Creating a Blog

To set up your blog you need to do the following things:

1. Visit http://www.blogger.com (you can use the Japanese website or English)

2. Follow the instructions to set up a gmail account (on paper you must write down important information such as your email address and password - you will need these, so don't forget your address and password!)

3. Follow the guide to set up your blog - you will need to create an account; choose a "handle name" (your real name or a nickname is fine) choose a name for your blog; choose a blog URL address; and choose a template.

DO NOT FORGET YOUR BLOG TITLE, BLOG ADDRESS, AND HANDLE NAME. WRITE THIS INFORMATION ON PAPER. YOU WILL NEED TO TELL ME THIS INFORMATION.

In future you will login to blogger using your account information (account name & password). Don't forget your password! 

Settings

On the left side of the page you will see a list that includes settings. In the basic section, change “Add your blog to our listings” and “Let search engines find your blog” to NO. This is so that we keep our blogs for this class as private as possible.

Practice Post

When you have set up your blog, please write a practice post. Click “Create” or “New Post”. Copy these questions and answer them very simply. Then publish the page. This is just to check your blog is working properly, and to let you get used to publishing posts.

1. Was it easy to set up this blog?

2. Have you ever read people’s blogs before?

3. Have you ever written a blog before?

4. What are some of your favorite Internet websites?

5. How often do you use the Internet?

6. Write a short blog post/message about anything you want.

If you have some time today, please familiarize yourself with the blogger software. Read how to change the layout of your blog; how to use bold, italics, and underline; how to add links from webpages; how to add photos or video. 

One blog that I visit regularly is Omniglot . It is all about the languages of the world. Why don't you visit Google's blog search and search for some interesting blogs on themes that interest you.