COOL GADGETS TO SPICE UP YOUR CLASS BLOGS

Students around the world are discovering the joys of creating , and communicating with their class blogs, and some have ventured into setting up their own personal blogs as well. And they love receiving comments from other students and teachers and simply anybody that reads them from across the globe. As some have discovered , it is not just about adding content and sharing their views and taking their projects online, it also needs enhancement in the form of photos, videos, slideshows, calenders, countdowns, forms, PowerPoint presentations, relevant to their choice of topic. Adding gadgets that are available for free from the internet not only enhances their blogs , but also gives them a chance to be creative. Depending on their relevance, gadgets can be fun, engaging and at once spark interest to a reader to stay on that blog/page for longer. The personality of the blogger comes through much better than if the blog had content alone.
For those using blogger as the blogging platform, there is a wide choice when you click on the Add A Gadget button.
Step 1. Go to the LAYOUT page.
Step 2. Click on the Add A Gadget button.
Step 3. The Basics Page opens up showing you a wide range of gadgets. Here you can choose to add a picture, video bar, slideshow, adda poll, a blog list that you enjoy reading, or simply add any gadget you choose from any other free website by copying and pasting the HTML code into the HTML/Javascript gadget.
You also have the option of choosing readymade gadgets on offer from a wide selection under Featured, Most Popular, & More Gadgets option given on the upper left of the Basics page.
Believe me, you will enjoy the selection each of those. The educational ones include clocks showing different time zones, dictionaries, wikipedia search, virtual pets, word a day, calculators, etc. And of course some games to add on to your blog.
And when you are done with that , you will most likely want to enter the Student Blogging Challenge. You can register your personal blogs here. And Good Luck! You not only have the chance to grab some eyeballs, and get some comments, you also get to read some of the finest student blogs from across the world using different blogging platforms. And do not forget to leave comments that will lead them to read your own blog as well. So begins collaboration and communication among students of different schools and colleges.
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COOL GOOGLE GADGETS FOR THE CLASS BLOGS

As more students and teachers take to blogging in the classroom, the idea of adding gadgets on their homepage certainly appeals to them. As the blog becomes decorative, more students engage themselves with the fun activities embedded there and visitors and traffic increase and spend more time on their page and perhaps being encouraged to leave a comment making it worthwhile. Adam Bowman is a freelance programmer who has created several useful gadgets that can be edited to your specifications and then generating a code(html), which you can then embed on your desktop or webpage.
Below is one such gadget that tells you the time.
This Ball Clock gives you a fun and unique way to see what time it is. The balls on the top two ramps represent the minutes and the balls on the bottom ramp represent the hours.


Animals that move always interest students especially those you can feed and water Customizing a virtual pet such as a hamster and showing off on a webpage or your blog certainly makes your blog the envy of others.
The hamster below can be guided to eat or drink water or mount a wheel to keep running, all with the click of your mouse.



You can choose from several gadgets that can be fish,stingray,spider,clocks,games. These gadgets are now available as Google Gadgets as well and are compatible with wordpress or blogger blogs. You can also edit them to personalize and add on social networking sites such as hi5, facebook,myspace or they can be emailed.

HOW TO RESIZE AND EMBED YOUTUBE VIDEOS IN YOUR BLOG

Youtube videos when embedded into a blog post add value to what you are writing about. A picture is worth a thousand words,but a video,...can put you in the hot seat literally. I was just seeing some pictures on a photo blog taken by my nephew as he piloted his plane,and then some videos taken from within the cockpit. So, guess which was more effective in giving me the true essence of the moment?
So also with a blog post or any website, it is more engaging when a video is embedded into it. So,how do we do it? Simple, really!
If you are using Blogger as your blogging platform follow the directions given. Go to the "layout" and click on the Add a gadget button on the top right. Look for the "Add a video" from youtube. Click on this and select the channel you want, or use the keyword option to get what you need, "preview" and click the "Save" button at the bottom right corner.
If you find the need to resize the video you just embedded,go back to the video on the youtube page and adjust the player.There is a small button at the end of the embed which says "Customize" when you mouse over it.Click on this and options are shown to resize the player and to choose the colour according to the blog skin of your blog/website. Make your choice and get the code for embed above it. Copy the code and embed as before. The ideal height and width ratio should be maintained. For Blogger, resize the player by editing the object width="425" and height="350" fields at both the beginning and end of the embedded player code.

TOP 5 REASONS TO START A CLASS BLOG

Integration of technology in the classroom is not limited only to PowerPoint presentations. Teachers who encourage the setting up and maintaining of class blogs are more in favour of it once they see the results.
Blogs are vehicles of self expression. Bloggers learn to express themselves in different words,and a different perspective. It gives insight into a person and the person learns to freely blog about issues that he is passionately wanting to communicate about.
The language improves greatly as also the style of writing. Vocabulary improves and essays written offline also show improvement in Grammar,Spelling and sentence construction.Grades 6 and above can be allowed to update a class blog.Confidence levels improve and they love networking.
Having individual blogs becomes the next step and the students love positive comments and feedback,not just from family and friends,but also from students and teachers from across the world. They love leaving comments themselves on to other student blogs from around the world. Having a global audience makes them work harder and more passionately about everything.
A healthy competitive spirit surfaces to be the best blogger and the students use their time more effectively,learning to be part of the future generation that values social media and online learning.
Maintaining good blogs today is necessary. Digital literacy adds value to a person.
The recently concluded 2009 Student Blogging Challenge by Edublogger had some wonderful entries. And below is a video made by one particular class that shares their thoughts on blogging.

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION WITH CLASS BLOGS

Creating and maintaining class blogs can be a very effective form of integrating technology in the classroom. Elementary schools can have one class blog with the teacher having one mail id and several user ids. middle and high school students can be encouraged to have their own blog. Blogging makes them learn perfect English. At once challenging and engaging,each student will learn the art of translating thought to his/her blog. Children can pursue their hobbies writing about their pets,friends,class, video games,soccer.They can also write poetry,learn to embed videos,slideshows,power point presentations,photos taken by them. Creativity is enhanced. When comments are asked for from the other students,teachers,parents and anyone from across the globe,they really work hard at everything with a positivity not seen before. They can use their blog to make their own notes,links,references,add audio,video-the list is endless. It is for the class teacher or subject teacher to make use of this excellent tool to constantly engage her/his students online,which they absolutely love anyway. Guidance and online safety measures are what the teacher must be willing to take up. Paul Hamilton enumerates what he found when he visited Mrs.Smith's 6 th grade class to check out their class blogs.