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	<title>The Edublogger</title>
	
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	<description>Tips, tricks, and help for educators and bloggers using technology</description>
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		<title>The Educator’s Guide to Instagram and Other Photo Apps</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/6rCWdlMA8oU/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/05/28/the-educators-guide-to-instagram-and-other-photo-apps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 May 2012 13:13:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sue Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[All About Using Images]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Working With Web 2.0 Tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[instagram]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iphone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photo app]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/?p=4844</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m not the most dedicated Instagrammer (need to get out more) or the best photographer (wish I was) but like many other educators, I enjoy sharing my photos on Instagram. Why?  It&#8217;s fun! Easy! I can quickly share photos taken &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/05/28/the-educators-guide-to-instagram-and-other-photo-apps/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4853" title="Instagram logo" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/intagramlogo-2d97c62.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="147" /></p>
<p>I&#8217;m not the most dedicated Instagrammer (need to get out more) or the best photographer (wish I was) but like many other educators, I enjoy sharing my photos on Instagram.</p>
<p>Why?  It&#8217;s fun! Easy! I can quickly share photos taken on my iPhone when I&#8217;m out and about!  Or have fun editing photos and sharing from my camera on my iPad!  And in the process I&#8217;m learning more about photography, photo editing and other Instagram users.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s my advice to help you get started or get more out of using Instagram.<br />
<a name="Back"></a><br />
<strong>Click on a link below to quickly go to the section you want to read</strong>:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="#instagram">What is Instagram?</a></li>
<li><a href="#account">Creating an Instagram account</a></li>
<li><a href="#profile">Setting up your profile information</a></li>
<li><a href="#follow">How to follow other instagram users</a></li>
<li><a href="#camera">Overview of smartphone and tablet camera specs</a></li>
<li><a href="#device">Sharing photos saved on your device to Instagram</a></li>
<li><a href="#filters">Introduction to Instagram filters, borders and effects</a></li>
<li><a href="#filt">Overview of the Instagram filters</a></li>
<li><a href="#borders">Working with borders</a></li>
<li><a href="#lux">Working with lux</a></li>
<li><a href="#tilt">Using tilt shift</a></li>
<li><a href="#inside">Sharing a photo taken from inside Instagram</a></li>
<li><a href="#captions">Introduction to captions, hashtags and sharing</a></li>
<li><a href="#hashtags">Using hashtags on Instagram</a></li>
<li><a href="#services">Sharing your photos to other services</a></li>
<li><a href="#viewing">Viewing photos posted on Instagram on your computer</a></li>
<li><a href="#apps">Other Photo apps and Instagram</a></li>
</ol>
<p><a name="instagram"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>What is Instagram?</h2>
<p>Launched in 2010, Instagram is one of the fastest growing mobile media phenoms; with just over 15 million users at the start of 2012 it now has over 50 million users.</p>
<p>Instagram is a free photo sharing app for android and iOS devices that lets users take a photo, apply photo filters and share through a variety of social networking services including Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and on Instagram.</p>
<p>Instagram is sort of like Twitter &#8211; except instead of connecting with others using 140 characters or less, you&#8217;re sharing photos.</p>
<h3>Instagram is popular because:</h3>
<ol>
<li>It make sharing photos using mobile devices quick, easy and a lot of fun!</li>
<li>It provides a great place to learn more about each other and photography.</li>
<li>The Instagram interface is similar to other popular social networks and includes features to easily connect with others such as following users, like other users&#8217; photos, commenting.</li>
</ol>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4856" title="Example of Photos on Instagram" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram51-13m5q5i.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="425" /><br />
<a name="account"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Creating an Instagram Account</h2>
<p>Signing up for an Instagram account is as simple as:</p>
<ol>
<li>Download the Instagram app in the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instagram/id389801252?mt=8">App store</a> on your iPhone, iPod or iPad or in <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram.android">Google Play</a> on your Android device.</li>
<li>Open up Instagram on your device.</li>
<li>Tap on the &#8216;<strong>Sign up</strong>&#8216; button to create your account. ( You must sign up for an account using the Instagram app on your device; it isn&#8217;t possible to sign up using the Instagram website.)</li>
<li>Now just add your email address, username, password, upload your profile picture and click <strong>Done</strong>.</li>
</ol>
<div><img class="size-full wp-image-4877 alignnone" title="Signing up for your Instagram account" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram53-15hlx4t.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="380" /></div>
<p><strong>Tips for creating your account:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Remember first impressions count!  Choose your username and profile picture carefully.</li>
<li>Choose a username that makes it easier for others to relate to you as a real person and conveys the right impression of who you are. e.g. Compare rwb3 with ronnieburt — which is easier?</li>
<li>But don’t stress too much — your username and picture can be changed any time (<strong>Profile  &gt; Edit Profile</strong>)</li>
<li>While you can find friends to follow during the sign up process it is worth bypassing this step, by tapping on <strong>Next</strong> on the <strong>Find</strong> <strong>Friends</strong> screen, to complete your profile information and sharing a few photos before finding friends to add.  Some educators check this information to decide whether to follow you.</li>
</ul>
<div><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4880" title="Skip Find Friends" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram55-26bmhbx.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="219" /></div>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a quick overview of the main tabs inside Instagram to get you started:</strong></p>
