Using Blogs With ESL Students

This is a test of uploading an audio file!The Mother Daughter Conflict
(Nancy Husari created this mp3 file in the Podcasting workshop)

From the “Write” tab, scroll down to the “Upload” section and browse for the file you want to upload. Add a title and description and click on the “Upload” button. After you do that you’ll be taken to a dialogue screen. At that screen, click on “send to editor.” After you have added any text that you want, click on the “Publish” button.

Visit my blog at http://www.tech4esl.blogspot.com to see other activities you can try using your blog as the starting point.  The preceding link to the blog was created by typing it in the http:// format only.  It created a link as it was typed.

You can also make a group of words a link.  For example, visit my classroom blog by clicking here.

To make a word or block of words a link, highlight the word or words and click on the “Link” icon (the one that looks like 3 chain links)

You’ll get a small “dialogue box” (see picture below) Then type the URL in the top space.  Note that the http:// is already there.  Choose whether or not you want the new page to open in the same window (replacing the blog page you’re looking at with a new page as in “classroom blog” above), or in a completely new window (as in “here” above).

The above picture was added by using the menu item below the text editing field (by clicking on the menu item “Upload,” browsing for the file, clicking on the “Upload” button, and then clicking on “send to editor.”  See the image below.

Scroll down to find the “send to editor” button.  Also check off “Full Size” or “thumbnail” to determine how large the picture will be on your post.  Then click “send to editor”  See the image below.

Once the photo is in the “editor” field (the top box labeled “Post”) you can add the text by simply typing next to or under the picture.  See the screen shot below.  Note that you can determine whether or not the picture appears as a thumbnail or full size.  You can also drag the photo around to the location you want it when it’s in the editor field. 

Try it and let me know that you’ve done it by making a comment on this blog or by sending me a message.

I’m happy to be learning about blogging with you!