Classroom Blog Series- Part 6 {Posting}

Hey everyone! :)

So if you're just joining us- this is the last part of the Creating a Classroom Blog Series.  If you want to check out a step-by-step tutorial of how to create your own classroom blog, check out the rest of the series here.

On to the final part of the classroom blog! :)

About Posting
Posting is super easy.  In fact, I'm Posting right now! :)  Before I show you HOW to create a Post, I'm going to tell you how I use Posts on my classroom blog.  

I use posts for:  
-sharing a book review that I wrote about a book that my students might like to read.
-sharing a fun poem.
-weekly spelling lists.
-notes to parents and students (usually I just use them as a reminder).
-a student poll.
-a place for students to interact with me outside of the classroom.

*Note:  for the last two uses of Posting, all I do is put up a question and let students answer it by posting a comment.  I don't hang out on my blog all night long after school's out.  I mainly do polls and questions for my students as a way of drawing them to the blog, and making them feel a part of it.  I also have a sneaky plan that goes along with this... if my students are spending time outside of the classroom looking at the blog, they are READING the blog.  It's a proven FACT that the more students read, the better they become at reading.  That's part of the reason I want them to give their opinions on the blog.  Not only does it promote classroom unity, and makes them feel like they "own" a part of the blog, but maybe while they are there they might read a book review I've written, or a poem I've posted or just some posts that they haven't read yet.  That's the goal! :)

Check out my future classroom's blog for some Posting Ideas (keep in mind that I don't have a classroom yet, so I don't have any notes to parents or student polls yet).

How to Post
* Go to your Dashboard.
* Click on Posts (highlighted in green below).

* Click on the Pencil Button at the top of the screen (highlighted in green below).

Below is what your screen will look like.  

1.  In the green box, you will type the title of your Post.  The title of this post you are reading is:  

Classroom Blog Series- Part 6 {Posting}

2.  The yellow box is where you will type the content of your post:  any notes, messages, poems, book reviews, questions to students, etc.

3.  The red box is your tool bar where you can change the font, color, size and orientation of your text, just like you would in Microsoft Word.  There is also a spell check button on the toolbar to the far right.

4.  The blue box on the right is where you label your post.  Label each post with a key word or two.  This way if someone is searching your blog, they can find all of the posts about one subject.  For example:  if this post was a spelling list, I would click on the Labels Button, and type Spelling List.  When you've finished your post and Published it, at the bottom of your post on your blog, you will see a link that says "Spelling List."  If a parent wanted to find ALL of the spelling lists you've posted, all they would have to do is click on that Label at the bottom of the post and all of the posts with the Label "Spelling List" would come up.

I also use labels as one of my gadgets on my sidebar.  If you look right now to the left of this post, you will see "Search By Labels."  This is simply a gadget you can get if you go back to your Layout section.  This way anyone can find the topic they are looking for easily.

5.  Finally, when you've typed your title, your post content and your labels, then you click the orange Publish Button at the top of the screen next to the title.

That's it! :)

**To create another Post, just go back to your Dashboard and repeat all the steps! :)

**If you want to edit your Post, then go back to your Dashboard and put your mouse over the post's title you want to edit.  You should see the word Edit appear underneath the title.  Click it.  Then you should be able to edit it any way you want.  Just don't forget to click Publish when you are done.

**To add a picture to your Post, click on the picture icon on your tool bar (right next to the word Link).  Then a screen like this will pop up:

Click "Choose File."  Find where you saved the picture.  When it is done loading, this screen will pop up:

Make sure the picture is highlighted in blue (above).  If it is not, just click on the picture to highlight it.  Then click the blue, Add Selected button at the bottom.

I like my pictures to be large sized on my blog.  So, once the picture is on your post, click on the picture itself.  This will bring up a little toolbar at the bottom.  Click on whichever size you want it to be! :)

**To link something in your Post:
1.  Type the word(s) you want your link to take you to.
For Example:
Mrs. Stout's Class Website

2.  Highlight the word(s).

3.  Click on the word Link on the toolbar at the top of your post.

4.  A screen like this will pop up:

Type or past in the actual URL (web address) in the Web Address box (highlighted in red above).