<h3><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4890" title="Main tabs inside Instagram" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram59-qf5cg9.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="345" /><br />
<a name="profile"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a><br />
Now just complete your profile information as follows:</h3>
<ol>
<li>Tap on the <strong>Profile</strong> tab and then tap on &#8216;<strong>Edit Profile</strong>&#8216;.</li>
<li>Add your First name, Last name, blog or website URL (if applicable) and your bio then click <strong>Submit</strong>.</li>
</ol>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4882" title="Adding your profile information" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram56-1pakmdr.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="390" /><br />
<strong>Below is an example of profile information on a User&#8217;s public profile page:</strong></p>
<h2><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4885" title="Profile information on a public page" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram58-100ykw5.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="384" /><br />
<a name="follow"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a><br />
Following Other Instagram Users</h2>
<p>A key aspect of using Instagram is connecting with other users.  So once you&#8217;ve shared a couple of photos it&#8217;s time to start following other users.</p>
<p>Finding people to follow is as simple as:</p>
<ol>
<li>Tap on the <strong>Profile</strong> tab.</li>
<li>Now tap on &#8216;<strong>Find Friends</strong>&#8216; and use any of the options to find users you want to follow.</li>
</ol>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4892" title="Finding friends to follow" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram60-1n0o41i.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="391" /></p>
<p><a name="camera"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Sharing Photos on Instagram</h2>
<p>To share photos on Instagram you can either:</p>
<ol>
<li>Take a new photo from inside Instagram.</li>
<li>Choose from a photos saved on your device.</li>
</ol>
<p>But before sharing photos it&#8217;s worth first discussing Smartphone and tablet cameras because the quality the photos you take depend on the device you&#8217;re using.</p>
<h3>Smartphone and tablet camera specs</h3>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4962" title="Iphone" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/iphone63-1us8xcv.jpg" alt="" width="163" height="234" />Cameras on mobile devices have improved considerably.  While the megapixels on these devices fall short of what&#8217;s available in today&#8217;s point-and-shoot digitial cameras, many of them are capable of producing good images.</p>
<p>Smartphones are now the camera of choice by many people; iPhone are the most popular device for uploading photos to Flickr and whole communities have formed for iphoneography (iPhone and iPad photography enthusiasts).</p>
<p>Why are Smartphone cameras popular?  It&#8217;s always with you!.  See something interesting and you can take a quick photo.  And better of all with photo apps you can quickly enhance and manipulate photos in ways you once dreamed of!</p>
<p>The camera specs for most of the latest smartphones are fairly similar; many are now 8 megapixels with HD video capture.</p>
<p><strong>Below&#8217;s a comparison of iPhone cameras:</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4897" title="iphone camera comparison" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/iphone61-2anvack.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="240" /></p>
<p>Whereas the cameras in tablets, such as iPads, and devices like iPod Touch&#8217;s aren&#8217;t as powerful and their photos aren&#8217;t as good as those by smartphones like the iPhone 4S.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4898" title="iPad camera comparision" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/iphone62-1tuac6l.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="168" /></p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4900" title="iPad Camera Connection kit" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/ipad31-21vpo81.jpg" alt="" width="197" height="144" />However, another option is to use photos taken with your digital camera.  Importing photos from a digital camera using an iPad is as simple as inserting your memory card in the <a href="http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC531ZM/A">iPad Camera Connection kit</a> and connecting it to your iPad.</p>
<p>Ultimately,  to some extent, it really depends on how you want to use the photos you take.  Higher resolution photos are ideal for printing whereas a lower resolution photo is fine if you just want to share online.</p>
<p>One of my favorite photos I&#8217;ve shared on Instagram was taken with my old iPhone 3; it&#8217;s quality isn&#8217;t as good as a photo taken on my iPhone 4S but it tells a story and captured a sense of that moment in time.<br />
<a name="device"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Sharing photos saved on your device to Instagram</h2>
<p>When saving photos on your device it is important to realise that Instagram photos are designed in the shape of the old polaroid picture so you need to keep in mind that your picture will be cropped as a square  i.e. avoid making the entire image you want to share fill your camera screen when saving photos to your device.</p>
<p><strong>Sharing a photo saved on your device using instagam is simple:</strong></p>
<p>1.  Just tap on the <strong>&#8220;Camera/Share&#8221;</strong> button.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4944" title="Click on Camera Share button" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/camera51-1irxofr.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="34" /></p>
<p>2. Tap on the<strong> Image</strong> Icon</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4911" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; line-height: 24px;" title="Click on Image icon" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram66-pdlo7q.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="46" /></p>
<p>3.  Choose a photo from your photo library,</p>
<p>4.  Position the photo within the square crop box &#8212; you can use a pinching motion to zoom in and out of the photo.</p>
<p>5. Then tap <strong>Choose</strong>.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4913" title="Tap choose" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram67-11cd0ws.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /></p>
