Multi-media November 21, 2008
Posted by Captain in Blog2teach ideas, Blogroll, Sample educational blogs, Web 2.0, blog features, curriculum integration.Tags: multimedia, picture, winter
2 comments
Package tracking with Bloglines July 15, 2008
Posted by Captain in blog features.add a comment
Yesterday, when I was introducing Bloglines features to teacher participants , one teacher asked about one icon which I did not notice. It reads “package tracking”. I have no clue at all. I clicked it and found that it can track courier packages such as DHL, or Fedex pacrels. Like subscribing to blogs, you just enter the tracking number of your parcel and it should be tracked. I don’t have any parcel to track but it is an innovative and practical functions. I have never thought I can track parcels with a web-based blog reader. Thanks to this teacher, I learn one more thing.
Tags: parceltracking, bloglines,
Adding music to your blog April 5, 2008
Posted by Captain in blog features.Tags: music blog feature FAQ
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Due to copyright issue, many blog service providers (BSP) do not offer storage space for music. However, you may use third party service and add music to your blog. Here is some information regarding how to add music to your blog. The steps vary from blog to blog and may require some technical skills to do so.
Word Press
http://faq.wordpress.com/2006/12/24/how-do-i-get-music-on-my-blog/
Yahoo Blog
This blog illustrates how to add music to Yahoo blog step by step.
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/iam-pinkpanther/article?mid=473
Xanga
Looks like it support music storage. Need to explore further.
LivesSpaces
Not sure yet
Sina
Not sure yet
Assignment tracking December 9, 2007
Posted by Captain in blog features.Tags: lesson ideas, trackback
8 comments
Tracking students assignment could be nightmare. With trackback feature, a teacher will be notified when students’ work are posted on their own blogs. For example, A is reading B’s blog and and found it interesting. While A writes his blog, he refers to B’s Blog using trackback. He puts the trackback link in his post so B will be notified that his post is referred by someone else. It is a link between two blogs and also an acknowlegement to the original writer.
For example, a teacher can set a writing task on the teacher’s own blog and asks students to write their posts on their students’ own blogs as assignment and trackback to the teacher’s original post. The teacher can check his post to see if any students have done the work. It’s that easy.
Educational blogs vs General purpose blogs April 30, 2007
Posted by Captain in blog features, why blog2teach.add a comment
Most teachers first heard of blog from their students or in the media. In public domain, blog is commonly used as personal online journals. Blog users write about their everyday happening, share their life with their friends and peers, exchange information on casual topics. Therefore, blogs give an impression of chit chat and gossip to public in general. I name this kind of blog as general purpose blog. Educational blogs, as opposed to general purpose blogs, have different purpose and audience. Blogs of different uses are illustrated below.
We may further disctinct general purpose blog and educational blogs by its purpose, audience, theme and structure. Educational blogs are designed for learning and teaching purpose. The target audience are students and teachers. Educational blogs are usually tie with the curriculum and more structured as compared with general purpose blog. It aims to increase interaction, participation and promote peer learning.
The comparison of general purpose blog and educational blog is shown below.
Free blogging tools April 17, 2007
Posted by Captain in blog features.add a comment
To start blogging, you need a blog site. (Think about sending an email, you need an email address). Just like the case in email, there are a lot of free blog service providers offering free blog service to users. Actually, a lot of free email providers (e.g. hotmail, gmail, yahoo, sina …) have provided blog service too. The following are some free blog service providers.
www.blogger.com You may use your same gmail a/c and password to create a blog account.
www.yahoo.com.hk Yahoo Hong Kong offers blog service to its users. If you have a yahoo email a/c. You can log on your blog with the same a/c and password.
http://spaces.live.com This is a microsoft blog service provider. You can log on with your hotmail a/c.
http://mysinablog.com/summary.phpThis is a blog service provided by Sina.
www.xanga.comThis blog serice is popular among teenagers.
www.wordpress.com If you don’t have any email address of the above, you may try WordPress. You may register a blog with any email address you have. Registration process is simple and the blog is quite flexible. This blog is created with WordPress.
What is the difference between a blog and a website? April 16, 2007
Posted by Captain in blog features.9 comments
Blogs and websites are not exactly the same but have things in common. Some people say that blog is more fashionable and website is kind of out. True. More importantly, a blog has some distinctive features that makes it different from a website. A blog is easy to create,(if you can write email, you can create a blog). It is highly interactive. Unlike the conventional website, readers can leave comments and interact with the writer. It initiates dialouge and in turn generates more interaction.
When viewing a conventional website, viewers need to visit the site from time to time in order to know whether the website has been updated or not. There is a subscription feature in blog which notify the reader when the blog is updated. The subscription feature is called Really Simple Syndication (RSS). An icon is usally found in the blog.