5.  Click OK.

You did it! :)  If you do your links like this, then you don't have the ugly, long web address on your page--only the words with the link and it should end up looking like this:  Mrs. Stout's Class Website.  Yea!! :)




So now you are masters of creating and using your own classroom blog! Well maybe not masters yet, however with time, it will get easier and easier.  The set up of the blog is the hardest part! You made it through!  Now all you have to do is log in to your blog every once in a while and update it with notes to parents and students, newsletters, updated links to websites, etc.   


Blogs are all about having fun and being able to USE the technology that's been given to you to use.  I hope this series has been helpful to you in starting your own classroom blog.  If you follow the steps I've given you in the last 6 posts, you should be able to create one on your own...even if you aren't so much "with the technology" as Joey from friends would say :).  I hope you are encouraged and have a great day! :)


Solid, 

-------------------------------------

P.S.  Did you know that I started my own company, Camp Partridge?  

⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online camps for children and teens ages 10-16 who want to be digital creators and authors! 

⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online courses for parents struggling with remote learning. 

⛺️ Camp Partridge offers resources for your classroom!

I would be honored if you would share Camp Partridge with people you know who need or would enjoy our camps and courses! 🧡

Classroom Blog Series- Part 4 {Creating Pages}

So now you've set up your blog's Layout and Template the way you want it.  You've gotten a background on your blog and maybe you've even added some Gadgets to make your blog even cooler.  Today, we're going to talk about what in the heck Pages are, and how to use them effectively! :)

p.s.  If you are just joining us for the first time and have missed our other posts in our Setting Up Your Classroom Blog Series, view all of the other posts HERE.

About Pages
If you go to your Dashboard, you will see the word Pages under the word Posts on the left-hand side of your screen.  Pages are similar to posts, in the way that you can type on them, post links and images on them, etc.  But the cool thing about Pages is that they are like a single Page that is hidden until you reveal it wherever you want it.  It is very similar to a traditional website's pages that you can click on.  I don't know if I'm even making sense right now...but just go with it for a minute :) ...I think it would be easier if I showed you what I meant.

After reading this paragraph, hop on over to my future classroom's blog.  I'll put the link at the end of this paragraph.  When you get to the blog, I want you to look at the right-hand side of the screen.  You will see all of my buttons there:  Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, etc.  When you click on one of those buttons, you are visiting a Page.  You can get back to the main blog from here, but you don't see the posts, just what's on that particular page.  Go and check it out now! :)   Mrs. Stout's Class Page

Kind of make sense now?  Hopefully so :)

How I Use Pages
You can use Pages for a number of different things.  I use one Page for each of my main subjects.  On each main subject's page, I will put all kinds of links for that subject.  For example, on my Math Page, I have links for math facts timed tests, and other games pertaining to Math.  If there was a Math website that my students visited often, I would also put that on my Math Page.  I create pages for each subject.

I also use one page for my research sites.  I don't allow my students to use Google- personal reasons...I just don't feel it's safe enough...even with safe search for little eyes.  I've found a ton of good kid-friendly search engines which I've linked to my For Research Page.

Another Page I use is called For Parents.  Here I put any links that my parents would need all in one place to make it convenient for them! :)  I put a link to the school's main website, the lunch menu, the online grade system, some homework tips links, and finally I will be uploading my classroom rules and procedures welcome brochures at the beginning of the year so that they can refer back to them at any time.

The last page that I will be using when the school year starts is the Newsletters Page.  Here I will post a link to a PDF version of our newsletter that I send home with kids each month.

How to Create Pages
Click on the Pages link on your Dashboard.

Click on New Page, then when the drop-down menu comes up, choose Blank Page.

This screen will appear.  This is your page! :)

The Red area is where you type your page title (ie: Math, For Parents, etc).  The Yellow area is where your  tools are for changing colors, fonts, sizes, etc.  And the Green area is where you will type the content of your page.  

Tip:  

-To link something, what I do is to type the word I want liked.

  For example:

  Mrs. Stout's Class Website

-Then, I copy the web address:    mrsstoutsclass.blogspot.com

-Then I highlight the words: Mrs. Stout's Class Website 

 and click the LINK button in the yellow tool bar above.  A screen will pop up like this:

-Paste the web address in the box that says "Web Address"  highlighted in red above. 

*If you do your links like this, then you don't have the ugly, long web address on your page--only the words with the link and it should end up looking like this:  Mrs. Stout's Class Website.  Yea!! :)

Create as many pages as you want! :) It's kinda fun! :) and visit the website above and feel free to snag any of the links on any of my pages to help you get started! :) 

To get the pages to show up on your blog like mine, you will first need to create some buttons... but that is a topic for another day!  Monday's post will be on creating a cool title for your blog and some buttons for your pages.  