<p>6.  Choose your <a href="#filters">effects (lux and tilt shift), filter, if you want to show/hide border</a> and, if satisfied with your image, tap on the green check mark to continue to add <a href="#captions">caption, location and share</a>.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4909" title="Effects and filter options on Instagram" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/instagram61-21mdv93.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="517" /><br />
<a name="filters"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Introduction to Instagram Filters, borders and effects</h2>
<p>The cool part of Instagram is you can apply filters, effects and borders inside Instagram before sharing the photo.</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a quick overview of the different options and what they do:</strong><br />
<a name="filt"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h3>Filters</h3>
<p>Filters are ready-made effects for your photos.  Using filters, you don&#8217;t have to make separate adjustments for color, saturation or other image characteristics to achieve a particular look because the filter does it for you.</p>
<p>Just choose a filter and your image is transformed into a different look and feel; they can soften imperfections, draw lights and colors in interesting ways.</p>
<p>Instagram comes with 17 filters you can use.  Which filter works best depends on the light, the content on your photo and what you&#8217;re trying to achieve.  The best option is to try each filter on your photo to see what creates the look you want.</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s an overview of the Instagram filters:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Normal</strong>: This is no filter; it&#8217;s what your photo looks like before a filter has been added.</li>
<li><strong>Amaro</strong>: Adds a country or old west feel to your photo.</li>
<li><strong>Rise</strong>:  Used when you want soft to warm light to leak and is great for landscape and nature shots.</li>
<li><strong>Hudson:</strong> Creates subtle vignette like feel with cool blue tones.</li>
<li><strong>X-Pro II:</strong> Brings out the warm, saturated tones with an emphasis on aquas and green.</li>
<li><strong>Sierra:</strong> Warm and a little faded.  A bit like a less intense version of Valencia.</li>
<li><strong>Lo-fi:</strong> Creates a dreamy, slightly blurry look with saturated yellows and greens.</li>
<li><strong>Early Bird</strong>: Creates a faded, blurred colors, with emphasis on yellow and beige.</li>
<li><strong>Sutro:</strong> Gives a sepia like feel with emphais on purples and browns.</li>
<li><strong>Toaster:</strong> Adds high exposure to your photo with corner vignetting.</li>
<li><strong>Brannan</strong>: Creates a low-key image with emphasis on greys and greens.</li>
<li><strong>Inkwell:</strong>  Creates a black and white image for that old photo look.</li>
<li><strong>Walden:</strong>  Gives your photo a washed out color with bluish overtones.</li>
<li><strong>Hefe</strong>: Makes your photo fuzzy with an emphasis on yellow and golden tones.</li>
<li><strong>Valencia:</strong> Creates true-to-life contrast with slightly grey and brown overtones.</li>
<li><strong>Nashville</strong>: Creates sharp images with magneta to purple tints.</li>
<li><strong>1977</strong>: Gives your photo a 1970&#8242;s feel.</li>
<li><strong>Kevin</strong>: Creates a super-saturated retro looking photo.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a sample image using each of the different filters:</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4921" title="Normal and Amaro" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/filter61-1w13bru.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="274" /></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4922" title="Rise and Hudson" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/filter62-2d257bb.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="273" /></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4924" title="X Pro and Sierra" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter64-1ispdm6.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="273" /></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4925" title="Lo fi and Earlybird" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter65-16cgtwf.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="277" /></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4926" title="Sutro and Toaster" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter66-qfdcz6.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="272" /></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4927" title="Brannan and Inkwell" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter67-1018it9.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="273" /></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4930" title="Walden and Hefe" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter70-171ltrv.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="273" /></p>
<p><a href="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter71-1ivde3h.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4931" title="Valencia and Nashville" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter71-1ivde3h.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="272" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter69-1pat0br.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4929" title="1977 and Kelvin" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/Filter69-1pat0br.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="269" /></a></p>
<p><a name="borders"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h3>Borders</h3>
<p>Most Instagram filters include the option to add a standard border to your photo.  Filters that don&#8217;t include a border option are: Normal, Amaro, Rise and Valencia.</p>
<p>After applying the filter to the photo you just tap on the square in the far upper left hand corner to toggle the border on and off.</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a Lo-fi adjusted image with and without a border:</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4942" title="Lo Fi image with and without border" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/border53-x00we3.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="399" /></p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a Kelvin adjusted image with and without a border:</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4943" title="Kelvin image with and without border" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/border54-1rhi7n9.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="399" /><br />
<a name="lux"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h3>Lux</h3>
<p>Lux works by making your photos more vibrant and brings out the details in your photos that you might not have noticed.  It works by bringing brightness to dark images by filling dark areas with light.  It can also more depth depending on which filter you are using.</p>
<p>The lux icon is the Sun icon located on the bottom left hand side corner.  This feature is not available on all Android devices.</p>
