NB: When something you’re trying to do on the website isn’t working out, don’t spend too much time on it and don’t get frustrated. The website can be quirky, and you may be doing everything right and still have a problem. Just send me an email about the problem or post your question on the Tech Forum.

About browsers: The website works best in Firefox. If you don't have Firefox on your computer, you can download it for free, here. If you're on a computer where you can't download Firefox, you can use Safari or other browsers, but some things may not work, like the text formatting functions.  (There is one advantage to Safari, however: on a Mac, anyway, the links and some of the formatting you do in Word will carry over to the website; most of this is lost using Firefox.)

CREATING BLOG ENTRIES

1. Write your text in Word first. Do not write lengthy entries directly into the text box on the website; things sometimes go wrong and you may lose what you wrote even as it’s being posted. 

2. Go to “create content/blog entry” on the website

3. Give the entry a title; it won’t post without one (that’s what the red asterisk means).

4. In the “course” box, scroll to your course, and in the "topic" box, scroll to the appropriate assignment and select it.

5. In the “Body” box, paste the text.

6. If you want to change the formatting to italics, bold, etc., or insert a link, use the icons below the Body box. NB: These work only in Firefox, not Safari.

7. Preview the post. If everything is fine, click on "submit." If not, continue to edit. You can also go back and edit posts that have been submitted.

8. If the font style or formatting of the post does not match up with the rest of the website, there are a few things you can do.  First, try setting the font style of your Word document to 12 point Verdana, single spaced, and see if that works.  If not, try this: using Firefox, select all the text and click on the "Remove formatting" icon at the lower right of the Body box: this will clear out any hidden code and convert the font style to that of the rest of the website (12 point Verdana).  If you're using Safari, that won't work, so you'll need to go back to your Word document and do this: copy the text, open a new Word window, go to Edit>Paste special, and select "unformatted text" and paste the text in the new window, then copy this new text into your blog.

INSERTING HYPERLINKS

Use the link icon under the Body box to insert text links. Note that this only works if you’re using Firefox. Safari users should insert the hyperlinks while you’re still in Word composing your entry. (“Insert/hyperlink.”) They will automatically be copied into the text box on the website.

SUGGESTIONS FOR BLOG WRITING:

1. Edit your text. This isn’t instant messaging. Use proper English. Use Word’s spell-check. Ask a friend to look over your copy. If there are too many writing problems in the text, it will be “unpublished” and returned to you for editing before it is approved for posting.

2. Remember that your audience is the world, so don’t just address the other students in the course or assume that your reader knows what’s going on in the class.

3. Respond to something in the assigned reading.

4. Copy a passage from a book or article and comment on it. (You can also put a copy of the quotation in the Place and Literature quotation collecting using “create content/quotation”).

5. Check out the Periodicals Room and locate an article of interest. Copy and paste a passage from the article, and comment about it; remember to insert a hyperlink taking us to the article.

6. Look around in the website and find something interesting to call to the attention of your reader—an image, a quotation, a video, a book. Comment on it and make a link to it.

7. Take a look at the blogs (click on “view more”) for other ideas.