I hope you have a WONDERFUL and restful weekend! :)

May the force be with you, 

Classroom Blog Series - Part 5 {Making a Title & Buttons}

First of all, so sorry I haven't posted at all this week...it's been a little crazy around here.  My husband and I have our own version of Storage Wars going on...ok we're not really buying storage lockers, but we are moving all of our stuff from 2 lockers down to one... more organization and downsizing for us! Woo hoo! :)  Anywho, here is Part 5 to creating your Classroom Blog! :)

If this is your first post with The Real Teachr, and you are here to learn how to create your own blog, or wanting to spice up your current blog, we are so excited to have you! :)  Today I am going to focus on How to Make a Title and Buttons for your blog.  If you want to know how to set up your blog, catch the rest of our blog series HERE.

Creating a Blog Title

The blog title is the top part of your blog where right now you probably just have the Title and Description you typed in.  It looks plain, not fancy, and not fun...I know, I know! But in a few short steps, you will have an awesome blog title! :)

The first thing you need to do is to find out how wide your Title space is.  In order to do this, log into your Blogger Account, go to your Dashboard, and then click on Layout on the left-hand side of the screen.  It will take you to the Layout screen that we used yesterday.  

Once you are there, click on the little "Edit" link on the Header Gadget.  The Header Gadget is highlighted in yellow and the Edit link is highlighted in red below.

Next, a small screen will pop up.  You will look right above the orange "Save" button to where it says "Image will be shrunk to _______ pixels wide."   It is highlighted in red below.

Keep this box up or write down how many pixels wide your Title will need to be.  

To create your title, you can use any type of design program like Photoshop, etc... but today I am going to show you how to create one in Paint.  Which is a program most computers come standard with.  I always use to use Paint to create everything before I had Photoshop :).  

If you don't know where Paint is on your computer, usually you have to go to the Start Menu, go to All Programs, and finally the Accessories Folder.  You should see Paint here.  Go ahead and open it up.  

When you're in Paint, do the following:

1.  At the top of the screen, click on the word, "Image."  A drop-down box will appear.

2. In this drop-down box, click "Attributes."  A small dialog box will then pop up as seen below.

Next to the word "Width" you will see a box with a number in it.  Whatever your "pixels wide" number was from your blog is what you will put in the Width box.  You can choose whatever you want for the Height box, I usually choose about 250.

Finally, make sure that under the word Units, Pixels and Colors are chosen and not the other ones.  I've highlighted them in red above.  

Now you're ready to make your own Title.  

Making your Title

To make a simple title, you can leave the background white (so it will blend into the rest of the body of your blog) and type your blog's title in a fancy font and color.  Just click whatever color you want to use at the top, then click the little "A" button on the top left-hand corner of your screen and type.  Don't forget that you can always go to "Edit" and click "Undo" if you don't like something you just did.  

You can also find clip art via Microsoft Office Online or on Teachers Pay Teachers or Etsy or any number of websites to add to your title.  

When you've got it looking like you want it to, go to File, and SAVE AS.  This is an important step!  Make sure that when that Save As dialog box pops up, that you make sure the Save As box at the bottom says "JPEG."  This means it is saving the image you just created as a picture.  This way it will be able to be recognized on your blog.  I've highlighted the Save As JPEG in green below.  If yours doesn't say JPEG, click the down arrow to the right and find JPEG.

**Another way to spice up your title is to go to Shabby Blogs to their Header section.  Here you can download one of their Header images.  

-Save it to your computer.  

-Open up Paint.

-Click File, then Open. 

-Find wherever you saved your Header image from Shabby Blogs and click Open.

-From here, you can type your title on top of the image, add clip art, etc to your title and save it as a JPEG.  -Just follow all of the instructions above.  The only difference is that you have a background image! :)

How to Put Your Title on Your Blog

Go back to your Layout screen.  Once you are there, click on the little "Edit" link on the Header Gadget.  The Header Gadget is highlighted in yellow and the Edit link is highlighted in red below.

That same small screen from before will pop up.  Where it says Image, the circle "from your computer" should be checked and then you will click on the Choose File button highlighted in Red below.  Find your Title JPEG you just created in Paint and click "Open."  After it appears in your pop-up box, click the orange Save button at the bottom.  Your final step is to click on Save Arrangement at the top of they Layout box.

