Student Blogging Basics One Sheet by David Theriault

David Theriault created a Google document for his class.  There is a lot of good information for any student or teacher that is interested in blogging. Be sure to check it out. 

Ideas for the Use of Google Forms on Your Blog

Google forms are really handy to use when embedded on your blog. I have used them for all sorts of things over the years. In September when we held our student council elections I embedded a form created for students to vote for their selections. This made it very easy to see who won the election and we didn't even have to count the votes.

Here is a form I created to get some feedback (and require some reflection) from my students after working with digital tools in my classroom. It is very easy to break down the data after using the forms.

Here are some other ideas to get you started:

1. Use them as an assessment tool.
2. Take a poll.
3. Collect web site urls.
4. Collect student emails/phone numbers.
5. Collect parent emails/phone numbers.
6. Sign ups for parent/teacher conferences.

If you have any to add please leave them in the comments section. 

How to Embed a Google Form in Blogger

After you create your Google form, you ned to click the Send Form button on the top, right of the page. Next you will see the link to share, Send form via email or Embed. Choose Embed.

Now you will have the Embed form dialogue box come up. You can copy the HTML code in the box. First notice the size of the form in pixels.

At this point it is a good idea to change the form size to fit your blog. Typically you want your width to be around 500 pixels. The height is something that you have to play with to get right. I prefer to have the whole page of the form showing on the post. This means you will need to change the height of the embedded form to your liking. 

I changed the form height to 400 because the form only has one question. Next you will need to click the HTML button on you blog post page. You will find it on the top, left side of the page.

Notice that I have already placed text and pictures on the post so you will immediately see all the html code on the page. I simply scrolled down to the bottom of the page and pasted the code I copied earlier. 

The '<iframe src=...' is the actual code for the form. 

This is what the page looks like now with the html for the form added. If you don't have anything already put on the post you will not see nearly this much code.

Now you click back on the Compose button and you can see the form is now part of the post. At this point you may want to go back and adjust the width or height of the form html to make it fit right. 

When you are finished, publish your post and it will show up with the form embedded on it. Now all you need is people to come and respond to your form! 

I'm Ready to Have My Students Blog, What Do I Do First?

The hardest thing to do with any new endeavor is to figure out how to get started. Before I started blogging I spent several months looking through class blogs from Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. There were a lot more of those than ones in the United States at the time. I spend most of that time trying to make sense of design, options and content.

Before you ask your students to blog, you need the experience that can only come from blogging. You need to create your own. Actually, I think you should create and post on two different blogs.

The first blog you should create is a class blog. You really need to have the experience of creating something that represents your classroom, your students and yourself. You need to think carefully about the types of information you need to share, and just as importantly what you should not share. You need to think about blogging in an education context.

The second blog you should create is a passion blog. You should have the experience of writing about something you are absolutely passionate about. The entire focus of the blog should be about that one thing that makes you happier than anything else. You need to understand how important it is to be able to share something important to you, not just to someone else.

Then, after you have been writing posts for a couple months you should be ready to get your students started. Remember the lessons you have learned and share them liberally with your students. Don't forget the focus you have to make your education posts representative of the learning that happens in your classroom and also don't forget the joy you have when you are writing what you care so much about. Then you will truly understand why you need to have your students balance their blogs with content from your classroom and from their hearts. 

Blogger: Weather Widget

Adding a weather widget to your blog can be useful. On Blogger I have use the Accuweather weather widget for years. After you create your weather widget on the site, copy the html code. 

Then go in to template: add a gadget: html/javascript. Then paste the code into the box and save. Here is a video that explains the process:

And this is what your widget should look like:

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps

How to Make a Good Blog and Comment

Scott Boylen's students created videos on how to make a successful blog. He graciously agreed to share two videos created and chosen by his students. 

Originally posted on Mr. Boylen's 2014-15 8th Grade LA Class

10 Steps to a Successful Blog

Scott Boylen's students created videos on how to make a successful blog. He graciously agreed to share two videos created and chosen by his students. 

Originally posted on Mr. Boylen's 2014-15 8th Grade LA Class