Why?  Because visiting blog to check for new content is time consuming.

Most people read the latest posts from their favorite blogs by subscribing using RSS or email subscription.

Email is extremely important for:

1. Readers who prefer to receive latest posts using email subscription
2. Private blogs — these don’t have RSS feed because only logged in users or logged in registered users are allowed to view the content

Email options

There are three main options for adding email subscription to your blog:

1. Feedburner email subscription – all blog users except private blogs
2. Email Subscription Widget – Edublogs supporters only
3. Subscribe2 email subscription- Edublogs Campus only

Feedburner email subscription

Feedburner is one of the most common free services used by both bloggers and podcasters to manage their RSS feeds.

It’s popular because it provides bloggers with the ability to easily analyze their subscribers in terms of:

1. how many subscribe by RSS
2. which feed readers they use
3. how many subscribe by email.

Your email subscribers are sent an email of your full post that day after it is posted.

Setting up a Feedburner email subscription is as simple as:

• Step 1:  Creating a Feedburner RSS Feed For Your Blog
• Step 2:  Adding the Feedburner Email Subscription to Your Blog
• Step 3: Redirecting all your feed through Feedburner

Email Subscription Widget

The email subscription widget is the fastest and easiest way of adding email subscription to your blog.  It sends an email immediately when the post is published.

Readers click on the link in the email which takes them to the post on your blog.

Just go to Appearance > Widgets and drag the email subscription widget into the desired sidebar.

Subscribe2 Email Subscription

Subscribe2 is the most sophisticated email option with lots of management choices for both readers and the blog owner.

Email notifications can be either:

1. Latest posts
2. Daily or weekly digest of posts
3. Plain Text – Excerpt; Plain Text – Full Post or HTML – Full Post

Bloggers can monitor their email subscriber; easily adding and removing subscribers inside their blog dashboard.

Subscribe 2 also provides the ability to send out emails to all confirmed subscribers; for those occasions when you want to send an email but not write a post.

Setting up a Subscribe email subscription is as simple as:

• Step 1: Setting up Subscribe2 email notification
• Step 2: Using Subcribe2 Email notification

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

To celebrate the success of the challenge while also creating an opportunity to collect examples of student work we’re giving away twelve Edublogs supporter 12 month subscriptions which you can use on your own blog or give away to a reader.

Just write a post based on any of the topics themes listed below:

1. Your own choice of topic but must include embedded media, created by the student or class, such as a SlideShare, video, comic strip, podcast, quiz, poll.  Here’s the chance to demonstrate how creative you can be!
2. Your story of how blogging has helped you connect to a global audience and what this connection has meant to you.  e.g. the friends you have made, what you have learnt about other cultures, how you are able to share your passions with others, how you are able to use blogging to share your views on topics
3. What difference has blogging made to your life at school and home e.g. how has it changed how you learn, the challenges of blogging and how teachers might make the process easier

Any class or student blogger can enter, including bloggers not currently participating in the 2009 Student Blogging Challenge, but you must:

1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know you have entered, with a link to your post plus your Grade/year level.
2. Explain in your post which topic you are writing about and link back to this post so that we receive a pingback advising us that you have written the post (read this to understand What’s A Pingback? And How To Write Links).

For example you might copy the following into the bottom of your post and just change the topic enclosed in the qutoation marks:

This post has been written on “my story of how blogging has connected me to a global audience” as part of The Edublogger’s Student Competition!

The four best post for each topic will win and you can submit posts for as many topics you like.  And off course all winners will get a badge they can add to their blogs

Remember we’re looking for the best — so here is your chance to demonstrate your blogging and creative skills!  You have until April 30 to enter.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

Students love seeing the red dots grow as their readers, from around the World, visit their blog.

