eLearning at TIGS: Di Epoff’s Blog

Themes

Once you have your blog up and running, you may wish to find a theme that is more ‘you’, or suits the purpose of your blog.

For my blogging workshop participants, these sites have a host of WordPress themes that you can download free:

Blog!Oh!Blog!

wphemesbox

You can do a search on Google and find more

Email me any that you would like to try and I will get Andrew to upload them. Once that happens, you can select the theme from the Design Menu when you open your blog

Check that any theme you find is compatible with WordPress 2.6 by going to the following WordPress link. Search alphabetically for your theme. If its not there, find another! This site is also a good way to find a theme but its a slow way of doing it.

Themes/Theme Compatibility/2.6

Some tutorials for you to try

This post will help the participants in my beginners Blogging workshops. Try these tutorials when you are having a play with your blog.

There are a number of good free WordPress tutorial sites on the net. Note: we use WordPress 2.6 version. If you search for tutorials on the net, make sure they are for version 2.6

Open your favourite web browser, check you are connected to the internet and try these:

The following tutorials are screencasts: audio visual tutorials.

iThemes Tutorials

The following screencasts are from the Likoma Design website

How to Edit a Simple Post

Uploading Images and Captions

The following site has some comprehensive information about the features of WordPress. It will take you some time to read through it, however its a good way to learn all about your blog and what the various buttons and menus can do. It doesnt contain tutorials but does provide a concrete background to blogging

The author describes it as a beginners site:

Blogs@Baruch

To add podcast (post an mp3 file on your blog), click ‘Write Post’ and give your entry a title. Add any written information and format as desired.

Go to the upload/browse window below the post window and browse to locate the mp3 file you wish to post. Give the file a title and a description, then click ‘upload’.

Click save, and publish if you are ready to view the podcast

Here is an example of what it will look and play like on your post/page

How to use the digital audio player/recorder

To save the post and go back to Dashboard, click Save

To save the post and keep working, click Save and Continue Editing

To publish, click Publish

What is a blog? Well this site is a Blog! Consider a blog to be:

- A personal diary

- A collaborative space

- A political/social soapbox

- A breaking-news outlet

- A collection of links

- Your own private thoughts

- Memos to the world.

Your blog can be whatever you want it to be. Blogs are custom-made, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site where you write or comment, on an ongoing basis.

The latest blog entries are stacked on top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or choose just to read. Visitors can link your Blog to their own to make that process easier.

Blogger was launched in 1999, and since then blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others.

Click on this Slideshare Presentation: Blogs and Wikis for Beginners. It provides some information that might get you thinking about the issues associated with students using Blogs in the classroom.