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Presentations: Blogger

Getting Started

Google Blogger – Blogger.com
Google Blogger is a free application that provides a simple interface to create, maintain, and share your own personal blog. A blog is a form of a web based journal. The term blog is derived from the phrase Web log and is a great way to communicate ideas and interests via the Internet. Links to websites, pictures, and videos can all be added to a blog post.


Start your Blog

    1. Sign into your Google account. At the top of your Gmail page you will see a list of free Google apps.  Blogger can be found by clicking on more.
    2. Create your Blogger profile.


Image of Accessing Blogger

    1. Select “New Blog” to get started
    2. Type in a title for your blog. Your teacher may have specific guidelines for a title for your class.  If the title does not populate the blog address, enter in the address you wish to have for your blog. The address cannot have any spaces. Use hyphen or underscores if necessary. The system will tell you if this address is available or not.  If not, you must choose another address.


Image of Creating a New Blog

  1. Next, choose a template.  Don’t worry about what you initially choose, you can change it in the future.
  2. Select “Create blog!”


Blogger Dashboard
Below is a view of Blogger Dashboard.  Since you are able to have more than one blog on your account, this view shows all blogs on your account. From the dashboard, you can quickly view a blog, add a new post, and manage posts and settings, or you can click into each one to view settings and posts for that specific blog.

Image of Blogger Dashboard


Managing Blog 
Settings and Views
When in your blog menu view, there are a number of options available on the left hand side of your blog panel. Select “Settings” to set permissions for who can see your blog, and you can also control who can post and comment on your blog.

  1. Select “Posts” to view all published and draft blog posts.
  2. Select “Pages” to create and view pages within your blog.

Image of Main Blog Menu



Designing Blogs
There are two ways that you can adjust and control the look and feel of your blog. Use “Layout” and “Theme” from your blog menu to add gadgets, such as feeds, calendars, and blog rolls, and change colors.

Image of Layout Design Tool

 

Create a New Blog Post

  1. Click on the “New Post” or the orange pencil to begin blogging.
  2. When you are done click “Publish” to make your post live on your blog. “Save” and “Publish” are very good buttons to use on a regular basis.  Don’t forget a Post Title!

Image of New Post Creation

 

Designing Blog Posts
Notice the tool bar looks a lot like most word processors with bold, italics, underline, and font and color choices. You also have the ability to insert hyperlinks, pictures, and media, create number lists, and bullet points, and use spell check.

Image of Editing Toolbar


Linking to websites

  1. Highlight the text you want to make a hyperlink.
  2. On the posting tool bar click on Link.
  3. Enter the URL and follow the prompts. Select “Open this link in new window”.
  4. Click OK when you are done.
  5. After publishing your post, make sure you view your blog to check the links.


Inserting an image

  1. Click on the image symbol on the tool bar. This is the photo icon next to Link.
  2. Choose a file to upload from your computer, phone, Picasa, from a URL, or paste in a web address from Flickr or other photo sharing center.
  3. Be sure it is copyright free because this is on the internet.
  4. Click “Add Selected”.
  5. After publishing your post, make sure you view your blog to check the images.

Tip: You can do some minor adjustments to your picture with the image tool bar below your photo. Here you can adjust the size and placement of the image, and you may add a caption. Click on properties to add a description.


View Blog

  1. Click the View Blog button from the Dashboard to preview the web view of your blog post.
  2. To go back to your dashboard use your arrow button to go back.


More Help
Google Support for Google Blogger – http://support.google.com/blogger

Google Blogger Help on You Tube – http://www.youtube.com/user/BloggerHelp

Google Blogger for Dummies – http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/google-blogger-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html


Page and content created by Lauren Crowther
Last edited November 15th, 2012 at 12:30 pm by Brett