Please Note:

• Edublogs supporters and Edublogs Campus can use the ClustrMaps widget to add a ClustrMaps to their blog sidebar.
• The ClustrMaps widget is designed to provide a quick and easy way of adding a ClustrMaps to your blog sidebar without having to grab the HTML embed code from the ClustrMaps website.
• It’s as simple as adding your email address and agreeing to ClustrMaps terms & conditions!

On free Edublogs blogs you need to follow the instructions below for adding ClustrMaps to your sidebar using a text widget!

Creating Your ClustrMaps

1. Go to ClustrMaps.
2. Enter your blog URL (e.g. your blog URL should look similar like this http://theedublogger.com/) and email address then click on Make My Map.
3. Copy the HTML code for Option A.

Adding The ClustrMap To Your Blog Sidebar

1. Go to Appearance > Widgets in your Dashboard
2. Click on the desired Sidebar to expand (so you can add the widgets) NOTE: In new blogs sidebars in your dashboard are empty and adding widgets automatically removes the default Edublogs widgets
3. To add a text widget, drag it from the Available Widgets areas on the left into the Sidebar area on the right
4. Drop the widget when you see a dashed line appear – this indicates the widget is in place
5. The widget will automatically open — just add the HTML code from Clustrmaps, click Save and then Close.  If you have trouble with the text widget or it doesn’t open — try changing your theme just in case there is an issue with it.
6. You should now see your ClustrMaps in your blog sidebar and the dots will start appearing after 24 hours.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you need to grab new HTML embed code for your ClustrMaps just log into your ClustrMaps Admin area using your blog URL and password (sent in the original signup email from ClustrMaps).

Remember if you are an Edublogs supporters or Edublogs campus users you use the ClustrMaps Widget to add it your blog sidebar.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

Your options

The size of most embed code can be adjusted by pasting it into a simple text editor like Notepad and changing its width and height.  Really handy to know when you need to make an object smaller to fit the size of your post or sidebar.

However for a Flickr SlideShow there is a simpler option!  FlickrSliDR or Flickr slideshow! These “third party’ website lets you use the flickr URL address of the user, photo set or group and tags or any user/group to customise a Flickr slideshow to the dimensions you desire.

Adding a Slideshow to your blog sidebar

Both FlickrSliDR and Flickr slideshow create exactly the same SlideShow; which of the two websites you use is your choice.  Width of blog sidebars is dependent on your blog theme; however in most cases 180 px wide x 180 px high will work fine.

Once you have grabbed the embed code from FlickrSliDR or Flickr slideshow go into your blog dashboard and add it to your sidebar using a text widget (Click on Design > Widgets).

Examples of Sidebar Slideshows

Below is an example of the size of a Flickrslideshow you would add to a blog sidebar.  I’ve used the fdsflickrtoy tag from images4education.  If you want to learn more about adding images to your in-class and online activities raise student interest I recommend you join images4education (you will be able to catch up with the weekly tasks).

Created with flickr slideshow.

Check out Ms. Kreul’s class blog to see a cool tour of their class created using FlickRSLiDR widget embedded in their side bar.

FINAL THOUGHTS

To learn more about using Flickr check out:

• Quick Start Tips For New Flickr Users: Part I – setting up your account
  
• Quick Start Tips For New Flickr Users: Part II – using as part of your personal learning network (PLN)
• Quick Start Tips For New Flickr Users: Part III – doing cool stuff with Flickr
  

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

It’s Christmas at Edublogs and, in the spirit of the season, Edublogs Supporters will find themselves with a few extra treats wrapped up under the tree.

Specifically there are four new plugins which may well prove popular, just head over to your ‘Plugins’ menu to check them out.

Threaded Comments

First up there’s Threaded Comments, a plugin that does exactly what it says – adds threaded comments to your blog. Why not jump over here and have a play with them, not bad huh!

Below is a screenshot from a threaded comment on yesterday’s post. Threaded comments means you can reply to specific comments = cool!

I’ve switched on threaded comments on The Edublogger so feel free to test them out.

