Blogging 101
Blogging 101
Much can be said about the topic of blogging. Where does an instructional designer begin to tackle the topic? The platform you select is irrelevant because blog platforms are all tools that deliver our content to the world. What is important is your purpose, format, content, and the connection that you make to your audience.
This video will lay a good foundation about blogs and their anatomy. You will also learn the difference between a post and a page. If you only use pages, we call your site a website and not a blog. If you post, then we call it a blog because you are using the feature of posting content to your blog roll.
Blog - a blog is a website platform that has a feature that allows you to post content on a blog roll. A blog roll consists of your posts in descending order. Much like creating a post for social media. You post will appear at the top of the blog roll.
Website - a website is a platform that builds pages with content.
Platform - a platform refers to what you are using to build your website/blog.
Google Sites - this is a free entry level website builder. If you want easy, this is what you want to start with. Sites does not have a blog feature, but we can mimic a blog roll.
Blogger - Blogger is a free Google product. Blogger has the blog feature in addition to the features a website has. You can use Blogger to make websites or a blog.
Edublogs - is a free version of Wordpress. It has the capabilities for you to add students to your class and gives students the ability to build websites or blog. Edublogs/ Wordpress is the most advanced platform we will review.
Post - Post are what you draft and add to your blogroll. Post are different than pages. They create their own unique URL and can automatically populate to the top of your blogroll page.
Page - A page is not like a post. It is one static page that has content on it.
Publish - after you draft your post and proof it, you then publish it. This will make it public and visible on you website.
Editor - The editor is used to draft your post. It allows you to format the text, add images, audio, video, and other web 2.0 content.
Film School for Students - this website houses instructional videos on how to become a filmmaker. It was made using Google Sites and the collapse feature.
The Podcast Challenge - this website houses resources that walk students and teachers through the entire podcast process.
Blogging 101 - This Google site is being used to house instructional content in that is similar to a module in an online course. We used the features and customization capabilities to build this site to house all of the content for this workshop. Pay note to the layout and organization of this resource.
Technology Integration - This Edublog site serves the purpose of sharing resources and materials that I have created. My goal is to openly share the training resources and materials I develop in hopes that it may benefit others in education.
Digital Learning Coordinators - This Blogger site is a sample of using a blogging platform to post journal entries and reflections about our experiences, as Digital Learning Coordinators, working with students and teachers.
Barb Vinal: Tech Blog- This Wordpress website functions as a blog about education. The resources also provides some resources for teachers.
Technology Integration: Sites Version - This Google site is a replica of the Edublog site I shared earlier. I am intentionally using Google Sites as a blogging platform. Sites in not a blogging platform, but you can use use the tools and features of Sites to mimic what a blog does.
Teacher Portfolio- This Google site functions as my professional portfolio. I have the standards that I am assessed upon and artifacts that demonstrate my mastery of the performance standards.
Mr. McDowell- This Google site is a sample of a teacher using it to deliver content and instruction to his students.
Morris Area Farmers Market - This Google site is a sample of students using Google sites for a project.
Tip: Use a platform that does not embed ads in your blog or pay for your blog so you do not have ads.
Why do you want to blog? Do you want to entertain your audience, inform your audience, or would you like to persuade them? The purpose of your blog can help you select the format for your blog. Below are a few formats for blog posts and links to samples. Spend some time thinking about the type of post you want to publish. You can change the format of your post to match the purpose of you blog post.
Source 1 40 Different Types of Content You Can Create for Your Blog
Source 2 Which Format is Right for Your Next Blog Post?
Tutorials - these types of posts provide your audience step-by-step instructions on how to do something.
- How to Write an Awesome Blog Post in 5 Steps
- How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide [+ Free Blog Post Templates]
Lists - You may be providing your audience with a top ten or another type of list.
10 Ways to Make Your Blog Post Interactive
The Best Blog Format, Plus 10 Blog Formatting Tips to Keep Your Readers Engaged
The Comparison Post - this format usually compares two things to each other. May you compare two LMSs.
Canvas vs. Google Classroom
WordPress vs. Blogger – Which one is Better? (Pros and Cons)
The Curated Post - this type of post usually contains content you have curated for your audience.
12 TED Talks on Effective Communication to Help You Close
Leadership Post - these types of post are where to take on the role of a leaders and perhaps speak, proclaim, predict, or possibly inspire your audience.
The Principal is In
Lessons in Leadership: 5 administrators share advice for first-year principals
The Entertainment Post - you may want to entertain your audience and possibly humor them.
Hilarious kid stories shared by real teachers
Explanation Post - You may want to answer the what for your audience. You can do this be explaining things in a way they will understand.
What is a Blog? – Definition of Terms Blog, Blogging, and Blogger
A Storytelling Post - you may have a story to tell your audience. Human interest stories can be very engaging.
3 Student Success Stories to Reaffirm Your Love of Teaching
The FAQ Post - you may want to address frequently asked questions that your audience may have.
Blogging FAQ: Everything You Need to Know
Vlog - Vlogs are video blogs that usually feature the talent filming themselves sharing their content or even a look into their day or work.
Post on a Schedule - Have you ever visited a blog and noticed that the author has not posted for over a year? People follow people that produce quality content on a consistent basis. You do not need to post 3 times a week, but decide how many times you will post and when. Then stick to that schedule. Use a spreadsheet if you need to plan out your posts. You can also draft your posts early and set the release date and time to publish for you automatically.
Use Keywords - You will want to grow your audience. To do so, you will want to intentionally add key words to your posts in order for the web crawlers to lead people to your blog posts. Think of keywords as what people would type in a search bar to find your website or blog posts.
Add an Image - Posts that have a small file image will rank higher on searches that posts without an image. If the size of the image is too large, it could slow down the rate the image refreshes or displays.
Include Internal & External Links - You will want to link to previous blog posts that you have published, and you will want to link to external websites. This will help you get visitors. Try to get other websites and blogs to link to you and then you link back to them. That is called reciprocity and will help to increase your traffic.
Connect with Your Audience - You may want to consider allowing you audience to comment on your posts or provide them with your email address. You can also use a contact form. The point is that you want your audience to have a way to communicate with you. You will want to ensure you reply in order to make that connection. The more connections you have, the faster you can grow your blog.