Blogger
Instapundit.com is a political blog by a University of Tennessee law professor.
Scripting News is a technical blog by a blog pioneer.
Notes from Україна is a Summer blog in the Ukraine by a Duke senior.
Overview
What Is It?
Blogger is a leading Web-based software tool that can be used to create and update blogs. Blogs are Web sites that are easily updated with posts that are arranged in chronological order. Blogs are a popular Web tool for sharing information. They are used to comment on current events or other Web sites, assemble information for working groups or project updates or as outlets for personal journals, diaries or fiction.
Blogger, developed by Pyra Labs and acquired by Google, can be used to create blogs based on templates. Using simple, Web-based forms, the user is guided through the process of setting up a blog. The blog can be hosted at the Blogger Web site or directly updated on the user's own home page space. Blogs hosted at the Blogger site include ads, but, for a fee, they can be removed and additional management features added. Blogs hosted on the user's home page space do not include advertising.
How Does It Work?
To create a blog, go to the Blogger web site and fill out a few simple forms that include your name, e-mail address and the title you wish to have for your blog. If choosing to host your blog on a personal Web site, you will be asked for information on where the files will be stored; the user must create a folder in his home page space before uploading his blog for the first time.
After the blog is created, the user clicks the icon to "Create Entry" and fills out an online form with the contents of the entry. Entries can contain simple HTML commands (embedded URL's, bold, italics), and the input screen includes a simple spell-checker. When finished, the user submits the entry and Blogger checks it for HTML errors; if no errors are found, the program uploads updated pages to either Blogger's servers or the user's personal home page space. Entries to the blog are shown in a list and the user can edit pre-existing material in the blog if errors are found or updates are desired.
Uses as an Instructional Technology
- Reflective journals
- Peer review and feedback
- Critical thinking and creativity
Things to consider
When using Blogger to create and maintain a site hosted on the user's home page space, the software interacts directly with the user's Web server to create entries, which could raise server security concerns. Although the software does support secure File Transfer Protocol, it has not been tested for security and appropriateness on Duke's Web servers.
Blogger is not currently supported by Duke's OIT Help Desk. It has been investigated by CIT as part of our ongoing efforts to evaluate and test hardware and software with possible instructional uses at Duke. This is only a preliminary overview. If you are interested in discussing similar technologies for use in your classes, or testing software and hardware in CIT's pilot programs, please Ask CIT.