Twitter Tools

Then, there’s the return of Twitter Tools – an immensely powerful Twitter integration plugin that allows you to tweet from your blog and blog from your tweet! If you’re a Twitter fan, it’s got the lot.

Your twitter tool options are:

1. Send a tweet to your twitter network whenever you write a blog post
2. Create a blog post from a tweet
3. Displays your tweets on your blog and post tweets from your blog

However I wouldn’t recommend having both a) Enable option to create a tweet when you post in your blog? and b) Create a blog post from each of your tweets? set to Yes. If you choose this combination it grabs each tweet and creates separate blog post for each tweet then send a tweet to your twitter network to tell them you’ve created a blog post. I managed to spam my twitter network with 20 instantaneous tweets and was sent to the twitter penalty box.

I suggest you stick to “Enable option to create a tweet when you post in your blog?” as shown in the screenshot below. You can edit your Twitter Tool options using Settings > Twitter Tools.

To display tweets on your blog and be able to send tweets from your blog you’ll need to add the Twitter widget to your sidebar (Design > Widgets). If you want to add the Twitters widget you will first need to activate your Widget Pack plugin.

If you look at my left sidebar you will see these widgets how these widgets work.

Greet Box

And, in case you happen to also be a Digg/Google/Netvibes/Delicious/StumbleUpon/etc. etc. etc. fan – the new plugin ‘Greet Box’ will allow you to display specific (and rather spiffy) messages to visitors to your site coming from those sources… for example, you could invite a new visitor to subscribe to your RSS feed… or a Digg visitor to Digg your site.

What happens is when a person clicks on a link to one of your posts from any of the services listed they will see a greet box displayed.

You can alter the messages in the Greet boxes and choose whether they are displayed above or below your posts by going to Settings > Greet Box.

Snow

Oh, and of course, it being the season for it, there’s also Snow… yep, you want a gentle fall of the seasonal white stuff on your blog, then turn this on and your Xmas wish will be granted!

Check out Local District 4 Instructional Technology News blog to see what snow falling down through your blog header looks like!

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

Embedding Google Calendar In Your Blog Sidebar

1. Sign into your Google Calendar and click on Settings.
2. Click on the name of the Calendar you want to embed into your blog sidebar.
3. Scroll down to Embed this Calender and click on Customize the color, size, & other options
4. Change Default view to agenda, change width to 230 pixels (you may need to adjust this width depending on your blog sidebar) and untick any calendars you don’t want displayed when the calendar is embedded in your blog sidebar. Now copy the embed code.
5. In your blog dashboard click on Design > Widgets and add a new text widget to your Current Widgets by clicking on Add next to Text widget in the Available Widget area.
6. Click on Edit on the Text widget you just added to the Current Widget area. Now paste the HTML code for the calendar into the Text Widget and click on Change. Finally click on Save Changes.
7. When you view your blog you should see your Google Calendar embedded in your blog sidebar.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here are some class blogs with Google Calendar embedded in their sidebar to see how they are being used:

1. Ken Pendergrass’s Eckstein Middle School Choir blog
2. Bryan McDonald’s Mr Mac’s Class Blog

Remember here is how to use Google Calendar and this post explains how to embed on a page.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

About Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a free web-based calendar which you can use for keeping track of important events in one place from any computer anywhere. You create several calendars for different uses in the same Google Calendar and for each calendar you can choose to:

• keep private
• share with friends via email
• make public so others can subscribe.

For example you could create a personal calendar which you keep private (not viewable by others) and a PD calendar that you share with others.

You can also sync between other calendars (e.g. Outlook, iCal, your iPhone) and Google Calendar plus add it to your iGoogle personalized start page and/or embed it in blogs and web pages.

It’s also excellent for coordinating online meet up for global projects because it automatically converts the time to your time zone when you subscribe to the calendar. Check out how Google Calender converts the times by subscribing to Classroom 2.0 live meetups calendar.

