What You’d Like To See Covered

The Edublogger is about the educational blogging community — about us working together, helping each other, sharing our experiences and learning together. To do this we need you to tell us what you’d like to see covered in The Edublogger by leaving a comment on this post or in the comment field at the bottom of this page!

So far you have told us you’d like to see the following covered in The Edublogger:

How to embed applications in Edublogs, especially videos and Kwout
How to use Widgets on Edublogs, especially Clustr map. What are widgets? I would like to put a clustr map on my blog, have got the HTML code saved at the moment. How do I do that? Also how do you get the search widget and how do you make your categories and archive widgets look like search boxes instead of lists? Kwout image of my website in a widget instead of just a text description
A follow-up post on how to (and the limits to) customizing widgets. For example, I’d like to include on my sidebar a simple link to my Twitter page (no updates).
How to put a feedburner feed in a blog like you do
Here in the U.S. there’s a popular TV show where the producers go into someone’s home, and completely redo a room. It’s a crazy idea, I know, but it might be fun for you to offer to do that to a blog sometime and redo it as a teaching tool for the rest of us.
What is RSS feed compared to email?
Assessing student responses on their blogs
How to set up student accounts without creating their own blog
Tips for engaging others in accepting of new tools and new directions
Advice on loosing organisational structures and over-zealous security to take full advantage of these new tools
A series on “setting up your blog from scratch”. The process of design, making decisions about content - as well as the “this is how your tweak the right widget for you” techie tips
Helping teachers use the Web 2.0 in interesting, engaging, and educationally sound way
Easier, more efficient ways to embed video and audio into my blog
Ways of expanding my personal learning network
How can I track the traffic on my blog? Sometimes I get comments, but I would like to know exactly how many people (hopefully my students) are at least just going to the blog in the first place.
What is the difference between categories and tags and why do both appear on my posts on my blog? Do I need them both?
An idiots guide to Google Analytics
How to add a meta tag into the for search engine robots and the like….
I think that online collaboration is an effective tool for educators. Is there an easy method of doing that through the Edublog site?
It would be great to explore the uses of blogging in different subject areas. For example, as a language teacher, I’d like to know if are there other foreign language teachers out there looking at ways to use blogs as a substitute for email exchanges across frontiers?
Moving my blog from blogspot to edublog
A glossary of terms would be great

You have also suggested you would like to these features in The Edublogger:

Personally, I think this blog would do well to act as another filter in bringing the great posts to the top - perhaps the Sue Waters version of OLDaily
What we need - if not an educational focussed Digg - is someone competent enough to bring us the best on a regular basis
We need the best of the best if you can!

And also told us about what you would like from Edublogs:

Seamless integration of Photobucket.com content if it can be worked out
Post a link to a Tip of the Day kind of thing that would appear in our Dashboards
More plugins… not sure what’s out there but I’d like to have options

36 Comments

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36 responses so far ↓

1 Getting More Out of Widgets! // Jan 19, 2008 at 4:55 am

[…] What You’d Like To See Covered […]
2 miketemple123 // Jan 19, 2008 at 1:44 pm

Hi Sue

I used this as I couldn’t find an email address for you

I was recommended to take a look at what you are doing as it is a tutorial-based site for Edublogs. I’ve been running th Edublogs tutorials site for a little while now with the same sort of idea that you have (miketemple123.edublogs.org). Just recently, I had started to focus on podcasting and digital storytelling tools that are available. My latest is TalkShoe and I put out the first broadcast tonight. I was joined by Patricia from Ireland who added in lots of help and ideas. She suggested that you might like to join in with the discussions - so if you’d like, it’s at 8pm GMT, but I think that’s 4am in Perth, so probably not. The talkcast is available on iTunes or on the talkshoe site - search for 12223
Hope to talk to you soon

Mike Temple
3 ceciantuna // Jan 24, 2008 at 8:44 am

Wow!! So much to learn. I can’t even understand the requests for clarification!! Luckily, here in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America, we are on summer holidays. So, I’ve still got about a month to learn how to use this, what to do with it, before school starts. I’m a teacher of English as a foreign language and I plan to start using blogs with my teen students. I guess I’d better find the tutorials, and see what it is I want to ask??!!!.
4 Larry Ferlazzo // Jan 24, 2008 at 9:42 am

