PowerPoint Presentation

Getting Started With EdublogsBy Mr. Taack

Click the SpeakerWelcome to our set up guide for Edublogs. If you are viewing this presentation, it is very important that you follow all of the steps I have laid outin order!to make sure your blog gets set up correctly. Im counting on you to pay attention, stop the presentation as needed, and to go back and repeat any parts of the slide show that you dont understand before attempting to complete the next step. If you dont, youll make a mistake, and I want your blog to be awesome! To make it easier, Ive written the instructions in the notes for you to read, and Ive recorded them to play along with the PowerPoint. Whichever method works best for you is fine with me, so feel free to read or listen and watch as you see fit. Anyways, enough with the introduction; lets get on with the show!1Go to edublogs.org

The first step youll need to take in creating your own blog is to go to edublogs.org (you can copy the address out of the notes section of this slide if you need to). Click on the button at the bottom that says Get your free blog now to get started.2Sign Up

Your user name MUST be the following: your first name, last initial, the letters lv (for Las Vegas), and the number 2015 (for 2015). If you have an email address, enter it here; if not, use the following email address (DO NOT leave the field blank!):

mistertaack+YOURUSERNAME@gmail.comYour password will be your student number.The next screen will look like this. You will create a user name based on your name to use here. Your user name MUST be the following: your first name, last initial, the letters lv (for Las Vegas), and the number 2015 (for 2015).

If you have an email address, enter it here; if not, use the following email address (DO NOT leave the field blank!):

mistertaack+YOURUSERNAME@gmail.com

Your password will be your student number. Be sure to type the same number in the box that reads Confirm Password. Its a good idea to write down your user name and password in a safe place as soon as you type them.

Your blog domain should be the same as your user name; DO NOT enter anything besides your user name here! You can make your blog title whatever you wish, so long as it is school-appropriate & doesnt give any additional personal information (like your last name). Lets look at an example from my first blogger, Test Student3A Good Example

As you can see, Test Students user name is testslv2015; EVERYONEs user name will end in lv2015. She copied and pasted the user name to the blog domain field, so Test Student can be sure shes done that part right, too. Since she didnt have an email of her own, she used the class blog email address of mistertaack+testslv2015@gmail.com. It looks like she was having a hard time coming up with an original blog title, so she wrote her full name as part of the titlethats a BIG no-no! A better title would have been Tests Blog, that way she wouldnt have given away any extra personal information. Remember, you should NEVER use your last name when you are blogging for our class or commenting on others posts!4The Human Test

Once youve filled in the few required fields, youll need to complete the human verification test and type the letters shown into the box. Be careful, or youll have to try again! Check the I Agree box (after you read the terms, of course), and then click Start Blogging.5Write This Down!

If you have correctly followed all of the steps, youll see this screen next. If you havent done so already, write down your user name and password in a safe place now.

6Join Our Class!

Now that you have your blog started, the first thing youll need to do is to join our class. Hover over the My Class option on the left side of the screen, then click on Join a Class when that option pops up to the right.7Join Our Class!

In the Search for a site box, type mrtaack. DO NOT type my full blog address or you wont be able to find our class here. If youve typed in the word correctly, youll see an option to Send request to join at the bottom of the page. Click it & youre ready to start customizing your site!8Request Sent!

If youve done everything correctly, this is the next message youll see.9Uh-Oh!

When I approve you, youll be re-directed to our class dashboard. Here you will have limited options (because I dont want you to change my blog). 10How to Get To Your Blog Dashboard

To get to your dashboard, hover over My Sites, then hover over your blogs name and click on Dashboard when it appears.11Adding Your First Page

Next, youll need to set up your About Me page. Start by hovering over Pages on the left, then click on Add New.12Made a Mistake? Dont Worry!

Clicking on All Pages will take you here instead, but you can still add a page by clicking on Add New.13Add Your About Me Info

Once you are on the Add New Page interface, you can upload your About Me writing. First, youll type the page title, then youll add your words. Lets see what it should look like on the next slide.14What It Should Look Like (Kind of)

Notice that the page title is now About Me, and that there is text in the box below. You can transfer what you have already written by opening your Word document and copying and pasting your writing here. When you are done, click the Submit for Review button to the right. After Ive read your work, Ill approve your page & it will go live on your blog. Once your page is pending approval, you can go to Choose your theme at the top of the page to start customizing your blog. How exciting!15Changing Your Theme

The theme page looks like this. There are a LOT of themes to choose from, so choose yours carefully16One Last Tip

When you see one you like, click on it once & then select the Live Preview option. This will give you a chance to see the appearance of your blog without changing it for real. You can always go back to change your theme later, but Id recommend taking some time here up front to get your blog looking just the way youd like it. After all, youll be spending a lot of time here. Thanks for checking out our Edublogs Set Up guide. Good luck starting your new blog, and happy blogging!17