Setting Up Your Google Calendar

1. Create an Gmail account. Gmail is Google’s free web mail that you can access from any computer, anywhere. Ideally use a login name that people can identify easily as being you e.g. mine is my name with the s missing from the end of waters.
2. Go to Google and select Calendar under the More option.
3. Sign into Google Calendar using your Gmail account and if asked choose the time zone for your current location.
4. Create events on your calender by clicking on Create Event or on a time slot.
5. Complete all the required information and press Save. 
6. Click on Settings to:
   • Adjust how the calendar is displayed
   • Share calendars with others
   • Make calendars public
   • Set up automatic notifications
   • Delete a calendar
7. I use my Google Calender to manage my workload so have set up my calendars so that I get email notifications to my gmail account one day prior to the event.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Want to embed your Google Calendar in your blog?  Check out:

• How To Embed A Google Calendar In Your Blog Sidebar
• How To Embed a Google Calendar In A Blog Page!

Meanwhile if you haven’t set up a iGoogle personalized start page — why not set up iGoogle while you are trying Google Calendar? Here is how to set up iGoogle.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

ClustrMaps is a “must-have” widget for class and student blogs because it reminds students that they are part of a global voice and demonstrates how interconnected we all are.

So here’s how to set up a ClustrMaps on your blog using the ClustrMaps Widget.

The ClustrMaps widget is available to Edublogs supporters and Edublogs Campus only.  On free Edublogs blogs you need to add ClustrMaps to your sidebar using a text widget!

About ClustrMaps

ClustrMaps is a free thumbnail hit counter map widget that shows the location of all visitors to your blog. Number of visitors from a location is indicated by the relative size of the dot.

Clicking the ClustrMaps thumbnail takes you to a large World map so you can examine your traffic sources more closely. To scrutinize even closer click on each continent on the map.

How To Add ClustrMaps To Your Blog Sidebar

The ClustrMaps Widget is contained in Widget Pack which you must first activate in your Plugins area.

• This widget pack also contains Delicious, Vod Pod, Twitter, Google Search and Flickr widgets.
• Once activated all these widgets will appear in your available widget area in your Appearance > Widget screen — ready for you to use.
• If your ClustrMaps disappears from your blog activating your Widget pack immediately returns your ClustrMap to your blog sidebar.

Adding your ClustrMaps is as simple as:

1.  Go to Plugins > Installed in your blog dashboard.
2.  Click on Activate below Widget pack.

3.  Go to Appearance > Widgets in your Dashboard.
4.  Click on the desired Sidebar to expand (so you can add the widgets)

• NOTE: In new blogs sidebars in your dashboard are empty and adding widgets automatically removes the default Edublogs widgets.

5.  Add your ClustrMaps widget to the desired sidebar by dragging it from the Available Widgets area on the left into the Sidebar area on the right.

6.  The widget will automatically open — add your email address, click on Agree to terms and conditions, and then click Save Changes.
7.  Final step is Save and then Close.

• If you have trouble with the text widget or it doesn’t open — try changing your theme just in case there is an issue with your theme.

8.  You will receive an email advising of successful widget registration and your widget will look like this image in your sidebar — dots won’t appear for 24 hours.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Remember on free Edublogs blogs you need to add ClustrMaps to your sidebar using a text widget!

1. Don’t forget to share your advice on “must-have” widgets for student and class blogs.
2. Would love to hear your thoughts on Miss Wyatt’s Responsible use of avatars and widgets in terms of age restrictions.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

So when Chrissy asked for advice on any “must-haves” widgets to include on her students new Room202’s class blog I thought this is an excellent opportunity for us to share ideas to help make the task of choosing widgets easier.

So can you please share with us:

1. What are your “must-haves” widgets for class and/or students blogs? And why?
2. What other features do you and your students like to have on your class blog  e.g. type of blog theme (2 column, 3 column, custom header, links to pages)
3. Your Class blog URL so students from other classes can visit your blog for ideas.