How about an idiots guide to Google Analytics?
5 Mr.Romary // Jan 24, 2008 at 8:27 pm

How to add a meta tag into the for search engine robots and the like….
6 Margaretw // Jan 24, 2008 at 9:05 pm

I have been reading The Edublogger since you started Sue and I want to say “thank you” this is one of the best sites for new starters. I will be recommending this to others if they want to understand Web2.0 concepts.
7 Sue Wyatt // Jan 25, 2008 at 8:08 pm

Hi Sue - Still enjoying my blogging after less than a week - but naturally some more questions. My blogs are usually only a paragraph or two in length, so don’t take up much room on the main page. But after nine posts they are still on the first page and it is getting longer and longer. Is there some way of only having say 10 posts to a page then it starts a new page? Are there widgets to use at the top of the page like you have in edublogger going from one post back and forward? Or is it something to do with the theme of my blog?
8 Christen Jacobs // Jan 28, 2008 at 11:15 pm

Thanks Sue,

This is exactly what is needed. I can convince people that blogging is a great idea but I cannot provide them with ongoing support - partly because I can’t answer half their questions. A back to basics approach is very much appreciated. Great Work!
9 jamgochian // Jan 29, 2008 at 5:17 am

I sure would like some online grading program that I could tailor to each student.
Is this the impossible dream?
10 matak // Jan 29, 2008 at 1:45 pm

I think that online collaboration is an effective tool for educators. Is there an easy method of doing that through the Edublog site?
11 plangdale // Jan 29, 2008 at 2:55 pm

It would be great to explore the uses of blogging in different subject areas. For example, as a language teacher, I’d like to know if are there other foreign language teachers out there looking at ways to use blogs as a substitute for email exchanges across frontiers?
12 sharon // Jan 29, 2008 at 9:47 pm

Hi Sue.
I would like to move my blog from blogspot to edublog. I do have an problem in terms of understanding an number of things.
1. In blogger you can customise your template. How will my customisation fit in with wordpress.
2. How do I make sure that I won’t lose any info when I bring it across?
3. How do I go about importing my blog?
Thank you. Great blog.
13 sharon // Jan 29, 2008 at 9:49 pm

Hi Sue.
I would like to move my blog from blogspot to edublog. I do have a problem in terms of understanding a number of things.
1. In blogger you can customise your template. How will my customisation fit in with wordpress.
2. How do I make sure that I don’t loose any info when I bring it across?
3. How do I go about importing my blog?

Thank you. Great blog and brilliant explanations. Although judging by the ‘talk’ I have read above..I have a lot to learn.

PS: A glossary of terms would be great.
14 Al Upton // Feb 1, 2008 at 5:59 pm

Hey Sue

Many thanks to you, James and any others for getting this central hub of edublogging ‘tips and tricks’ going.
With such a high profile and prominence in every Edublog I wonder if The Edublogger could provide for teachers and classes who wish to connect and collaborate together. I (and many others) have tried this in different ways but possibly the central prominence is the main factor that is lacking.
*** I put my hand up to help in any way. Please let me know how
this could happen. ***

2008 is my 5th year of blogging with a class and since using Edublogs our needs have been well met. However I would want to see a list of classroom blogs from across the globe open to any and all platforms.

To help prove the need …
I feel that this is also an area that the Edublog Awards forgot in 2007. There was no distinct ‘class blog’ category. Blogs in classrooms are becoming increasingly dominant and … well, aren’t they an integral aspect of edublogging? There was a ‘Best Group Category’ with only 404 votes and no classes amongst them. Class blogs (as with all blogs and categories) would be well supported by the publishing and promotion of random, good examples and any class who wish to connect with others. Such a list could happen on this blog or a link from it. Perhaps it could come under the HELP of ‘tips, tricks, ideas and help’. “Do you know someone I can collaborate with?” is very high in the requests I receive.
Anyway, it’s your call.