<p>The best option is to toggle lux on and off with each filter to see if it improves the look of your image.</p>
<p><img title="With and without lux" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/lux51-1a89kgt.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="398" /><br />
<a name="tilt"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h3>Tilt Shift</h3>
<p>Tilt-shift photography involves altering the depth of field for what you&#8217;ve captured allowing you to emphasise certain objects in the photo while blurring the surrounding around your chosen objects.</p>
<p>It is normally done using an actual tilt-shift lens on a camera and can be imitated using Photoshop, or using photo apps like Instagram.</p>
<p><strong>To apply a tilt shift in Instagram you just need to:</strong></p>
<p>1.  Select the drop icon (which represents tilt shift) from the top menu.</p>
<p>2.  Choose the linear (-) or radial (o) tilt shift.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4903" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0.4em;" title="Tift shift options" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/tiltshift51-1um9olf.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="415" /></p>
<div>
<p>3.  Drag or tap the double lines (for a linear tilt shift) or circle (for a radial tilt shift) to the desired section of the photo.</p>
<ul>
<li>The translucent white sections will become blurred once you remove your finger from the screen.</li>
<li>You can use a two finger action to expand or contract the size of the radial tilt shift.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4935" title="Changing the size of the radial tilt shift" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/tiltshift54-1f6uund.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="374" /></p>
<ul>
<li>You can also use a two finger action to expand or rotate the direction of the linear tilt shift.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4936" title="Changing the direction of a linear tilt shift" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/tiltshift56-r9c5jn.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="375" /></p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s an example of a radial tilt shift:</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4933" title="Radial tilt shift" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/tiltshift52-2ehwvys.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="375" /></p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s an example of a linear tilt shift:</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4934" title="Linear tilt shift" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/tiltshift53-2asb3dw.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="375" /></p>
<p><a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Sharing a photo taken from inside Instagram</h2>
<p>Taking a photo using instagam is simple:</p>
<p>1.  Just tap on the <strong>&#8220;Camera/Share&#8221;</strong> button.</p>
<p><img title="Click on Camera Share button" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/camera51-1irxofr.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="34" /></p>
<p>2.  You take the photo by tapping on the camera button.</p>
<p>Before taking the photo you can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Try each filter to compare how your pjhoto will look with each effect.</li>
<li>Check what it looks like with radial or linear tilt shift.</li>
<li>Show or hide border.</li>
<li>Decide to use or not use flash.</li>
<li>Change which camera you use i.e. back facing or front facing.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Please note:  </em>Filters, borders, tilt shifts and lux can also be adjusted after the photo is taken.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4946" title="Camera options" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/camera52-100gchl.jpg" alt="" width="564" height="520" /></p>
<p>3. Once the photo is taken you can use the arrow to rotate your image, adjust your lux on or off (by tapping on the Sun icon), change filters and border options.</p>
<p>4.  If satisfied with your image, tap on the green check mark to continue to add caption, location and share.<br />
<a name="captions"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Introduction to captions, hashtags and sharing</h2>
<p>The final step before sharing your photo is adding the caption and your location (optional).</p>
<p>The idea is to make the caption informative or attention grabbing so followers can learn more about your photo if they are interested.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s what photos look like in your Home tab so you can see where the caption appears:</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4949" title="Location of the caption and geolocation when shared" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/caption51-u6qws4.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="384" /></p>
<h3>Editing a caption or comment</h3>
<p>Don&#8217;t stress if you make a mistake.  It&#8217;s easily fixed.</p>
<p>While you can&#8217;t edit a caption or comment; all you need to do is delete it and replace with a new one as follows:</p>
<p>1.  Go to your photo.</p>
<p>2.  Click on <strong>Comment</strong> link under photo.</p>
<p>3.  Tap on the gear icon on the top right corner of the comments screen.</p>
<p>4.  Tap the red &#8216;Do not Enter&#8217; Button next to the comment you want to delete then tap <strong>Delete</strong>.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4952" title="Editing a caption" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/commentdel-ycm2pe.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /></p>
<p>5.  Now just write your new caption or comment.</p>
<p><a name="hashtags"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h3>Using hashtags on Instagram</h3>
<p>You&#8217;ll also notice that some users add hashtags to their captions and comments.</p>
<p>Hashtags work similar to Twitter hashtags.  You can add hashtags to any of your own photos by including hashtags in the caption of your photo or in a comment under the photo.</p>
<p>When you click on a hashtag you&#8217;ll see all photos tagged with the same hashtag.  Here&#8217;s an example of <a href="http://web.stagram.com/tag/chocolate">all photos tagged #chocolate</a>.</p>
<p>You search hashtags in Instagram by:</p>
<p>1.  Going to Your Profile tab.</p>
<p>2.  Tap on <strong>Search Instagram</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4954" title="Go to Search Instagram" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/hashtags51-1ndnzq1.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /></p>
<p>3.  Tap on <strong>Tags </strong>and add your search term.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4955" title="Example of a hashtag" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/hashtags52-23urjzw.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /></p>
