Basic+Technology+3

**Blogging**
In many classes you are required to keep a record or journal of your activities. Some people choose diaries and others choose to blog. A blog is actually a short version of web logging. Web logging or blogging is simply keeping a diary. A blog is posted online for others to read. A blog can be private or public to viewers.



In this class, you will post a blog based on the topic your teacher gives you everyday. For example, your blog might be to write a few paragraphs in your opinion about the presidential election or it might be to write a few paragraphs about your favorite musical group. Students from your class will be able to see your blog as will your teacher. The same rules apply to the blog as those that apply to the emailing system which is nothing inappropriate. Choose ways to express your opinion that are not offensive to the reader.

In this lesson you are going to set up your Gaggle Blog. You should login to your gaggle account everyday you are in this class to receive important information. If you were employed in an office setting, you would likely be required to arrive to work a little early so that you could check and respond to pertinent interoffice emails. You will be acting as such in this class. Upon the start of each class period, you should spend the first 5-10 minutes checking and responding to emails. Obviously, you should not go over the 10 minute mark if the email isn't school or classroom informative.

When you login to your gaggle account and you are finished checking and responding to email, click on the "JUMP TO" button on the lefthand column and scroll down to "MY BLOG". When your screen opens, follow the instructions. You will have several options for the design and color scheme of your blog. You will notice a description for each of the options that you may select. When you are finished setting up your blog, a page will open that allows you to type a title and a blog entry which will be assigned by your teacher each day. If you need any help, please ask your teacher. After setting up your blog, you will no longer have to go through the above steps. Normally, you will open your email account and then go to the "MY BLOG" button and click to create a new blog entry. You will be able to look at other blogs from students enrolled in Computer Tech. You may comment and read other blogs. I suggest 20 minutes blogging a day. Therefore, your first half hour in this class will consist of email and blogging. It is important to continue this throughout computer tech so that your typing skills progress throughout the year as well as your ability to navigate about the web and practice your intercommunication skills.

Your topic for today's blog is on the classroom chalkboard. Please complete this lesson after you view the video below:

media type="custom" key="5458279"