Blogs ,Wikis & RSS Readers

1. Blogs ,Wikis & RSS Readers Create, Implement and Enjoy!

2. What is a Blog? • A blog (short for weblog) is a online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general consumption. • a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order. • generally represent the personality of the author/s or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog • Blogs engage readers with questions, ideas and links.

3. What is a Blog? ... • Blogger • The author of a blog • Frequent posts • Combine text, images and links • Visitors and interactions • Read content, comments • Find relevant links • can post comments to entries on the site • View archives of posts – By Month, by Category Good blogs demand interaction.

4. A typical “Blog”

5. Free Blog Sites • Blogger: http://www.blogger.com • Wordpress: http://wordpress.org • Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com

6. Create a blog in five minutes • Create an account at • http://www.blogger.com • Choose a title and URL for your blog • http://xxx.blogspot.com • xxx must be a unique name • blogspot.com cannot be changed • Choose an appearance template for your blog • Everything but the URL can be changed later

7. Creating a Blog Just sign in if you have a Google account Click here to create your blog

8. Step 1: Create Google Account Follow the steps on this page to create a free Google account. Click the orange “Continue” arrow when finished.

9. Step 2: Name Your Blog Choose a name for your blog. You also must choose a blog address (URL).

10. Step 3: Choose a Template Choose any template you would like.

11. Start Blogging! Well done! Now you can begin Blogging.

12. Create a Posting Create a posting by typing a title for your post and then your information in the box to the left. Click publish when finished

13. View Your Blog Blog Example

14. Respond to a Blog http://aahperdleight.blogspot.com Click on the pencil icon if you wish to edit your own posting Click on “Comments” to respond to the posting

15. Post a Comment Write your comment in the box provided http://aahperdleight.blogspot.com Then Post Comment

16. Edit Profile Manage Blogs • Posting • Settings • Layout Create Blog Blogger Dashboard

18. What are Wikis? • A type of website that allows users to easily add, remove, and otherwise collaboratively edit and change content that can be quickly published to the web. • Can include text, images, video and hyperlinks. • A wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. • Wikipedia is the most recognized wiki.

19. Free Wiki Sites PBworks: http://www.pbworks.com WikiSpaces: http://www.wikispaces.com VoiceThread: http://www.voicethread.com

20. Create a Wiki: PBworks Try it now It is free for educators

21. Sign up: Education Sign up now

22. Sign up: Basic Account Sign up for the Basic Plan (it’s free!)

23. Create Free Account Choose your address Click: noncommercial use Create you account Click “Next”

24. Confirmation Check your email for confirmation. Click through the links provided.

25. Determine Security Level Choose who can view the workspace and who can edit the workspace Accept the Terms of Service Start your wiki

26. Start Creating Your Wiki Edit your page here View your page here

27. Sample Wiki Pages are found here Create page, upload files, invite people Edit your page here View your page here

28. RSS Feed Readers Really Simple Syndication Rich Site Summary

29. RSS Feed Readers • A popular content distribution tool/software • Get all your news in one location. • Displays RSS content feeds from Web sites you select • You can subscribe to a website • Alerts when content changes • something new is posted • Quickly review the headlines • worth reading a story?

30. The Software- News Aggregator News Aggregators (news readers) will download and display RSS feeds for you in a single location for easy viewing (news headlines, blogs, podcasts). A number of free and commercial news aggregators are available for download

31. Bloglines.com Online RSS Reader … A free and easy way to create your own page of favorite and commonly visited blogs and websites.

32. Step 1: Create an Account Create your free account.

33. Your Bloglines Page This is what your page will look like before you start to add your favorite news, blogs, and websites.

34. My Bloglines Page This is my Bloglines page

35. Subscribe to a Feed Click on Add Type (or copy and paste) the URL of the blog or website you wish to follow, then click on the subscribe button.

36. Reading Your Bloglines Page Any page on the left that is bold indicates new information since I last accessed that page. Any number in parentheses indicate how many new postings since I last accessed the page. The second number in parentheses indicates that I am saving that page to access again.

37. Assignment- Start blogging! • Post #1: Introduce yourself.  Do you have a job or extra-curricular activities?  What were some of your highlights of semester 1?  What expectations do you have of yourself for this course? • Post #2: Write a movie review of a movie you've seen recently. Read the FAQ section of the website for the guideline. • Post 2 comments on someone else's blog!

38. Questions comments

39. !@#

40. What are Blogs? • Blog Examples • Create your own blog: Blogger.com • What are Wiki’s • Wiki Examples • Create your own wiki: Pbworks.com • What are RSS Feeds and News Aggregators? • RSS Examples • Create your own newsreader: Bloglines.com