<p>Hashtags help users connect with each other.</p>
<p>Some Instagram users use hashtags for photo contests and groups.  For example, a weekly challenge where you submit a photo based on specific subject matter, or where everyone uses a specific photo app, and everyone tags their photo using the same hashtag.  These types of activities help you connect with other enthusiasts.</p>
<p>You can check out example of an instagram hashtags <a href="http://web.stagram.com/tag/bestoftheday/">here for #bestoftheday</a>.  You&#8217;ll see other commonly used hashtags in their captions.</p>
<p>Lots of hashtags in captions can be annoying for some users.  The solution is simple.  Write your caption without your hashtags and then add a comment after you&#8217;ve shared your photo to include all the hashtags you wanted to use.  Remember to make your hashtags relevant to the picture.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4957" title="Adding hashtags to comments" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/hashtags53-2kbu979.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /></p>
<p><a name="services"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Sharing your photos</h2>
<p>Once you&#8217;ve added your caption, and decided if you want to enable location, it&#8217;s time to share your photo by tapping on <strong>Done</strong>.</p>
<p>You can share your photo to Twitter, Facebook and all your other social network services when you post to Instagram or share to them after you&#8217;ve posted it to Instagram.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4959" title="Sharing options" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/sharing51-qjy0yx.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></p>
<p>The benefit of sharing <span style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; line-height: 24px;">to other services later </span>is you can customised the message you want associated with your photo based on where you are sharing.</p>
<h3>You share photos you&#8217;ve already uploaded to Instagram as folllows:</h3>
<p>1. Locate your photo.</p>
<p>2. Tap the<strong> &#8220;&#8230;.&#8221;</strong> link at the bottom right of the photo you want to share.</p>
<p>3.  Tap on <strong>Share post</strong> and select the services you want to share to.</p>
<ul>
<li>Just tap on Setup Sharing if you haven&#8217;t set up your services.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4960" title="Sharing photos after they have been uploaded" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/sharing52-16726b6.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /><br />
<a name="viewing"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Viewing photos posted on Instagram on your computer</h2>
<p>Instagram doesn&#8217;t have a web presence for viewing your photos online and instead you use third-party sites like the following to view them:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://extragr.am/">Extragram</a> &#8211; here&#8217;s <a href="http://extragr.am/suewaters">my photos on Extragram</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://ink361.com">Ink361</a>- here&#8217;s<a href="http://ink361.com"> </a><a href="http://ink361.com/#/users/3991794/photos">my photos on Ink361</a><a href="http://ink361.com"> </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.gramfeed.com/">Gramfeed</a> - here&#8217;s<a href="http://www.gramfeed.com/instagram/tags#suewaters"> my photos on Gramfeed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://statigr.am/">Statigram</a> - here&#8217;s <a href="http://statigr.am/suewaters">my photos on Statigram</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://web.stagram.com/">Webstagram</a> &#8211; here&#8217;s <a href="http://web.stagram.com/n/suewaters/">my photos on Webstagram</a></li>
</ol>
<p><a name="apps"></a><br />
<a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>Other Photo apps and Instagram</h2>
<p>Once you&#8217;ve started using Instagram you&#8217;ll notice that some users share some really amazing photos (check out the Popular tab to see what I mean!).  And if you&#8217;re like me you&#8217;ll start wondering how they create these photos.</p>
<p>Besides taking a great photo some users will process their photos through one or more photo apps before sharing their photos on Instagram.</p>
<p>Instead of using the borders, effects and filters in Instagram they&#8217;ll use photo apps to achieve the look and appearance they&#8217;re trying to achieve then post to Instagram as a finished product.</p>
<p>The most important aspects to be aware of with photo apps are:</p>
<ol>
<li>There are lots of different types of photo apps available.</li>
<li>They vary considerably in quality.</li>
<li>Photo apps have improved considerably in the past few years in terms of the quality of photos they produce.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s what you need to consider when choosing photo apps:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Resolution is the key to image clarity.</li>
<li>Photography apps vary considerably in terms of the resolution they use to save images.</li>
<li>There are many photography apps that only save images at low resolutions. While other apps give you a choice of which resolution you want to use when saving to camera roll</li>
<li>Avoid apps that only save low resolution images</li>
<li>Always work with the maximium resolution setting to ensure best clarity.</li>
<li>Always adjust your resolution setting when you install a new photography app to the maximum resolution before you start using it — better to do this from the start then to suddenly discover you’ve been saving at the lowest resolution.</li>
<li>Look for the <em>i</em>, gear icon or words like Settings, options inside the app to check and adjust the resolution.</li>
<li>One of the reasons why apps process images at lower resolution is it is less taxing on the iPhone’s software and hardware. Lower resolutions allows it to process faster while it’s less likely to crash the app.</li>
<li>You can find that the best photo app lists are based on what&#8217;s popular, or what was the best option when the article was published, as opposed to what is currently produces the best quality image.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Types of Photo Apps</strong></p>
<p>There are so many photo apps it&#8217;s impossible to do them justice in this post so we&#8217;ve just included a brief overview below of a few of the different types of photo apps to get you started.</p>
<p>Check out the following resources if you would like to learn more about using photo apps:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Create-Great-iPhone-Photos-ebook/dp/B004OEJNYC/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2?ie=UTF8&amp;m=A24IB90LPZJ0BS">Create Great iPhone Photos: Apps, Tips, Tricks, and Effects</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/iPhone-Obsessed-editing-experiments-ebook/dp/B004NSVHI4/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&amp;m=A24IB90LPZJ0BS">iPhone Obsessed: Photo editing experiments with Apps</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.iphoneography.com/">iPhoneography blog</a></li>
