Name of Web 2.0 application: Google's Blogger

URL to get started:  https://www.blogger.com/start

So I can get used to using this Wiki, I'm cheating with this one - I've used Blogger for a while with various things, including creating one for a friend's site at http://theancientbookoftime.blogspot.com (he hasn't finished his books yet to use the site, though). While you can just choose a template and run with it, you can also edit the design - I decided to match this page to his home page design. A few widgets were added, including a counter and an astronomy picture just for effect :)  My friend hopes to entice readers into his regular website with articles ... the first paragraph will be on the blog, with a link at the end of the paragraph to entice the reader to the main site to finish reading (and see his books for sale). With RSS subscription, people who are interested in his concepts would know when a new article is posted and would hopefully visit the blog. We'll see how it works when the books are done and he starts using this!

One mention here: these blogs are transferable. I first created his blog on my own login and then realized that wouldn't do for the long run. I then created a new account just for him and was able to transfer the blog to his site. Signing up is free, of course, and gmail is actually pretty darn decent.

Another blog I created is meant to provide announcements for a university orchestra at http://saucso.blogspot.com. My husband is the concertmaster and was responsible for sending out e-mail every week, but when you send mass e-mails, they tend to get thrown into spam folders and chucked. This was the best alternative to getting word out every week. The director typically sends me information over the weekend and I post it. We have a calendar widget and a few e-mail links, but blocked the comments feature since it's not monitored by the director.

I also have a blog meant just for my daughter to read, since she is doing her junior year abroad in Ghana. I can upload pictures and provide links to all sorts of things as well as just tell her what her little brother is up to! The internet there is too slow for her to watch videos, but once she returns to the US and goes back to the U of Minnesota, I can continue the blog with videos, too.

She also has one! Anna said it would be okay to share, so here it is: http://fudgeinghana.blogspot.com.  I'm hoping she updates it soon (she's having too good a time!). Her writings are a creative outlet as well as a diary of some of the main events during her year there.

Almost forgot! I had to do a blog when I was taking a web design class to chronicle my progress (it was an assignment to do so). It's at http://fudgeweb.blogspot.com. As a student, I thought it was fun!

Features:

• Free signup
• Templates
• Design is editable
• RSS subscription
• Widgets (counters, calendars, etc.)
• Share pictures, videos, links
• Comments on or off
• Transferable

Blog potential:

• Announcements for regular updates, supplemental course information
• Enticement through RSS feed to access new information as it becomes available
• Provide personal experiences on your course topics (since it might not be as appropriate in some classrooms)
• For students to chronicle their progress on a major project

And now on to learning something new ...

Tamara Fudge

Kaplan University