BlogWritingCourse

We all read blogs.  They give us instant access to information, insight into other people, and provide multiple viewpoints on specific subjects. But sometimes, reading a blog just doesn’t cut it.  Sometimes, you realize YOU are the one who has something relevant to add to the online conversation.  In those cases, starting your own blog may be exactly the thing to do.

But the world of blogging can be intimidating – - especially if you have never written anything online before.  Where do you start?  What tools do you need?  Is it even safe???

For people asking themselves those kinds of questions, BlogWritingCourse.com has created an introductory blogging course.  Intro to Blogging is a free, automated, online course that will teach you the basics of blogging at your own pace and from the comfort of your own computer. 

There are a series of videos, short readings, and interactive exercises which you can take over a week or so, taking perhaps a total of two hours.  During this time, you’ll discover:

- how easy it is to blog

- what the basic lingo (vocabulary) is

- some basics about online safety

- whether blogging is something for you or not

Don’t let a lack of knowledge intimidate you from starting a blog or even taking a blog writing course. We’ve laid out all the basics for you in our free course. And, if you complete the course and decide that you really want to do more than think about writing your own blog, we have a subscription-based, 8-week follow up course, Blogging 101,  that will guide you every step of the way through setting up a new blog, writing quality posts, and drawing traffic to your blog.

If you have something to say to the world, don’t settle for being a blog reader.  Now is your time to sound off and share your voice with the rest of the world!  Time to start blogging!!

Many schools and classrooms are setting up specific blogs for their students and teachers.  Some are designed only for teachers or administrators as communication tools – - to post updates, news, or even assignment lists.  Others are of a more collaborative style, with requests that students add their own thoughts to the blog.

There are so many great ways for schools and teachers to integrate blogs into the educational framework.  They could be used as part of a collaborative writing assignment,  as a way to inform parents of school-related events and activities, or as a way to provide students with additional information about a specific subject or research project.

Anytime the internet is integrated into education, however, there are safety issues to be taken into consideration.  To avoid any potential problems, keep in mind the following advice:

• Be sure that parents are notified of all blogs that their children may be participating in or receiving regularly.  (Depending on the situation, parental permission might even be advisable)
• Check all comment and spam settings on school and classroom blogs.  Comments might be best restricted to students only or at least have Akismet spam detector enabled.
• If privacy is an issue, for instance if a few students are using a blog to create a competitive class assignment, privacy settings on the blog can be set so that only the blog contributors are allowed access.  This can also be helpful if you have a classroom blog that you want to restrict access to.
• Take the opportunity when opening a classroom or student blog to teach students about online safety. 
• Check out Edublogs for an unique and safe option for educational blogging.

To get even more insights about blogging and blogging safety, check out our blog writing courses.