How To Get Started!

These are the directions that each student received in class:

How do I start a web log?

1. Go to www.blogger.com and click on the “Create a Blog” button.
2. Blogger is a part of Gmail and you will need a gmail account if you don’t already have one.  If you already have a gmail email address, simply type it in.  If you don’t, you can create one.  Don’t forget your password! You can now also use this account for email, or use it just for your blogger account.
3. Follow the directions to name your blog and create its URL.  The name and URL do not necessarily have to match.  (For example, my blog is called “Books Upon Books,” but that URL was already taken, so my URL is www.Room116ELA.blogspot.com .)
4. Follow the directions to pick a template, and your blog is ready to go!

How do I set up my blog the way I want to?

1. It is important to first adjust the privacy settings.  Go to the “Design” link at the top right hand corner of your blog’s page. This will take you to your blog’s “dashboard,” which is where you can change the design, add new posts, change the settings, etc. 
2. Change the “add blog to our listings” and “let search engines find your blog” to “no.”  If you want search engines to find your blog, you MUST make that change with your parent or guardian.
3. In the “settings” tab, go to “comments.” Change it to commenters “must have a user ID.”
4. Finally, go to “Permissions.”  You can decide who can see your blog. Everyone will be creating blog communities, where you will be reading and commenting on other people’s posts.  If you are uncomfortable for any with having your blog open to everyone, you can choose who your readers will be and enter them in this section.  Those users will have to go to your blog, request permission to see it and then be verified by you. 

Additional Guidelines

1. This blog is a part of a school project.  Therefore, all content on your blog must be related to your reading and writing life in some way.  Please do not use this blog as an online journal.
2. My expectation is that we are a community of readers and writers.  I will be monitoring all blogs and trusting that your words that appear online will come from a place of respect for your fellow classmates as well with a tone that is appropriate for school. 

 Extra Features

As you customize your blogs, feel free to utilize all the tools available to you on blogger. A few of my favorites are:

1. labels: you can label each post according to genre, author, topic, etc.  I have found this really helpful when I want to go back and read a certain type of post I’ve done in the past. It also helps new readers to your blog find what they are looking for/interested in.
2. blogroll: you can create a list of blogs you are reading on the sidebar. Everyone will be responsible for commenting on a handful of other blogs, so this is a great place to put the blogs you plan on keeping up with.  Each time an author posts something new, it automatically moves that blog to the top of your list.