As you start gaining experience in finding your blog voice and reviewing blog posts of your peers, you might start to get a sense of what makes a good blog post. Take some time to review the blog feed of our section or of the other sections accessible from our website. Some tips are provided below and we may come back to this post to expand on the ideas as we hear from you.
Hyperlinks
Provide hyperlinks to concepts, resources, people (if they have a blog or are on social media). To insert a hyperlink, select the text to link, then click on the link icon in the blog composition window, you can then paste the website address (URL) and press enter. If you click on the pinwheel next to the URL pane, you can select from pages or posts on your own blog or you can click a checkbox to open any hyperlink in a new window.
Images
Insert images to break up long text and also insert a “Featured Image” (bottom right corner of the blog composition window). Some themes use these featured images in their design and you’ll notice featured images will appear in our blog feed as thumbnails next to each blog post showing up in that feed.
Video
If you refer to watching a video, embed it in your post. Make your sharing visible. Make your learning visible. If you put a YouTube link on its own line in a blog post, it should “pop” into an embedded window. If you need help, please reach out to us in the Tech Help forum in Mattermost.
Attribution
Make sure you attribute sources for content or media used, but also ensure you don’t upload copyrighted material without consent.
Critically Evaluate the Topic or Technology in Your Post
As you discuss a topic or technology in a blog post, make sure that you do more than just write a summary blog post. Even if you are excited about the topic you’re blogging about, summarize the topic or technology for your readers, and then critically evaluate its pro’s and con’s from an educational perspective.
One approach to critical evaluation is to adopt a framework to guide your reflection. Two examples are “What, So What, Now What” or CRAAP. See the video below for a description of the first example.
The second example, Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (aka CRAAP) was devised at California State University, Chico in 2010. This framework can help you evaluate information you find beyond that discussed in class, through your own research. It is also a useful framework to use with learners to encourage critical reading and review of information sources.
Following a critical evaluation framework such as these to help you remember what makes a good resource while also noting potential pitfalls. Here is a UVic EdTech resource to help you go deeper on this topic.
Share your voice (while refraining from TMI – too much info)
Blogging is typically a public activity, but you can also set your blog to private per blog post by clicking on “Visibility” on the top right corner of your blog composition window. It is important to hear your voice, but also be careful not to overshare in highly personal ways that may compromise your future role as a teacher in schools. If in doubt, ask us.
Video overview of formatting, embedding, and customizing WordPress posts
5 Pingbacks