HW 1: Creating Your Reading Response Blog

Mendham, 4 of 4

HW 1

HW 1: Creating Your Reading Response Blog

for A Blog of One’s Own: Women and Authorship in the Digital Revolution

You’ve received a full description of the requirements for the reading response blog in this course in the “Your Reading Response Blog” handout. Your first homework assignment for the class is simply to create the blog, and this handout will tell you how. A required final step is send me an email telling me that your blog has been created and where to find it.

I. Create Your Blog:

□ Go to Blogger at http://www.blogger.com.

·  If you do not already have a Google account, create one.

□ Write down your username and password!

______

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□. Click on Create a Blog

·  □ Name your blog whatever you want, within the bounds of classroom decorum and anonymity outlined in the “Your Reading Response Blog” handout.

·  □ Choose the URL, or web address, you want (e.g. http://ITWBestBlogEver.blogspot.com). This can be based on your blog name or it can be different. I recommend making it as easy to remember and type as possible. The URL cannot be changed later.

·  □ Follow the directions for Word Verification and click Continue.

Choose a template:

·  □ Click on the radio button below one of the samples—that determines how your blog will look. This is the fun part.

·  □ Click Continue.

Now your blog is done and you can start editing it and posting on it whenever you want.

□ Click on Start Posting.

This is the screen that you’ll create most your homework posts from. Note that it’s under the Posting tab. You don’t have to create a post yet, however. Read on below to see what settings you need.

II: Settings

□ Click on the Settings tab.

·  □ Write a description of your blog. Mention that the blog is for the ITW 101 class A Blog of One’s Own: Women and Authorship in the Digital Revolution, and add whatever else you want.

·  □ Scroll down and click Save Settings.

□ Click on the Comments tab under Settings.

·  □ Make sure that you keep Show Comments selected

·  □ For now, keep “Who Can Comment?” set at Only Registered Users. (If you start getting comments you don’t like from outside the class, you can change this option to “Only Members of this Blog,” and send me and your pod members invitations to become members of the blog so we can comment. (If you need to invite people to become members of your blog later, you can do it under the Permissions tab with the Add Authors button.)

□ Click on the Site Feed tab

·  □ Keep the Allow Blog Feed setting at Full. This will allow members of your pod and me to easily keep track of your blog on Bloglines.

Part III: Template

□ Click on the Template tab and click Add a Page Element.

□ Under Link List, choose the Add to Blog button. This will be a list of links to the blogs of members of your small group or pod.

□ Type in a title like “Links to my Pod.” Later you’ll fill in the links.

□ For now, just click Save Changes to create the list.

□ Repeat these steps to add another Link List page element

·  Title this one “Blogs I’m Watching.”

□ Go to About Me or Edit Profile and adjust the settings so that your full name does not display on the blog.

□ Before you leave this tab, make sure to hit the Save button or your work will be lost.

Part IV: Notify Me by Email

13. Please send me an email at stating:

·  □ the name of your blog,

·  □ the URL or address of your blog,

·  □ what section of the class you are in (12, 4, or 6 PM).

·  □ Sign it with your full name.

·  □ Put your name and “HW 1” in the subject line.

·  □ Send the email

·  You’re done!