There Ya Go!!! :) You've got yourself a custom Title that rocks!! :)

Creating Buttons

This is not really necessary...but I love to do it! :)  On this blog, my buttons are on the left side.  They say:  Home, About the Real Teachr, etc.  If you don't want to go to all of the work of making buttons to link your pages to, you can just use a Link List instead.  

To Make a Link List For Your Pages:

Go to your Dashboard.  Click on Layout, then wherever you want your Link List to appear, click "Add a Gadget," and then find "Link List" on the pop-up dialog box.  If you need more in-depth directions on how to do this, visit this post. If you are using a Link List to link your pages to on the sidebar of your blog, you will just need to go to each specific page, and copy the web address at the top.

However, if you want to make your blog look even more like a website, and look way more fun, create ya some buttons! :) 

Creating Buttons to Link Your Pages to Your Blog:

First, you need to find out what size your buttons need to be.  Go to the Layout screen.  Click on Add a Gadget on your sidebar and choose Picture.  

When the dialog box pops up, look toward the bottom of the box to find where it says "image will be shrunk to ______ pixels wide."  Write down or remember this number. 

Open up Paint.  

Now go back up to the middle of this post and follow the directions for making your buttons a certain size in Paint using the "Attributes" tab.  

Once you've gotten your button size right, create your button the same way you did your title.  Use the "A" text button and the color buttons at the top of the screen.  When you've finished creating your buttons, remember to click SAVE AS and make sure it says JPEG at the bottom.  

How to Put Your Buttons on Your Blog

Go back to the Layout screen and click on Add a Gadget on your sidebar.  Click on "Picture."  The screenshot above will appear again.  In the LINK section, put your page's web address.  Then beside the word Image, click on "Choose File," and find the button for that page.  When the image appears, click Save.  Below is what it should look like:

Finally, when you get back to the Layout screen, click Save Arrangement at the top.  To put another button on your blog, just repeat the same directions above.  If your buttons are out of order, you can click and drag them into order on the Layout screen.  Don't forget to click Save Arrangement at the top when you are done.  

Tip:

Notice in the image above that I do NOT put a title or caption on each picture button.  If you do that, those words will show up on your blog as well... and I only want the button to show up.  This is your call.  But for me, it looks more streamlined and more like a website to just use the picture button with the link.  

Ok... so I kind of feel like I've been all over the place here today... I hope this was helpful and you were able to follow my directions! :) 

Below, is an example of a button I created on Paint.  You can use this idea to create your own buttons or come up with an idea of your own! :) Have fun and be creative! :)

To create the button above, I just used the paint bucket tool in red for the background.  Then I choose the white color from the choices at the top of the screen.  I clicked on the square tool, and then chose the third type of square (highlighted in blue below).  Then finally I choose black and then the "A" text tool and typed the word Reading.  Finally I saved it as a JPEG!  Finished! :) A simple and easy button to spice it up! :)

Join us tomorrow for the final blog post on creating your classroom blog, Part 6- {Posting and How to Use Your Blog}.  Hope you have a wonderful day! :) 

Later taters, 

Classroom Blog Series-Part 3 {Color Scheme & Layout}

Hey everyone! :) If you've missed the last two posts on how to set up your blog, click HERE  to catch up! :)

Today I am going to show you how to change your blog's color scheme and the layout.  First of all, log in to your Blogger account and get to the Dashboard page.  Click on your blog's title.  On the left-hand side, click on Template. (the same place we were yesterday)

Color Scheme:
Next, click on the orange Customize button.  Finally click on the Background link on the left-hand side.  You should see this screen below:

To change all of the colors on your blog at one time, just click on one of the color themes above.  You can still use a customized background, but this will just change all of the text colors easily.  

If you want to have a little more control over what colors your links and text are, you can follow the directions below to customize your blog colors even more.

Click on the Advanced link at the bottom of the gray section on the left-hand side.

You should see this screen below:

I've highlighted the area where you will click to make your different color and text selections for your blog.  Simply click on each link (Page Text, Backgrounds, Links, Blog Title, etc).  When you've clicked on one of those links, the two sections to the right that say Font and Text Color are where you will choose the colors for that specific area on your blog.  Whenever you choose a new color, it will show up in the preview below.  Choose colors that are easy to read and will show up well on your blog.  If you don't like the color you've chosen, you can always go back and change it later.  When you are finished choosing colors, click "Apply to Blog."

