How to Blog

The best part about blogging (and most elements of Web 2.0) is that anyone can do it. There are plenty of free services out there that make it easy to get started. Here are a few that I have used or have been recommended to me:

Blogger: Google owns this service. Like most Google products, Blogger is regularly updated with the latest features and provides great networking opportunities that other services can’t live up to. However, beware of the navigation bar and the infamous “next blog” button that can take the reader to any blog on Blogger’s network, even those which feature questionable material.

Edublogs: Edublogs is powered by the very popular WordPress, the publishing platform used by educators from kindergarten to graduate school. This service provides more safety and privacy settings that can help make your blog safe and useful.

Blogmeister: David Warlick and The Landmark Project offer this service for free to educators. All that you need is a school code and Blogmeister will happily welcome you to the family.

21Classes: 21Classes is provided by 21Publish, which in turn provides an easy way to set up a multi-user blog. Like Edublogs, 21Classes can offer a lot in the area of security and privacy.

My complete list of educationally friendly blogging services can be found here.

Once you have chosen a service, all that has to be done is to register and set up your blog. Typically, an email address is needed as well as some basic information in order to set up an account. After registering, you can set up the look of the blog as well as your permissions and privacy settings.

Now it’s time to blog! With most services, one has to simply click on an icon or text that reads “new post” and the writing may commence. Utilize all the tools offered to you while composing your posts. There are usually features that allow one to check spelling, change the font, and insert pictures or videos.

Once the post is complete, all a blogger has to do is click the “publish” button, but this is not where blogging ends. In order for a blog to expand knowledge and perspectives, it is important to read and respond to comments as well as to read and comment on other blogs. You know that the richness of a conversation will grow when bloggers even start to hyperlink back to one another’s posts.

Be sure to maintain your blog and add the blogs you like to read to your blogroll (a list of favorite blogs). Reading and commenting on others’ blogs also helps the conversation to go well beyond the original post.

Whether you already have a blog or have just established one today, I would like for everyone to post the URL to his or her blog in the comments of this post with a brief description of the content within. I’ll add these blogs to the blogroll at the left in order to keep our new community of bloggers connected beyond this conference.

For more resources on blogging basics, go here.

For more advanced blogging tools such as adding videos, incorporating graphic organizers, or using RSS feeds, click here.