</ol>
<p><em>Tip:</em></p>
<ul>
<li>It&#8217;s worth cropping your photo into a square before making a lot of changes using a photo app if you are planning on sharing it on Instagram.  Making it the same dimension as you share on Instagram helps you focus on the aspects of the photo you want to be enhancing.</li>
<li>Many photo apps include cropping tools.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Image Editing Apps</h3>
<p>Image Editing apps are considered &#8216;must have apps&#8217; if plan to do any extensive manipulation and altering of your photos.</p>
<p>The best of these apps work like high end desktop image editors such as PhotoShop and include adjusting options such as Curves, Levels, Channel Mixer, Un-Sharp Mask, Sharpen, HSL, White Balance, Shadows &amp; Highlights, Brightness &amp; Contrast, Exposure Adjustment, Noise Reduction, Vibrance as well as FX effects (filters), frames and borders and other tools you&#8217;ll find in other photo apps.</p>
<p>My preferred image editing apps are:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id435789422">PhotoForge2 </a></li>
<li><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photogene2-for-iphone/id463731084?mt=8">PhotoGene2</a></li>
</ol>
<p>PhotoForge2&#8242;s <a href="http://photoforge2.com/tutorials/index.html">online tutorials</a> are a good place to learn the basic of what you can achieve using image editing apps.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s an example of using the history tool on PhotoForge2 to compare effect of changes on the image:</p>
<p><img class="alignnone" title="Comparing changes using PhotoForge2 history" src="http://my366.edublogs.org/files/2012/01/347491273.660401-m0i931.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500" /></p>
<h3>Camera Apps</h3>
<p>Camera apps add in tools missing from your device&#8217;s built in camera app.  Some also include image editing tools for applying filters, frames and making adjustments.  Examples of camera apps include: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/camera+/id329670577?mt=8">Camera+</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/procamera/id300216827?mt=8">ProCamera</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slow-shutter-cam/id357404131?mt=8">Slow Shutter Cam</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/night-camera/id296186779?mt=8">Night Camera</a>.</p>
<h3>Apps for combining photos</h3>
<p>These apps allow you to combine multiple photos into a single image.   Examples of these types of apps include: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/diptic/id377989827?mt=8">Diptic</a>,  <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/frametastic/id427063436?mt=8">Frametastic</a>. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/polyframe/id481964944?mt=8">PolyMagic</a>.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4969" title="Example of images combined into one photo using an app" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/05/diptic51-1dyzvbb.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="375" /></p>
<h3>Panorama Apps</h3>
<p>Panorama Apps let you stitch together images right on your camera.  Examples of these types of apps include:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/autostitch-panorama/id318944927?mt=8">AutoStitch Panorama</a> &#8211; assembles photos from your camera roll into a panorama.</li>
<li><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/360-panorama/id377342622?mt=8">360 Panorama</a> - turns your iPhone into a full featured 360 degree panoramic camera.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="#Back">Back to Top</a></p>
<h2>What Do You Think?</h2>
<p>Have we missed any important tips, good resources or apps you like to use?</p>
<p>Let us know in the comments below and we will be sure to add it to the post!</p>
</div>
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		<title>State of Educational Use of Blogs 2012 Survey</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/0JvJNzlXhwQ/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/05/04/state-of-educational-use-of-blogs-2012-survey/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 May 2012 16:36:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sue Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Using Blogs With Students]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/?p=4807</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re often asked for detailed information on how educators are using blogs. So we&#8217;ve decided the best way to pull together a comprehensive resource is to survey educators. We&#8217;re looking for replies no matter what blogging platform you may be &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/05/04/state-of-educational-use-of-blogs-2012-survey/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re often asked for detailed information on how educators are using blogs.</p>
<p>So we&#8217;ve decided the best way to pull together a comprehensive resource is to survey educators. We&#8217;re looking for replies no matter what blogging platform you may be using.</p>
<p>And here&#8217;s how you can help:</p>
<ol>
<li>Can you complete <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/edublogs.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDVfVXpvQ0I2QUhGTmVkSDFlOHVtNFE6MQ#gid=0">our survey</a>?</li>
<li>Can you share <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/edublogs.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDVfVXpvQ0I2QUhGTmVkSDFlOHVtNFE6MQ#gid=0">a link to our survey</a> with your network?  The more responses we receive, the better the data we can deliver!</li>
<li>Share <strong>links to any recent articles you&#8217;ve written on this topic</strong> by leaving a comment so we can include when we present the survey results.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for helping out and we&#8217;ll be sharing the data we collect in a follow up post.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dDVfVXpvQ0I2QUhGTmVkSDFlOHVtNFE6MQ" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="640" height="2600"></iframe></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Edublogger Debate: Scaffolding vs. Struggling – Can You Be Too Helpful?</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/5XdGSFonODs/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/30/edublogger-debate-scaffolding-vs-struggling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:05:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ronnie Burt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Professional Learning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Using Blogs With Students]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[debate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.com/?p=4796</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My partner in crime here on The Edublogger, Sue Waters, and I have regular debates and conversations around a wide range of topics. Recently, we were talking about best practices of professional development and writing support documents. We then moved &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/30/edublogger-debate-scaffolding-vs-struggling/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My partner in crime here on The Edublogger, Sue Waters, and I have regular debates and conversations around a wide range of topics.</p>