Layout:

Get back to your Dashboard screen by clicking "Back to Blogger" at the top of the screen.  Click on the Layout link on the left-hand side.

The Layout...explained:

If you've chosen the same layout as me (as described in the previous post) then this is what your Layout will look like.  In the above screenshot, I've highlighted the different main areas of your blog.  Highlighted in green is where your Blog Title is.  Highlighted in red is where your Blog Posts will show up.  And finally highlighted in yellow is where your links and buttons will show up in your Sidebar.  

You can click and drag any of the boxes to rearrange the parts of your blog.  You will mostly use this for your Sidebar content on the right.  

To remove an element on your page, click the edit button.  A box will pop up, and you will click "Remove." I don't personally like the Blog Archive section, so I always remove it.  

To add an element to your page, like a button, link list, calendar, etc, click the Add a Gadget link right above where you want to add it.  For example, if I wanted to add a list of my favorite blogs on my sidebar, I would click Add a Gadget right above the sidebar.  See the screenshot below:

Scroll down to find what you want to add.  In this instance, we are adding a Link List.  Click on the plus sign (highlighted in green below).

Next, the Link list box will pop up.  

Type whatever you want in the Title section.  If you want the links to show up in the order you've typed them, leave the Sorting at "Don't Sort."  You may choose to have them sorted Alphabetically if you choose. You may add as may sites as you want.  For each site you add, you will type in the New Site URL and then Type a Name for the site (whatever name you want it to show up as on your blog).  When you've typed those two things in, click "Add Link."  It will add the link below.  I've added 3 links (highlighted in yellow).  In this pop-up box, you can use the little arrows next to the "Edit Delete" box to move the link up or down in the list order.  When you are finished, click the orange "Save" button.  

Now it will show up on your sidebar.

If you want to add more elements to your page, just follow the same directions as above.  When you are finished, click the orange "Save Arrangement" button at the top right of the screen.  I do this after each element I add.  

If you want to see how it looks on your blog, click on the "View Blog" button at the top left of the page.  

Yea!!! You've made it this far... I'm so proud of you!  Only a few more things to do until your blog is good to go! :) 

Tomorrow I will be sharing Part 4 {Creating Pages}.

May the sun shine on your conquest this day,  

Classroom Blog Series- Part 2 {Setting Up Your Template}

Yesterday we talked about how to set up your blog and went over the Settings Tab.  If you missed that post and would like to find out more info or setting up your blog and/or the blog Settings, find the post HERE.

Today we are going to talk about the features of Blogger Templates, and also how to re-arrange the Layout of your blog.

First of all, log in to your blog.  To do this, all you have to do is go to Google Blogger and sign in.  Then click on your Blog Title, same as yesterday, and it will bring up your blog's Dashboard.  Once you are there, click on  the "Template" button on the bottom left-hand side of your Dashboard.  It is highlighted with a red box in the photo below.

Once you Click on that button, you should see the following screen:

From here, you can customize your own blog's template or you can scroll down and choose a new template from all of the small thumbnail pictures below.  Depending upon what you are using your blog for, you may want to choose a different template.  I usually use the template that we've already chosen, the "Simple" template.  It has worked well for me in the past and I like the look of it.  

Customizing Your Template

1.  Click on the orange Customize button under the "Live on Blog" box.  I've highlighted it in red in the screenshot below.

The top black and gray part is where you will choose your custom options.  Below the top section is your blog.  The customization will show up below as a preview.  This way you can try something, and if it doesn't look good to you, you can change it right away.

2. The first thing we will do is to click on the "Layout" link on the left-hand side at the top of the screen in the gray section (highlighted with a yellow box below). I always do this one first because it will affect everything else in your layout.  Once you've clicked on "Layout," you will chose which layout you would like for your blog.  Keep in mind you can always change it later if you don't like it.  

For a classroom blog, I prefer to use the second layout from the left on the top row (highlighted in yellow below), however this is just totally personal preference.  I prefer this one because all of my post content will be on the left of the screen and my links and buttons will be on the right side of the screen.  I think it flows well that way :).  After you've chosen the layout you would like, click on the orange "Apply to Blog" button in the top right corner before moving to the next step.  (Note:  If it won't let you click on the Apply to Blog button, then that means it already has your changes saved OR that you didn't make any changes.)

