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.