» » » » Friday Google Tidbit: Blogger Part II: the Art of Posting

, , 9:15 AM
Last week we covered how to create your classroom blog using Blogger.  This week, we are continuing the series with Part II: the Art of Posting. Next week, we will finish our Blogger series with tips for managing your blog and adding contributors.

To create a new post for your blog, simply click on the pencil icon next to the blog from your Blogger dashboard.


This will bring up the compose screen.


The compose screen looks a lot like a word processor.  It has many of the same functions contained in three toolbars.  Let's explore what each toolbar offers. 

 The compose toolbar which goes across the post and is highlighted in green has all of the blog post editing options.  From left to right:
  1. "Compose" which is the default mode and allows you to edit your post similar to a word processor.
  2. "HTML" which will allow you to copy and paste HTML coded videos and presentations into your blog if you chose to do so.
  3. "Undo/Redo arrows" which are not available until you make a change to the blog post.
  4. "F" allows you to change the font of your text.
  5. "tT" allows you to change the size of the text.
  6. Drop down menu which should say "Normal" allows you to change the formatting to create a header/footer if desired.
  7. "B" to bold font.
  8. "I" to italicize font.
  9. "U" to underline font.
  10. "ABC" to strikethrough font
  11. "A" with a drop down menu to change font color.
  12. "highlighter" to highlight text.
  13. "Link" to insert links within your post.
  14. "image" to insert pictures.
  15. "film" to insert videos.
  16. "torn page" to insert a jump break in your blog.
  17. "lines" to edit the alignment of your text.
  18. "numbered list" to create a numbered list.
  19. "bullets" to create a bulleted list.
  20. "quotes" to insert quotes.
  21. "Tx" to remove formatting.
  22. "ABC check" to spell check your post.
The "Post Settings" toolbar is on the right side of the screen (highlighted in red in the image above) and has the following options:
  1. Labels: this allows you to add keywords that people can use to search your blog and bring up that post.
  2. Schedule: this allows you to either publish the post immediately when you click publish or you can schedule it for a date and time to appear.
  3. Permalink: this gives you the direct link to the blog post and the option to change the link.
  4. Location: this gives you the option to add the location of the blog post (this is not recommended for security reasons).
  5. Search Description: this allows you to enter a short description of the post to help people find it.
  6. Options: allows you to allow comments to the post and a few HTML options.
The command buttons along the top right of the screen (highlighted in blue in the image above) allow you to publish your post, save your post, preview your post, and close the post.  The preview option is very helpful as that is what will be visible and can show you alignment or picture issues.

Let's go ahead and enter some text in our first post. It is a good idea for the first post to be a welcome message. We are going to state the blog purpose and a little bit about ourselves. 

Now we need to add a picture to add reader interest and knowledge. Blogs should be very visual.  To add an image, click on the image button and this screen will show:


You can upload pictures from several places including the internet, a webcam, and your hard drive. Once you choose a file, you will click on it to select it and then "add selected" to add the image to your blog post. You can add several images at once if desired.

You can also add a video to the blog post by clicking on the film button.


Again, you will need to choose where the video is located.  You can add videos directly from YouTube, which is a nice feature.

You can also add links to your post.  To do so, click on the "Link" button and fill in the information on this screen:


Notice that you can link to your email address as well as a website.  Also you can "test this link" to make sure you have the correct URL.  Click "OK" to save your link.

Once you have added all the desired information, images, and videos, you should click on the "Preview" button to make sure your post looks correct. Here is my preview:


Ready to publish? Click on the publish button and your post will be made live unless you scheduled it for a later time.

You have just published your first post on Blogger!!!

Join us next week for tips on managing your blog and extra features!

Questions? Comments?

Please email me at: pamelabatchelor@johnston.k12.nc.us
Posted by Anonymous

Friday, September 27, 2013

Friday Google Tidbit: Blogger Part II: the Art of Posting

Last week we covered how to create your classroom blog using Blogger.  This week, we are continuing the series with Part II: the Art of Posting. Next week, we will finish our Blogger series with tips for managing your blog and adding contributors.

To create a new post for your blog, simply click on the pencil icon next to the blog from your Blogger dashboard.


This will bring up the compose screen.


The compose screen looks a lot like a word processor.  It has many of the same functions contained in three toolbars.  Let's explore what each toolbar offers. 

 The compose toolbar which goes across the post and is highlighted in green has all of the blog post editing options.  From left to right:
  1. "Compose" which is the default mode and allows you to edit your post similar to a word processor.
  2. "HTML" which will allow you to copy and paste HTML coded videos and presentations into your blog if you chose to do so.
  3. "Undo/Redo arrows" which are not available until you make a change to the blog post.
  4. "F" allows you to change the font of your text.
  5. "tT" allows you to change the size of the text.
  6. Drop down menu which should say "Normal" allows you to change the formatting to create a header/footer if desired.
  7. "B" to bold font.
  8. "I" to italicize font.
  9. "U" to underline font.
  10. "ABC" to strikethrough font
  11. "A" with a drop down menu to change font color.
  12. "highlighter" to highlight text.
  13. "Link" to insert links within your post.
  14. "image" to insert pictures.
  15. "film" to insert videos.
  16. "torn page" to insert a jump break in your blog.
  17. "lines" to edit the alignment of your text.
  18. "numbered list" to create a numbered list.
  19. "bullets" to create a bulleted list.
  20. "quotes" to insert quotes.
  21. "Tx" to remove formatting.
  22. "ABC check" to spell check your post.
The "Post Settings" toolbar is on the right side of the screen (highlighted in red in the image above) and has the following options:
  1. Labels: this allows you to add keywords that people can use to search your blog and bring up that post.
  2. Schedule: this allows you to either publish the post immediately when you click publish or you can schedule it for a date and time to appear.
  3. Permalink: this gives you the direct link to the blog post and the option to change the link.
  4. Location: this gives you the option to add the location of the blog post (this is not recommended for security reasons).
  5. Search Description: this allows you to enter a short description of the post to help people find it.
  6. Options: allows you to allow comments to the post and a few HTML options.
The command buttons along the top right of the screen (highlighted in blue in the image above) allow you to publish your post, save your post, preview your post, and close the post.  The preview option is very helpful as that is what will be visible and can show you alignment or picture issues.

Let's go ahead and enter some text in our first post. It is a good idea for the first post to be a welcome message. We are going to state the blog purpose and a little bit about ourselves. 

Now we need to add a picture to add reader interest and knowledge. Blogs should be very visual.  To add an image, click on the image button and this screen will show:


You can upload pictures from several places including the internet, a webcam, and your hard drive. Once you choose a file, you will click on it to select it and then "add selected" to add the image to your blog post. You can add several images at once if desired.

You can also add a video to the blog post by clicking on the film button.


Again, you will need to choose where the video is located.  You can add videos directly from YouTube, which is a nice feature.

You can also add links to your post.  To do so, click on the "Link" button and fill in the information on this screen:


Notice that you can link to your email address as well as a website.  Also you can "test this link" to make sure you have the correct URL.  Click "OK" to save your link.

Once you have added all the desired information, images, and videos, you should click on the "Preview" button to make sure your post looks correct. Here is my preview:


Ready to publish? Click on the publish button and your post will be made live unless you scheduled it for a later time.

You have just published your first post on Blogger!!!

Join us next week for tips on managing your blog and extra features!

Questions? Comments?

Please email me at: pamelabatchelor@johnston.k12.nc.us
Posted by at
Labels: , ,