<p>Recently, we were talking about best practices of professional development and writing support documents. We then moved on to a related discussion on best instructional strategies in the classroom when working with students.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4799" title="bigstock-Debate-27087788" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/04/bigstock-Debate-27087788-16y01fy-250x250.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="250" /></p>
<p>One of us believes (and much research will show), that students will remember more and understand better when they <em><strong>struggle with concepts</strong></em> and new ideas. Learning experiences that provide students an opportunity to play with concepts and figure out on their own are best.</p>
<p>The other (with good reasoning and research to back it up too), believes that students that struggle will shut down. A better approach is to provide as much <em><strong>scaffolding </strong></em>as possible &#8211; activities that walk through information in a step-by-step manner.</p>
<p>No doubt that to some extent this will depend on the learner, content, environment, and more. But there is a general philosophy at play.</p>
<h3>What Say You?</h3>
<p>We think many of our readers will have great insight into helping us continue this debate.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s turn this into a blogging discussion!</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s what we&#8217;d like to try and do:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Write a post</strong> on your own blog about this topic. Share your thoughts, examples, research &#8211; or whatever you&#8217;d like</li>
<li>Leave a comment below with a <strong>link to your post</strong></li>
<li>We&#8217;ll compile a list of all submissions at the end of the week on a post here on The Edublogger</li>
</ol>
<div>If this works well, we hope to regularly ask questions like these to help provide everyone with topics to blog about and find new blogs to read.</div>
<h3></h3>
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		<item>
		<title>Help Answer Student’s Questions on Blogging in Education</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/8ADk9yNjrdk/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/23/help-answer-students-questions-on-blogging-in-education/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:36:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sue Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Using Blogs With Students]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/?p=4778</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve been asked for a little help by a student who is researching the history of blogging and how it is being used in education. She has asked some great questions that we know others would like answered as well. &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/23/help-answer-students-questions-on-blogging-in-education/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="I'm BLOGGING this! - MOO Sticker Design by salendron, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/salendron/2234703822/"><img class="alignright" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2028/2234703822_fa7426e59f_m.jpg" alt="I'm BLOGGING this! - MOO Sticker Design" width="240" height="240" /></a>We&#8217;ve been asked for a little help by a student who is researching the history of blogging and how it is being used in education.</p>
<p>She has asked some great questions that we know others would like answered as well.</p>
<p>So we&#8217;ve decided:</p>
<ol>
<li>We would love to hear YOUR answers to some of her questions</li>
<li>We will write a follow up post that pulls together all your responses with the more specific questions we will need to answer</li>
</ol>
<p>Can you help us?</p>
<p><strong>Please share your thoughts on any or all of the following questions:  </strong></p>
<ol>
<li>How long have you been blogging with your students?</li>
<li>How has the educational experience for your students been transformed since you&#8217;ve been blogging with them?</li>
<li>Do you believe that blogs have benefited the education system?</li>
<li>Do you believe that blogs will become a common way of educating people in the future?</li>
<li>Why has the way of teaching through technology grown dramatically?</li>
</ol>
<p>Just leave a comment below with your thoughts or anything else you would like to say about blogging with your students!</p>
<p>Feel free to also answer with a blog post of your own (just leave a link in the comments) or send a tweet to <a href="http://twitter.com/edublogs">@edublogs</a>.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8681074@N03/2234703822/">I&#8217;m BLOGGING this!</a> by salendron.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Celebrating Volunteer Week with VolunteerSpot</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/ZK3cjOb0TmU/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/17/celebrating-volunteer-week-with-volunteerspot/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:47:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ronnie Burt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Working With Web 2.0 Tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[embed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[volunteerspot]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Did you know that this week is National Volunteer Appreciation Week here in the US? We agree that volunteers in schools deserve all the recognition they can get and truly appreciate all they do. Schools and classrooms rely on volunteers for &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/17/celebrating-volunteer-week-with-volunteerspot/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Did you know that this week is <strong>National Volunteer Appreciation Week</strong> here in the US?</p>
<p>We agree that volunteers in schools deserve all the recognition they can get and truly appreciate all they do.</p>
<p>Schools and classrooms rely on volunteers for countless activities, including field trips, school events, working with students, and much more.</p>
<p>But, as we&#8217;ve all probably experienced, recruiting and managing volunteers is not always an easy task. That&#8217;s why we like <a href="http://www.volunteerspot.com/?=Edublogs">VolunteerSpot.com</a> and wanted share.</p>