Can you please also drop past Room 202’s class blog — leave a comment and your class blog URL so that Chrissy’s students can check out your class blog plus get excited by the dots increasing on their ClustrMap.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

New Dashboard and Menu Layout

Changes are aimed at making it a cleaner, faster and less cluttered dashboard and you will immediately notice the new light blue, light grey and orange color scheme. If you have several blogs they will be listed across the top and clicking on the name of the blog will take you to the dashboard for that blog.

The main features users interact with (i.e. writing posts and pages, managing posts, managing comments, managing design features and upgrades) are now located on the left side of the screen. While Settings, Plugins and Users, which are used less, are now located on the right hand side. The presentation menu has now been renamed Design i.e. this is where you change your blog theme, widgets or add a custom image header.

Dashboard Widgets

Items displayed on your blog’s dashboard are controlled by widgets which you can customise to your personal preference.

Change dashboard widgets by:

1. Clicking on Widgets menu on your dashboard
2. In the Available Widget Area click on the Add link on Widget(s) you want to add to your dashboard
3. To remove a widget from your Current Widget area click on Edit > Remove.
4. Changing order of widgets in your Current Widget area is just a matter of drop and drag the widget’s order up or down
5. Click Save Changes
6. Click on Dashboard menu and view changes

The main widgets I like displayed on my dashboard are Getting into Edublogs, Your Blog, Incoming Links and Recent Comments.

Write Post/Pages Changes

The visual editor has been improved and includes the ability to change to full screen mode when writing a post.

Media is now uploaded to your blog by clicking on the Add media icons at the top of the visual editor. The Add media uses a Flash Uploader — this allows you to upload several items (e.g. photos) at the same time while showing their uploading progress.

NOTE: If your Flash Uploader isn’t working properly try using the Browser uploader instead.

If you are having trouble with the Flash Uploader or getting a white screen when you upload images or media make sure you’ve checked that you are using the latest version of Flash (currently v 9.0.124.0.) Don’t assume that you have this version — go and get the latest Flash player here! (Thanks Trantwoodcrs for reminding me to add this tip)

To ‘Embed code’ we pick up around the web (e.g. videos for video sharing websites, Voki and Google Documents) directly into an Edublogs post you now just change to HMTL editor and paste the code where you want it to appear. All you need to do is:

1. Write your post
2. Grab the embed code for the item you want to embed e.g. a video
3. Click on HTML Tab
4. Add the embed code where you want it to appear
5. Click Publish

No longer appears to be an issue with breaking the embed code. This means once you have added the embed code you can change back to Visual Editor (by clicking on the Visual Tab) and make changes to your post.

Tags and categories fields are now located below your visual editor. The tag editor automatically brings up a selection of the latest tags you’ve added. Learn more about how you use tags and categories by reading this post.

Blog Widgets

The way you add and change the widgets that are displayed on your blog is probably the biggest change. The widgets you currently have in your sidebar are shown on the right side of your screen and it only displays one sidebar (you need to selects the sidebar from a dropdown to view the other sidebar). Each widget is listed in a column on the left, you click the Add link to add it into the sidebar (I demonstrate how to add Widgets to your sidebar at the end of my quick video tour).

Here’s a quick video tour so you can see the main changes.

Video Tutorials

The Edublogs team has been busy creating video tutorials on how to use the new Edublogs interface — you can check them out on the Edublogs Video Tutorial page. Each of the videos is less than 5 minutes long and between 4-8 MB in size (i.e. suitable for most bandwidth).

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’ve tried to give you are really quick overview of the main changes. Please let me know how you are going and what changes you want to know more about.

Remember the Edublogs team is still squashing a few bugs and adding a few more features over the next few days. If you have any complex questions or issues please post them into the Edublogs forum so the team can provide assistance.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!