3.  The next thing we will do is click on the "Adjust Widths" link just above the Layout link.  I always adjust the widths BEFORE I choose a background to make sure that my background looks good with the blog width I've chosen.  Personally, I would leave the widths at the default settings, which for the layout above are 960 (Entire Blog) and 310 (Sidebar).  I do this because I want my background image to show through.  The larger the main space of your blog is, the less of the background you will see. If you want more room to type or more room (width-wise) on your sidebar, just slide the little slider guy on either one to bump up the width.  I've highlighted the slider in yellow in the screen shot below.  If you do move the sliders, don't forget to click the orange "Apply to Blog" button in the top right corner before moving to the next step.

4.  Finally, click on the "Background" link.  Right now, your background is the sky blue color you see in the photo above.  Your image or color will fill that blue space.  Now there are several things you can do to make your blog look pretty cool.  I suggest that you choose some sort of pattern or cool image for the background, as opposed to a plain color.  It really doesn't take that long to do! :)

**Note: feel free to use any of the options below to create your background.  A word of caution: something I've learned over the past 5 years of blogging is that when you use a third-party website for your background like Shabby Blogs or The Cutest Blog on the Block or any other websites, when someone pulls up your website, the background sometimes takes a little bit of time to load.  You also will have to use the blog widths they've designed their templates for.  However, they do have some really cute designs, so check them out to see if they are right for you! :) I used them successfully for several years, but finally decided to just use a "tile" image for my background instead.  This way if their website is down or loading slowly, my background isn't affected.  Also, if you use a tile image instead of a large image, it will always load quicker!

Definition of a "tile image" - a tile image is a small square image.  The computer or website (like Blogger) will copy that tile all over the background of your blog- very similar to the idea of a tile floor.  This way you don't have to have one huge image as your background, but a bunch of tiles together to create one image.  If it is a good tile image, it will SEAMLESSLY match up with the other tiles on the page to create one image with no weird lines or match-ups.  All of my background images below are seamless tile images.  You can also purchase tile images at many websites as well.  

Where to find patterns and images

You can do one of several things to make a cool blog background:

1.  You can use one of the standard patterns provided by Google Blogger.

2.  You can look at the bottom of this post for the link to the FREE background images that I've made for you to use.

3.  You can use another website like Shabby Blogs or The Cutest Blog on the Block to use a pre-made background.

I am going to show you how to create a background using any of the above choices.

1.  How to use the standard Google Blogger background images.

-Make sure you are on the "Background" page.

-Right click on the image you like, and Save Image As (then save it wherever you want to on your    

 computer).

-Click in the blue box that says the word "none" underneath the words "Background Image."  I've highlighted it in yellow below.

-A small dialog-type box will pop up.  You can click on any of the squares in the main part of the box.  You can also choose from the different themes on the left-hand side of the box.  I've highlighted the themes in red below.

Below is a screenshot of what my background looked like when I choose the yellow background on the right from the above screenshot.  Note how it automatically changed the title color.  

Try as many different backgrounds as you want until you find the one you want to use.  When you are finished, don't forget to click "Apply to Blog."  And that's it! :)

2.  How to use my FREE background tile images at the bottom of this post.

-Make sure you are on the "Background" page.

-Right click on the image you like, and Save Image As (then save it wherever you want to on your    

 computer).

-Click in the blue box that says the word "none" underneath the words "Background Image."  I've highlighted it in yellow below.

-A small dialog-type box will pop up.  It will say "Select Background Image" at the top.  You will choose the link that says "Upload Image" at the top left-hand corner of that box.  I've highlighted it in red below.

Then click "Choose File" and find where you saved your background image.  Right away, your new background tiled image should show up! :)  If you like it, click the orange "Done" button at the bottom right hand corner of that box.  If you want to see different backgrounds, try as many as you like until you find the one you want.  Remember- you can ALWAYS change any part of your blog at any time! So you are not stuck with anything! :)  Below is a screenshot of my background preview.  I changed it from the standard blue (in the 2nd photo above) to the Birds in Flight background image.

Make sure to click "Apply to Blog" when you are finished.  You're finished! :)

-After purchasing the image and saving it on your computer, you will do the same steps as you did in #2.  

3.  Using Shabby Blogs or The Cutest Blog on the Block.

Visit either Shabby Blogs or The Cutest Blog on the Block's website.  Find an image you like and follow the steps below.