I also repeat here my offer to help facilitate such a category at next years Edublogs Awards … my class being exempt from nominations of course.
BTW Huge accolades to Josie Fraser and James Farmer for their continued contributions with the awards

Congratulations and thanks Sue

Cheers, Al
15 Frank's Blog // Feb 3, 2008 at 12:19 pm

I’d like to see some negotiation with Wordpress to get some basic customization options .. nothing fancy, little practical things like ability to choose link color and link style (underline, border, none, etc). For example, I really like the Glorious Day look and feel, but I don’t like the links because they are almost impossible to see with a faint dotted underline and nothing more. I know that I can change themes, but really don’t want to do that … a little more control would be nice. Is there a tip or trick for this?

Thanks
Frank
16 sharon // Feb 4, 2008 at 1:14 am

I’m with Frank on this one. I really like some of the templates, but the fonts used for sub headings and body copy are not what I’m looking for. Having a few options in this regard would also be great.
Also background colour options would also help add a little originality to ones site. Any tips here?
17 peoplesgeography // Feb 4, 2008 at 2:50 am

I’ve only just discovered EduBlogs and am delighted as a WP user that you exist for educators. Its excellent and very user-friendly and feature-rich.

What I would love to see is domain mapping so that another (shorter) domain of our choice could automatically redirect to the edublogs.org domain address.
18 peoplesgeography // Feb 4, 2008 at 3:07 am

I’ve only just discovered EduBlogs and am delighted as a WP user that you exist for educators. Its excellent: very user-friendly and feature-rich.

What I would love to see is domain mapping so that another (shorter) domain of our choice could automatically redirect to the edublogs.org domain address.
19 Frank's Blog // Feb 7, 2008 at 12:54 pm

I thought I’d stop by and drop this link http://tinyurl.com/2f6z5t

For people that want to change the look and feel of the MyBlogLog Recent Readers widget. I like the compact size for space saving, delivery of more information, and visual attractiveness. But, I could never locate the widget. So maybe others would like it, too!

Frank
20 Sue Wyatt // Feb 8, 2008 at 8:07 pm

Hi again Sue, I am slowly improving my blog with reader subscriptions and other widgets and bookmarks - steep learning curve these holidays but one term that has me stumped is about the trackback URL. How does it work and when do you use?
21 Tips For Doing A Blog Makeover // Feb 13, 2008 at 11:09 pm

[…] What You’d Like To See Covered […]
22 » Balancing Two Blogs While Meeting Your Readers Needs! Mobile Technology in TAFE // Feb 23, 2008 at 2:55 pm

[…] Edublogger community has been providing excellent feedback on What They’d like to see covered on the blog which indicates communities needs can be broken into several […]
23 dashby // Feb 29, 2008 at 11:49 am

I would really like to see some extra help on hosting a threaded discussion. One were my student’s can comment back and forth between myself and them and with each other.
24 Betsy // Mar 4, 2008 at 11:52 am

Is it possible for students to edit their comments after they’ve been posted to the teacher’s blog?
25 Brenda Muench // Mar 16, 2008 at 4:07 pm

I’d like to use live blogging on my site. I have account at www.coveritlive.com but I can’t get it working with my edublog.
26 rhealey // Mar 18, 2008 at 10:03 am

I have just set up my site and was hoping to put some music onto the site for the pupils to practice their production. Is this possible?
27 Sue Wyatt // Mar 19, 2008 at 3:45 am

Hi Sue,
Have been home sick but naturally got on the blog and have spent time creating an avatar and putting in feedjit. But I notice a lot of these extra widgets, students have to be 13 and older. As we are trying to make sure kids are computer savvy and not using programmes before they should, are there any avatar and voki type programs kids could use with their blogs? Perhaps an under 13 page with things students could add to their blogs legitimately.
28 nstearns // Mar 27, 2008 at 8:32 am

Is there an easy way to enable email posting for students? I have the idea of having kids use their cell phones to post quick responses to stuff happening in class. Is that possible in edublogs and if not is it possible that it will become possible?
29 Mr Moshé // Mar 28, 2008 at 6:31 pm

I’m not sure if this is an idea for a new , say, plugin, or a wonderment as to whether or not this kind of thing is already built in somewhere . . .

