Blog
From NLTLWiki
What is a Blog?
The first humble web logs of the mid 90's were simply online diaries, nevertheless they manifested their author's desire to share not just factual information, but his thoughts and experiences. A pivotal extension to of concept was the addition of comments. Many blogs allow their readers to comment and contribute to the initial idea expressed in the blog post. Often eliciting comments and discussion is the primary goal of a particular entry or an entire blog. Like much of the Web 2.0, blogs provide a communal space for those with similar interests to assemble.
Blogs have evolved into an alternative form of publishing. Sometimes they are personal, sometimes political, sometimes commercial, sometimes the work of a collective, sometimes the work of an individual, but regardless, blogs are always about sharing information
Wordpress
Get your own blog.
Matthew Yglesias's Blog
A rising start of the political blogosphere and Dalton alumn, Class of '99.
The Huffington Post
One of the internet's most popular blogs
Blogging at Dalton
In the past couple of year blogging at Dalton has taken off. We currently have over 100 blogs spread across all three divisions. Many are being used by faculty to consolidate course related information and communications. Some are used so expand the classroom conversation and allow alternate student voices to be herd. Several courses are using individual student blogs to help students build and maintain digital portfolio of their work. A handful of blogs are currently engaged in international collaboration with other schools.
Thanks to the flexibility of our blogging platform (WordPress mu), blogs have become a powerful and rich internet application platform. They supports a variety of media formats including YouTube videos and MP3. We are constantly increasing the number of web application and services, such as flickr and Google Maps, that our blogs can integrate with. To help create the best experience possible we have developed custom extension and layouts the meet the specific needs of our faculty. Thanks so some of our very intrepid early-adopter-faculty,our blogs now offer a wide array of abilities which new bloggers can incorporate into their own blogs at the pace that suits them best.
Blogging How To
How do I post on my blog?
- Login to your blog with your faculty or student account.
- Click on the Write at the top of the page.
- Give your post a Title.
- Write your post.
- When you are finished, click on Publish.
- To see your post click on View site at the top of the page.
- When you are finished click on Logout on your blog homepage.
How do I edit a post on my blog?
- Login to your blog.
- If you are on your blog's homepage, click on Site Admin.
- If you are not on your blog's homepage, click on the Manage tab.
- Click on the title of your post.
- Make changes to your post and click on Save.
- To see your post click on View site at the top of the page.
- When you are finished click on Logout on your blog homepage.
How do I comment on a blog post?
- Login to the blog.
- Click on View site at the top of the page to read your peer’s posts.
- For the post on which you would like to comment, click on the Comments link directly under it.
- Scroll down to write your comment in the field. When you are finished, click on Submit Comment.
- When you are finished, click on Logout.
How do I scan an image for my blog?
- Launch the program Image Capture.
- Open the scanner and place your image face down.
- In Image Capture, click on the Overview button.
- Use your mouse to select the portion you want to scan.
- Set the Resolution to 72.
- Set the save location to Desktop.
- Name your file.
- Click on the Scan button.
- Look for your scanned image on the Desktop
How do I upload an image to a post or a page?
- Login to your blog and navigate to your post or page.
- Position your cursor in the place to add your image.
- Directly above the post or page content, click the button to Add Media.
- In the pop-up window, click Choose files to upload.
- Locate and select your image file (from the Desktop or from your Student/Faculty Account) and then, click on Select.
- After the image loads in the media window, scroll down to click Insert into Post.
- Once the image appears you may resize or align it to the left, center, or right sides.
- When you are finished, click on Save or Publish.
How do I link to a Google photo album from my blog?
- First, you must establish a Google Account to use Picasa Web Albums
- Download and install the Picasa Web Albums Uploader
- You may upload images to your new Picasa Web Albums account in one of two ways: using the standalone applications or directly from iPhoto:
- Standalone Application:
- Launch the Picasa Web Albums Uploader and sign in with your Google Account login
- If not already selected, click the New Album tab
- Drag images or a folder of images into the "Drag Photos Here" area
- Title the new album
- If you like, provide an album description
- Check the option to unlist the album (recommended for photos of students) or keep the option to leave it public
- Select individual images (or multiple images with the Shift key) and provide a caption
- If you have not already resized your images, select Faster Upload (1000 pixels)
- Click Upload
- From iPhoto:
- Select an event or an album of images
- From the File menu, select Export
- Click the Picasa Web tab
- If not already selected, click the New Picasa Web Album tab
- Title the new album
- If you like, provide an album description
- Check the option to unlist the album (recommended for photos of students) or keep the option to leave it public
- If you have not resized your images, select Scale large photos for Faster Upload
- Click Export
- Standalone Application:
- When the upload is complete, click to View Album (this will take you to your Picasa Web Albums):
- Click Choose an Album Cover (on the left) to select a different cover image for your album
- Click on Link to this Album (on the left) and copy the code from Paste HTML to embed in website
- Go back to your blog page or blog post, click on the HTML tab for that post or page, and paste in the code you just copied
- Save or Publish your post or page! Viewers may only access these images through your blog.
How do I link to another web site in a blog post?
- Login to your blog and navigate to your post or page
- Once there, click the HTML tab
- In your post, select the word or words to link.
- Click on Link button
- In the window that opens, enter URL with the web site to which you are linking (copying and pasting this address is easier than typing it) and click OK
- Click on the Visual tab to see you link
- Remember to Save or Publish when you are finished
How do I categorize my post?
- Login to your blog and navigate to your post.
- Expand the Categories box below your post
- Select the category you want and save your post, OR
- Type a new category, click the Add New Category button
- When you are finished, remember to save your post
How do I upload an audio file (podcast) to a post?
- Login to your blog and navigate to your post (or start a new one)
- Directly above the post or page content, click the button to Add Media.
- In the pop-up window, click Choose files to upload.
- Locate and select your audio file (from the Desktop or from your Student/Faculty Account) and then, click on Select.
- After the audio loads in the media window, scroll down highlight the audio file’s Link URL address with your mouse and copy it for later (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen select Copy).
- Then, scroll down to the Podcasting section and click on Add Media File.
- In the Location field, paste the audio file’s URL address (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen select Paste).
- Write a Title for your podcast.
- Scroll up and write an introduction for your podcast.
- Save your post or Publish if it is ready.
Wordpress Custom plug-ins
Post-Modernizer: Accordion Organizer
The Post-Modernizer plug-in enables a blog post to organized some or all of its content within an accordion user interface.
How to use:
- Make sure the post editor is on the "visual" mode (not on "HTML" mode)
- Start your accordion by typing [start] on a new line, with the straight brackets.
- Create the first section of the accordion by typing it's title on a new line, within brackets: [My first section]
- Go to a new line and add the content of the section as you would add any content on the post.
- Finish the section by typing [/], on a new line and with the brackets
- Repeat steps 3 to 5 to add another section
- Close the accordion by going to a new line and type: [stop], with the brackets.
