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Jan 29 2013

A Better Blog: Episode 2

DIY Book Scanner

Make your Blog Scannable

Good blog posts can be scanned with the eyes. In order to make this possible, use bold text to make the important content stick out. Make things like dates, times, and people appear in bold type. When a reader is scanning over the content, this important text helps them decide if the content is worth slowing down for.

Changing colors is discouraged. For some visitors, this can make reading the blog more difficult. Stick to standard ornamentation to text by using boldface and italics to emphasize important points.

If you have a really long blog post, consider using headings to break up sections. You’ll find the tool for adding headings in the Visual (expanded) toolbar in WordPress.

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers • • Tags: blogging, blogs

Jan 28 2013

A Better Blog: Episode 1

This is the first of a series of ten new blog posts on making a better blog. Today’s is about choosing a great title.

Great blogs are made up of great blog posts. More often than not, great blogs have more frequently-updated content, as opposed to long blog posts. Some folks like to think in daily units, some in weekly. But don’t feel you have to maintain a schedule. Good blogs deliver fresh news, when it’s fresh.

What makes a blog post delicious? If we think of a blog as a smorgasbord or type of edible buffet, then each blog post is a different type of food. Posts people want to read, we could say, are delicious. What’s the recipe?

It starts with a good title.

The title should relate to something mentioned in the blog post. It’s easy enough to list a week or a date and to cram everything going on that you’ve planned into that blog post. But over time, the dates aren’t so important. In fact, the blogging software is time- and date-stamping each and every post. Instead, what stands out? If you have too many things going on within one post, then maybe you need to split them up.

A good title will draw people in. And it can also help them stay away. If the content isn’t relevant to your audience, they’ll thank you for saving them time.

Above all else, something in the title of your blog post should relate to something unique about the post.

As with each of these tips, I am leaving comments open in case other readers have examples or additional insight to share!

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers • • Tags: blogging, blogs

Dec 20 2012

Blogs by Email

This video for parents demonstrates how to subscribe to blogs using a free service called IFTTT.

By John Hendron • Resource of Interest • • Tags: blogs, email, ifttt, recipe

Nov 26 2012

Video for Parents

Looking for a way to keep track of teacher blogs more easily?

  1. There is a way!
  2. It’s called Google Reader.
  3. It’s free.
  4. It’s easy.
  5. And if you can dedicate a few minutes (up to 15), this video will show you all you need to know!

By John Hendron • Resource of Interest • • Tags: blogs, google, parents

Aug 27 2012

Looking for something to read?

Check out this list of Top 50 Education Blogs focused on the use of technology in education.

Some are new names to me, but many are old, familiar friends.

Speaking of reading, today I’ve been working on a new webpage template for our schools’s student pages, including library-media resources. Our “prototype” is GHS, and here it is. I look forward to having all school pages updated by the end of this week.

By John Hendron • General News, Learning for Teachers • • Tags: blogs, library

Jul 31 2012

Getting Social – with Blogs and More

This morning I came across this blog post on creating a powerful classroom blog. It’s got some good tips from an educator in South Dakota.

Yesterday, I led two professional development sessions with teachers. The first was around Edmodo and the second was around Twitter.

When I visit with teachers next month (read: August), one of the topics will be our blogging initiative and where it needs to evolve. Edmodo and Twitter will be new options. But I also saw the excitement from teachers in those sessions about the new features in our upgraded WordPress, too. The important thing is not the tool we use (although the tools offer different trade-offs regarding ease of use, functionality & features), but rather the opportunities of communication with social tools.

This year, as we again embrace social tools as teachers, think about how you can inject your digital contributions with a shot of “steroids,” as suggested in the blog post I listed above. The best way to prepare is to re-consider your audience. While I know parents are one of our biggest stakeholders for blog readership, try directing blog posts or Edmodo announcements directly to students. The most powerful, affective way social media can be used is via engagement!

If you have ideas on how to “turn up” blogs, let me know if the comments for the benefit of our teachers.

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers, Resource of Interest • • Tags: blogs, social

Nov 16 2009

Publishing Multimedia Guide

Today I’m proud to offer a guide for publishing multimedia content to your weblog. The concept was created by Bea Cantor, and then I created the chart (using an application called Omni Graffle). Then, Bea took things a step further by changing some of the boxes into links, which load short & informative videos on how to do what is in the box. You’ll find that online here.

The questions you should ask regarding publishing your content online are these:

  • How big is the file?
  • Is it something I want to podcast?
  • Is it something I want to show (a graphic)?
  • Or is it something I want to link to (PDF)?

We’re hoping this guide helps folks out!

By John Hendron • Resource of Interest • • Tags: blog, blogs

Aug 27 2009

New Blog Themes

With Bea Cantor’s eye and free time at home, we’ve installed some new blog themes, bringing our total to around 100 choices.

Feel free to freshen-up your blog with a new theme, teachers. Go to the Dashboard > Design.

By John Hendron • General News • • Tags: blogs

Aug 17 2009

Great Educational Blogs

Last week some of our new teachers asked for examples of great blogs by other educators. It just so happens that Professor McLeod from Iowa State University is in the thick of compiling a list of great education blogs. Check some of them out for ideas and inspiration!

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers • • Tags: blogging, blogs, CASTLE

Jun 1 2009

Goochland Blogs Recognized

Our blogs are now featured in WordPress.org’s Showcase of websites using their blogging solution, WordPress.

A small school district embracing blogging and giving its teachers a way to communicate with students and parents through blogging is an excellent use of WordPress MU in education.

The company, Automattic, went on to say that our blogs are especially well-done for an organization of our size, with a small budget.

Kudos to our teachers who keep all of us updated with all of our learning.

By John Hendron • General News • • Tags: blog, blogs

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About this blog…

This is the blog of John Hendron, Ed.D., director of innovation & strategy for Goochland County Public Schools. Through this blog I share information for teachers, administrators and families dealing with learning and teaching with technology.

You can contact me via e-mail! I look forward to hearing from you.

John Hendron Goochland Schools

Blogroll

  • Bea Leiderman – ITRT
  • Bruce Watson – Director of CTE
  • Connected Principals
  • G21 Framework
  • Goochland Leadership Blog
  • Peter Gretz, Assistant Superintendent
  • Rushton's Resources
  • Steve Geyer – Assistant Superintendent
  • Tom DeWeerd – Director of Technology
  • WordPress Planet
  • Zoe Parrish, ITRT

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