Is there a way for me to have some “NEW” floating tag/call out show up next to new things that have been added to my sidebars?

Here’s the scenario:

What if I add a new link to my blogroll?

Then in the blogroll a little “NEW” call out thing appears next to the new item in my blogroll.

The idea is for this to be a feature that I can turn on and off for each thing I can put in the sidebars, or that appears anew in the sidebars: new comment posted? “NEW” appears there, new topic to discuss? “NEW” appears there, new podcast to listen to, “NEW” appears there. I’m thinking a little itsy bitsy graphic or something. I don’t know if I’m being clear enough.

It could be set to show up (ON/OFF switch) for this sidebar item, but not on that sidebar item if I so choose (or set it as such). And for those sidebar items I set it up to work on (SWITCH ON), it could be set to show for items that are X number of days (minutes, hours, weeks, months or whatever) new.

I was thinking about this today.

Thanks for everything, Sue.
30 kreed559 // Apr 9, 2008 at 4:12 pm

hi
31 alicemercer // Apr 11, 2008 at 8:20 pm

How about talking about pulling RSS into your blog? You touched on this with your Widget posts.

In the days before javascript was allowed in the sidebar, I would list things like my LibraryThing list based on a simple RSS feed (see http://mizmercer.edublogs.org). I also use it to pull in bookmarks from Diigo (and you could use it with del.icio.us) (see http://oakridgesixthgrade.edublogs.org).

And the aggr plugin is great (see http://mercertraining.edublogs.org/2008/04/06/etln-presentation/)
32 hannekevos // Apr 15, 2008 at 11:12 am

Just started using edublogs and stumbled upon clipmarks, which lets you easilly ‘clip’ stuff from the web and send it directly to your blog. Only thing is: edublogs is not in their list. I’ve send them an email too, so maybe this is something you can work on together? It would be very fast and useful!
Cheers,
hannemaatje
33 mrplough07 // Apr 23, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Hi Sue, to carry on with our conversation from Open Pd, there are a couple things I would like to see covered either in here or by Edublogs in an easy to find location.

Plugins should have a set of step by step instructions provided by Edublogs for each application. For example, to begin using the Contact Form plug in:
1. Activate Contact Form
2. Configure, Copy code
3 Go to pages, create new
4. Paste code in editor, publish
etc…..

This is a pretty easy one but I still had to go to the forum just to find out that you had to create a new page for the form. I was trying to put the code into a widget to get it on the sidebar which is where a lot of contact by email options are on different blogs. There are other plug-ins I have activated and cant even find on my blog. Where do they go once they are activated? The instructions would help with this. If teachers and students are your main users, then should be instruction oriented so users have easier time creating a cool blog, not so much time having to be techie.

Also, is there a way to utilize other Word Press plug-ins not found on Edublogs. If I had my own domain then could download WP plug-ins into a folder and activate on my WP platform. Edublogs uses basically that same platform, right? So is there a way to get a folder so we can find other plug-ins not yet offered by Edublogs.

Cory
34 Mr. Mosier // May 1, 2008 at 9:34 am

I would like to point blog.mrmosier.com to my edublogs.org blog (mrmosier.edublogs.org). Is there any way to do that? I set up the CNAME, but it redirects me to the main edublogs.org site.
35 Pat Kennedy // May 2, 2008 at 5:30 am

I am trying to put the Answers.com Double Click feature on my blog. Too many failed attempts. Are there any very specfic step-by-step directions to do this? Has anyone else successfully added this feature to Edublogs? Please help!
36 Bill Bradley // May 5, 2008 at 9:40 am

Sue,

I have recently heard of a web application called Studeous that is like Moodle and Blackboard, but it is hosted for free online. I’ve signed up for an account, and it seems to be really easy to use.

The article that I found out about it is http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/studeous-schools-teachers-and-students-unite/

What do you think? Should teachers use this in their classes?