URL: http://www.voutlaw.ua.edu
PART 2 - Set up a blog based on a topic/theme in your current or anticipated career field using WordPress. If you would like to use another blog program, please get approval from your instructor. Select and use a template that is appropriate for your theme and audience. Add at least two widgets to your blog. Review blog rubric for this blog assignment. Note each element that will be graded such as hyperlinks, citations, graphics and multimedia, etc. Also review the peer-review blog evaluation. The CSM 564 and 566 students use this form to evaluate your blogs and you will also evaluate each other’s blogs using this form. So take a look at each component.
Peer Review Blog Evaluation Form
- Topic/theme for blog:
- Instructional Design & Learner Development
- Anticipated Audience:
- Instructional designers, faculty, adult learners, trainers
- Blog Used:
- University of Alabama WordPress
- Widget(s) Used and explain why you chose them for your blog:
- Calendar - Choosing the calendar was really a personal preference. In trying to jungle appointments at work, course assignment due dates, and personal appointments, I am glued to a calendar, whether on the computer or mobile phone.
- Categories - I choose to use categories to provide a friendly and easy navigation means for my blog topics.
- Pages - I choose to use Pages because it provides a one-stop shop for all the pages I created. If a creator is not careful, a blog can become very congested, so having the pages in a centralized place also allows for easy navigation.
- Recent Posts - I choose to use Recent Posts to maintain the volumes of posts in one location. Users can easily choose the topic of choice and manage their reading with topics of interest.
- Recent Comments - I choose to use Recent Comments to allow faithful followers to opportunity to keep up with recent comments made on topics.
- Blogroll - I found the Blogroll useful as a new blog user. I chose to keep this on my front page to give folowers easy access to support, WordPress news/information, news, etc.
- Other Blogs - Colleagues all over the country have a lot to share. Linking to their blog pages is a way to stay abreast of what others are doing...a way to think outside the box.
- Peer's Blogs - I choose to link to my classmates' blogs so maintain a networking community with my cohort. As we all continue to build on our blogs, we also become part of the educating community for other all over the country.
- Software Blogs - In my career, I have to immerse myself in technology and software to that I can continue to offer the latest in trends in distance education.
- Archives - This is a great tool to use to keep posts and comments separated and organized in the month in which they happened.
- Highlighter - This tool allows a user to highlight, comment, and share on any portion of my blog. It adds a sense of interactivity with the user and the content.
- Print PDF - This print button on each page allows the user to only print the pages they wish to print without wasting paper on printing portions of the page that are obsolete.
- Page Counter - I placed the page counter in the footer of my blog. This gives user a sense of the traffic on my blog. Perhaps the higher the number, the more interest it may bring.
- Theme Used:
- Thoughts/reactions about using a moderated blog versus an invited reader blog. (This is done after week 7):
- During the course of building the blog, I noticed spammers making comments on my blog. Because of this I prefer to use a moderated blog so that I have control over the comments I approve and/or disapprove. This will ensure that I keep quality and meaningful information that is shared with my peers and colleagues.
- Additional Questions:
- Describe how you will set up your blog: public, invited readers, or moderated and explain why.
- Since my professional web site was used in networking and sharing pertinent educational information to faculty, I will make this blog public and moderated to ensure I receive quality posts.
- What blog program you used and why?
- I originally had Bama storage space that I used for m professional web site and for ePortfolios for graduate work. I kept running out of storage space. The last time I requested space, the OIT department informed me that they were in transition of moving the Bama space to a different server. I was given the option to use the UA WordPress to free up space on Bama to use solely for school. This decision was very timely, as it was about the same time this assignment was introduced. Because I wanted my professional web site to have the UA look and feel, I agreed to use the UA WordPress for that reason. The maintenance will almost be non-existent. No more Dreamweaver and FTP of files. This allows me to keep my professional information separate from my school work.
- Were there any existing policies for blog use in your place of work?
- Were you asked to contribute to establishing blog policies for your work place?