blog. You can choose to create your blog on: WordPress (click on the right arrow below to reveal the detailed instructions for the activity) OR Blogger (click on the right arrow below to reveal the detailed instructions for the activity) Remember to register your course blog by visiting the course landing page. Remember to tag your post using the course tag (called a label in blogger.) Note: We will not be able to harvest your posts in the aggregated course feed if your blog is not registered or is not tagged with the course tag.

Declare yourself using WordPress Click on arrow to reveal outline

e-Learning activity summary Title: Create a new blog on WordPress and publish your first post on the site. 45 mins to 2 hours (Depending on prior knowledge and extent of desktop research) Start here WordPress "getting started" video Help tutorials at Learn WordPress.com Free videos on WordPress, published by WP101.com Design a free blogging website on WordPress Change a WordPress Theme on Youtube, by Ralph Phillips Purpose Create a new blog on WordPress through a process of self-discovery supported by open access materials you find on the web. Personalise your blog site. Document and share your learning experience by posting a blog entry. Tasks Complete the tasks listed below. If you get stuck, review the stimulus resources above or search the web for open access materials to find help on competing the task. Register an account and create a free blog on WordPress.com (For more information, see the video on the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org published by WP101.com). View the Dashboard video published by WP101.com and determine the difference between the dashboard for managing your blog and the published view. Do you know how to open the published (public view) of your blog in a new window? Have you added a browser bookmark to your dashboard and public version of your blog? Complete your personal details for display on the "About" page of your blog. Can you see the updates on your about page in the published view of your blog? Review and customise your blog settings from the dashboard according to your preferences. We recommend that you enable categories and tags on your blog Consider whether you want to moderate all comments or in the case of WordPress, you can also enable previously approved posters to post comments without moderation. Conduct a web search on "moderating blog comments" to find out more about the pros and cons on the flow of information when moderating comments. Visit the appearance option on your dashboard and personalise your blog by: Changing: your theme, header image, background colours or image Add at least one widget to your blog -- remember "less is more". One or two of the following are functional choices: Archives, recent posts, categories or category cloud and blogs I follow. Draft a blog post reflecting on your experience of this e-Learning Activity on creating a blog. Click on "save draft" (so you can review before publishing live on the web). Your reflection could for example: Introduce yourself and reflect on what you would like to achieve by maintaining a blog to support your learning What did you think of the activity? Was it easy or hard? Share links to any additional resources you found useful in completing the tasks. Provide tips for future learners who will be completing this activity. If you were to set up a new blog again, what would you do differently? Add anything your readers may find interesting or useful. Review your draft post, and when you're happy with what you've written, click on the "Publish post" button. Send an email to a colleague, friend or family member with the web address of your blog and ask them to post a comment. This will give you the opportunity to experience how comments function on your blog and to test if they are working properly. Learning outcome actions Publish a post on your blog comprising a few paragraphs (about 300 words in total) introducing yourself and what you would like to achieve by maintaining a blog to support your learning. If you are a first-time blogger, you can also include a reflection on this e-Learning activity (see ideas in the tasks listed above). Your blog post must include: At least one link to an external website (for example, a resource you found useful or a link back to this e-Learning activity) An image, properly attributed with the necessary permissions for reuse. You can use a photo you took yourself or find a openly licensed image from the Wikimedia Commons. Optional: Record a short video introduction and embed this in your blog post. A category or tag for your post using the course tag. (See how to add a tag in Wordpress.) At least one comment (for example invite a friend or family member to comment on your blog post) If you are participating in an open course, you may be required to register your blog site for the purpose of harvesting your blog feed for fellow participants. Your course will provide details on how to register your blog site on the course landing page.

OR

Declare yourself using Blogger Click on arrow to reveal outline

e-Learning activity summary Title: Create a new blog on Blogger and publish your first post on the site. 45 mins to 2 hours (Depending on prior knowledge and extent of desktop research) Start here Blogger getting started guide Youtube video: Create a blog with Blogger published by Rayme Pastore Youtube video: Overview of the Blogger dashboard published by Bloggerhelp Youtube video: How to publish a blog post published by Bloggerhelp Purpose Create a new blog on Blogger through a process of self-discovery supported by open access materials you find on the web. Personalise your blog site. Document and share your learning experience by posting a blog entry. Tasks Complete the tasks listed below. If you get stuck, review the stimulus resources above or search the web for open access materials to find help on competing the task. First you need a Google account. If you don't already have one, you can create a free Google account here. Create a free blog on Blogger (For more information, see the help page on creating a blog). Visit the Dashboard of your new blog and click on the "View blog" button to distinguish between the interface where you manage your blog and the published (public) view of your blog. Do you know how to open the published (public view) of your blog in a new window? Have you added a browser bookmark to your dashboard and public version of your blog? Update your Blogger profile (see how). Can you see the updates on your "About Me" page in the published view of your blog? Review and customise your blog settings from the dashboard according to your preferences. Consider whether you want to moderate comments and whether or not users must be registered to post a comment (Registered user which includes OpenID is a good option to start with). Conduct a web search on "moderating blog comments" to find out more about the pros and cons on the flow of information when moderating comments. You can customise and personalise your blog by: Changing your template Using the layout guide to change colours, fonts, header and sidebar as well as arranging the elements in your template. Add at least one gadget to your blog -- remember "less is more". One or two of the following gadgets are functional choices: Blog list, labels or recent posts. Draft a blog post reflecting on your experience of this e-Learning Activity on creating a blog (see how). To save your draft click on "Save" (this will save your post as a draft so you can review before publishing live on the web). Your reflection could for example: Introduce yourself and reflect on what you would like to achieve by maintaining a blog to support your learning What did you think of the activity? Was it easy or hard? Share links to any additional resources you found useful in completing the tasks. Provide tips for future learners who will be completing this activity. If you were to set up a new blog again, what would you do differently? Add anything your readers may find interesting or useful. Review your draft post, and when you're happy with what you've written, click on the "Publish" button. Send an email to a colleague, friend or family member with the web address of your blog and ask them to post a comment. This will give you the opportunity to experience how comments function on your blog and to test if they are working properly. Learning outcome actions Publish a post on your blog comprising a few paragraphs (about 300 words in total) introducing yourself and what you would like to achieve by maintaining a blog to support your learning. If you are a first-time blogger, you can also include a reflection on this e-Learning activity (see ideas in the tasks listed above). Your blog post must include: At least one link to an external website (for example, a resource you found useful or a link back to this e-Learning activity) An image, properly attributed with the necessary permissions for reuse. You can use a photo you took yourself or find a openly licensed image from the Wikimedia Commons. Optional: Record a short video introduction and embed this in your blog post. Add a label to your blog post using the course tag. (See how to add a label on Blogger.) At least one comment (for example invite a friend or family member to comment on your blog post) If you are participating in an open course, you may be required to register your blog site for the purpose of harvesting your blog feed for fellow participants. Your course will provide details on how to register your blog site on the course landing page.