For Shabby Blogs: 

-Click on Design at the top of the page.  Then click on Backgrounds.

-Click on the "Get the Code" button below the background you would like.

-Follow the Blogger Installation Instructions on the screen that pops up.

Below is a screenshot of what that should look like.

For the Cutest Blog on the Block:

-Click on Backgrounds, then Blogger. 

-Click on the picture of the background you like.

-Follow the directions on How to Apply this Background.  

Below is a screenshot of where to find the directions.

And that's it!! :) You are finally done! :) Man this post took a lot longer to create than I thought... so I am going to go over the Advanced tab for your template tomorrow along with your blog's Layout.  Below is the link to the FREE seamless tile images that I promised :) Enjoy! :)

Free Seamless Blog Tile Images

Cheers, 

Classroom Blog Series- Part 1 {Starting Your Blog}

Welcome to our first part in our Classroom Blog Series!  It would take WAY too long to show you how to set up your blog in one post, so I'm going to break it up into several different posts this week.

If you are good with technology- you may not need the step-by-step guide that I'm going to provide, however, you may find some tips and tricks for things you didn't know.  I will also be putting some blog FREEBIES in future posts this week! :)

There are several different blogging sites you can use such as Wordpress, Edublogs, Blogger, etc.  I have tried all three listed, and my personal favorite is Google Blogger.  I feel that it is the easiest to understand and to use- especially for new bloggers! So I will be showing you how to create a blog using Google Blogger.

Starting Your Blog

1.  If you already have a Gmail account- great! You won't need to create a new log-in for your blog!  If you don't already have a Gmail account, click HERE and create one.  

2.  Once you've created your Gmail account, click HERE to log on to Google Blogger.  

3.  You will choose "Start a New Blog."  Then the screen below will pop up.  

I've put a yellow box around the Title- this is where you will choose a Title for your blog (ie: Mrs. Stout's Class Website, Mrs. Stout's 4th Grade, etc.).  

The red box is where you will choose a web address for your blog.  I like to use something with my title in it.  (If my website was Mrs. Stout's Class website, then my web address would be: mrsstoutsclasswebsite.blogspot.com)  If you notice the .blogspot.com is already added and will always be part of your web address (unless you purchase your own domain name... another subject for another day...just go with the .blogspot.com for now!).

The green box is showing you that I selected the "Simple" template.  Whichever template you choose will be highlighted with a light blue box.  I feel that the Simple template is the easiest to work with.  If you don't like it, you can always change it later. 

4.  Click on the orange Create Blog! button. 

5.  Now you will see a screen similar to the screen shot below.  Click on your new blog's title. (Highlighted with a red box). 

6.  Now, you are brought to what's called the "Dashboard."  It's basically the the place where you manage your blog from.  Here you can create new posts and pages, and access any part of your blog.  In order to set up your blog, I always start with the Settings.  Click on the Settings button at the bottom left corner of the Dashboard (highlighted with a green box).

There are several tabs under the Settings button.  You will see them listed directly under the Settings button.  I will go through each tab and tell you where I put my settings.  You may choose to use a different setting than I use.

Settings Tab

7.  Basic

Here you can change your blog title if you ever want to.  You can also add a Description of your blog like:  A website to connect with parents and students.  You can also change who reads your blog to just invited people or however you want it.  I just leave it as Anybody can read it.  

8. Posts and Comments

I leave everything on this page as the default settings EXCEPT for the Comment Moderation section.  I click "Always."  Comment Moderation means that you personally have to ok the comment before it gets seen on your blog.  I choose this setting because I don't want anyone leaving a crude or profane comment on the blog (since anyone can see it, anyone in the world could leave a comment).  This way, I can delete it before my students would ever see it.  You can add your email below the "Always" to get an email notice whenever someone leaves you a comment.  

9.  Mobile and Email

I leave these settings as the Default settings.  No changes are made.

10.  Language and Formatting

Here the only thing you may need to change is the Time Zone section, depending upon where you live in the country.

11.  Search Preferences

I leave these settings as the Default settings.  No changes are made.

12.  Other

I leave these settings as the Default settings.  No changes are made.  (Double check to make sure that the Adult Content box is checked NO.)

Tommorrow we will be talking about the Template and Layout Tabs.  This is when your blog really starts to take shape! :) 

Carpe Diem,