Great Simple Instructions for Embedding Documents

Jump break button

One of the new features of blogger in draft is the jump break button which allows the reader to create a synopsis, or introduction to their post. They can place the jump break at any line on their post. When the post is viewed a read more note is visible. Clicking on this allows the viewer to see the whole post. The benefit of this is that it takes up less visible space on your blog and if the viewer really wants to read it they just click on read more. You can see an example of this on the post below.

How to Remove the Navbar

When a blog is created or when a template is changed the navbar appears at the top of the blog. The concern of this is that by clicking "next blog" you can be directed towards a blog that is unsuitable.
To remove this follow the simple steps below:

Blogger in Draft

Blogger in draft allows a number of additions to your blog to improve the functionality and appearance of your blog. Not only can you customise your background but you can select the font type, colour and size of vaious sections of your blog. Captions can be added to images and locations in google maps can be added to posts.
To select in image it is necessary to first of all export them to you picasa account. If you don't want to do this simply click the "return to blogger" button at the top.
Any changes that you make can be previewed before you apply them to your blog so feel free to have a play. To view blogger in draft click here. There is an excellent video which outlines its features.

Spelling City

Spelling City is a wonderful support for childrens' spelling. It allows words to be entered, saved and the computer can then test the child and provide a range of fun games to reinforce the learning.
This link is a screencast that demonstrates how to publish a child's list so that it can be practiced at home without having to log in.

Embedding Keynote in Blog

After much experimentation I have embedded this screencast which demonstrates how to embed a keynote in your blog. If you wish to manually advance your show choose to export with PDF then embedit; if your show has automated transitions, choose to export as quicktime and use vimeo. Click on the link below to view the screencast, it will take 20 seconds or so before it plays, be patient.
http://www.screencast.com/t/ODM0MzE5Z
Below are the two versions of the same file: vimeo and embedit. You can view both embeds in full screen by choosing the enlargement in the lower right corner. Note the differences in presentation style between the two.

Vimeo (Quicktime)

Text + Images from room15 on Vimeo.

Embedit.in (PDF)

Creating interactive activities

3rd party websites such as classtools.net and mystudiyo.com, allow you to create interactive activities and quizzes then embed them in for others to play. Classtools gives you a range of templates to choose from. Mystudiyo creates multiple choice quizzes that can include images and video. After following the instructions to create your activity get the HTML code and paste it in your blog.

They can serve a number of purposes: knowledge review, assessment, child created to assess learning or a classtools template can be left fairly blank for the child to complete given a few requirements. eg use the timeline to summarise the chapters of a novel. Some classtools activities can be made and posted on the blog within 2 minutes for children to do for homework. The image below shows an example of the postit template. the cog at the bottom right corner provides you with the HTML code to embed and the save function allows you to save as a web archive on your hard drive.
These are just two of many sites that serve such a purpose.

I can't continue my document at home!!!!

Yes you can. Save your document as a word or excel or powerpoint document (file>export>word/excel/ppt) on the server or hard drive. Open Google Documents. Sign in to your Google account if you haven't done so already. Choose the Upload button. Search for the document you wish to upload to Google Docs then choose start upload. When the document has uploaded you will be able to share the document with others to help you work on it, even from the other side of the world, or download it to open it in Google docs. This means that when you return home you log in to Google Docs and open your document. Having exported the file as a microsoft compatible document means you can continue working on it at home. If you have an Apple, you don't need to export.

More benefits of embedded documents

Say you've created a brilliant slide show / document. It even contains links to enhance your document or show where you've got your information from. When the file is embedded in your blog the links stay active, even in full screen. A great way of enhancing your work.

Shortcuts

A request from one of the children was to create a list of known shorcuts.
The shortcuts can have a different effect depending which application you are in but here are some very useful ones:

• command c copy
• command v paste
• command z undo
• command t new tab
• command n new window
• command p print
• command q quit
• command d duplicate in safari bookmark
• command a select all
• command m minimize
• command ? help
• command +/- zoom in/out
• command s save
• command shift 3 entire screenshot
• command shift 4 selected area screenshot

How to leave a comment

At the bottom of each post you will see 0 comments. To make a comment on that post click on the link and type the comment you wish to leave. At the bottom type your full name. Choose an identity: select anonymous. This means that your email address is not viewable by others. Lastly publish your comment. The blogger then gets to moderate or view your comment before publishing or rejecting it. Positive and constructive comments are best.

Links within your post

You may have noticed that some of the words in my previous posts are underlined - they are hyperlinked. For example the children have just viewed an amazing slow motion video for science. Let's say you're writing a post about what you learned and would like the children to be able to view it at home. Choose a key word from your text to link from, eg video. Highlight the word then click the symbol that shows a chain on top of the world. This is the hyperlink symbol. It's necessary to get the URL for the website you were on in class. Highlight the URL, copy it then paste into the hyperlink box that you had open. Adding links creates interactivity within your posts.

Links from Images

Say you've added an image. You've learnt how to link from a word. For juniors sometimes it's easier to get them to link from an image - click on the image to play. Websites with this function have caused this to be commonplace. As an example take a screenshot of a game - shift>control>4. This will be saved as a png file on your desktop - for children it will be in your documents. Add the image to your post. Next part is a bit tricky. Choose the Edit HTML tab of your post. The image will now be in computer language. (Click the compose tab if you get scared and don't want to continue). Within the computer language find the section href="http.... This carries on until another set of speech marks. That is the computer language for an enlargement of your image. In other words if you were to click on the image you would get an enlargement. To link the image to the actual game, replace the text within the speechmarks with the URL for the game.

Click to enlarge

It should now look like this:

Click to enlarge

Click on the image at the top of the post to test.

Making the most of the sidebar

The sidebar appears on the left or right hand side of your blog template depending on which template you've chosen. Unlike the posting area of your blog where previous posts get pushed down the page; the elements in your sidebar stay where you've placed them. If you wish something to stay at the top of your blog such as rules, or a welcome message, the sidebar is the best location for it. The sidebar can contain a wide range of useful gadgets. To add function to your sidebar choose the layout tab from the dashboard, choose add a gadget, then select from the many gadgets available. You could add a list of useful websites (link list), paste HTML, add text or photos, slideshows, a poll, and many more. You could have several link lists, one numeracy and one for literacy; or you could have link lists for different ability groups in your class. Make sure you save what you add before you close the gadget box or your hard work will not appear.

Embedded Documents

You may have noticed embedded documents in your class blog. These are examples of pasted HTML from a website called embedit.in. No sign up necessary. It allows for the document to be viewed full screen, downloaded and printed. The document must be in PDF or word format. To do this for a pages document choose file>export>PDF. From the embeditin home page select the document, upload, choose sign in with google account, copy the HTML all the way across then paste into your blog - simple! In fact the simple skill of copying and pasting HTML can allow you to create customised activities for children in class tools, adding pets to your blog and even adding a background to your blog.

First Post

Today we created our own blog. Settings were adjusted to ensure cyber safety. We learnt a very useful skill - copy and pasting HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language is a computer code which allows applications from websites to be embedded in your blog. Once this simple skill is mastered it will allow you to add a wide range of features to your blog to enhance its use.

For example say you're creating an avatar in Voki. Once you're satisfied with your avatar save and publish. The site will then give you a code to copy. Select all the code - command a, copy - command c, then paste, command v, in your own blog.

To view a video to remind you of how to set up a blog as well as add text and images click here.