<p><a href="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/04/volunteerspot-ptjjvh.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4766" title="volunteerspot" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/04/volunteerspot-ptjjvh.jpg" alt="" width="698" height="539" /></a></p>
<p>VolunteerSpot makes it easy to organize teachers, parents and volunteers with <a href="http://www.volunteerspot.com/?=Edublogs"><strong>free online signup sheets</strong></a> and volunteer scheduling.</p>
<p>Using a simple planning wizard, any teacher, room mom, or volunteer leader can create an online signup sheet or signup calendar listing jobs, shifts and things to bring.  Volunteers and parents are invited to the activity with an email message (or a link in a blog or on Facebook) and can quickly choose their spots with just a few clicks – and they never need to register an account.</p>
<p>Volunteers are then sent automated confirmation and reminder messages to help everyone keep their commitments.</p>
<p><strong>Simply organize:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Special events like <a href="http://blog.volunteerspot.com/volunteer_guru/2011/02/best-field-day-games-and-ideas-fabulously-fun.html">field day</a>, <a href="http://www.volunteerspot.com/ebooks/Carnivals">carnivals</a>, and graduation</li>
<li>Exam proctors</li>
<li><a href="http://www.volunteerspot.com/ebooks/ParentTeacherConference/?=Edublogs">Parent-teacher conferences</a></li>
<li>Classroom readers and <a href="http://www.volunteerspot.com/ebooks/ClassParty">end-of-school parties</a></li>
<li>Field trip chaperones and supplies</li>
<li>Service projects (track volunteer hours)</li>
<li>Club tournaments, concessions and swim meets</li>
<li>Library, recess, garden and cafeteria volunteers</li>
</ul>
<h3>Special Upgrade Offer</h3>
<p>VolunteerSpot&#8217;s free service meets the needs of most groups, but there is also an upgraded version that includes hours tracking, extra registration fields, and assistant organizers.</p>
<p>Readers here can get a <strong>free 3 month premium upgrade</strong> simply by using promo code <strong><em>EdublogsDoGood </em></strong>when signing up. <em>This code is good through June 30, 2012.</em></p>
<h3>VolunteerSpot and Your Blog</h3>
<p>We&#8217;ve seen a good number of Edublogs users with links like this to VolunteerSpot activities and events right on their blog.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4772" title="clickhere" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/04/clickhere-1fnb053.jpg" alt="" width="259" height="51" /></p>
<p>To add a sign up button to a page or post on your blog, first create your account and set up an activity at VolunteerSpot.com.</p>
<p>Then look for &#8220;<strong>Create a Link</strong>&#8221; on the left of your dashboard.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4771" title="createalink" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/04/createalink-1uxakfk.jpg" alt="" width="597" height="450" />Copy the code this process creates for you and make sure you paste it into the &#8220;<strong>HTML</strong>&#8221; tab of your editor in your blog&#8217;s dashboard.</p>
<p><a href="http://help.edublogs.org/2011/09/07/enhancing-your-posts-by-embedding-media/">More on embedding code can be found here</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Happy Planning and Happy Volunteer Appreciation Week!</strong></h3>
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		<title>What is the purpose of school?</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/0bzNxRsMzY0/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/04/what-is-the-purpose-of-school/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:38:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ronnie Burt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Professional Learning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.com/?p=4746</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When will I ever use quadratic equations in my &#8220;real&#8221; life? As an Algebra teacher &#8211; this question came up every year in my classroom. And every year, my off-the-cuff answer would change. 1st Year Teacher (ambitious and full of &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/04/04/what-is-the-purpose-of-school/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>When will I ever use quadratic equations in my &#8220;real&#8221; life?</strong></em></p>
<p>As an Algebra teacher &#8211; this question came up every year in my classroom.</p>
<p>And every year, my off-the-cuff answer would change.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4755" title="bigstock_Quadratic_Equations_8848639" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/04/bigstock_Quadratic_Equations_8848639-1idklu7-250x166.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="166" /></p>
<p><strong>1st Year Teacher (ambitious and full of ideas)</strong>: <em>In such cool applications as Physics and object trajectories (like shooting out of a cannon!), economics and optimization, area problems and fence building, and so much more!</em></p>
<p><strong>3rd Year Teaching (beginning to build my teaching rhythm)</strong>: <em>You&#8217;ll really need to understand them when you get to Algebra II and beyond. I mean &#8211; it is the foundation for all polynomial studies! Just trust me. You need to learn them.</em></p>
<p><strong>6th Year Teaching (maybe a bit of cynicism setting in):</strong> <em>Let&#8217;s be honest &#8211; you probably won&#8217;t. But that isn&#8217;t the point. Learning quadratics is a fantastic mental exercise and builds critical thinking skills. The mathematician in me believes they are beautiful. </em></p>
<p>This progression of answers may seem backwards to you and my last answer wasn&#8217;t all that popular with many students (and maybe a few parents too). It goes against the idea that everything we learn in school should be for a specific <strong>purpose</strong>.</p>
<h3>Whose Purpose?</h3>
<p>How we answer questions like these depends on what we view as being most important in the purpose of schools as a whole.</p>
<p>For many, the logic is that younger grades prepare you for older grades, older grades prepare you for the university level, and higher ed prepares you for a job.</p>
<p>This seems reasonable.</p>
<p>Others might argue that in today&#8217;s environment of accountability, the reality is that what you learn today prepares you for the tests you will take at the end of the year. The tests will make sure that you are ready for next year. Next year, you get prepared for another set of tests!</p>
<p>Lather. Rinse. Repeat.</p>
<h3>My Purpose</h3>
<p>What if the real purpose of school wasn&#8217;t about preparing for jobs or creating an informed electorate?</p>
<p>What if was simply about <strong>learning fun stuff, absorbing as many ideas as possible, and seeking answers to challenging questions</strong>?</p>
<p>Instead of concentrating on the visions of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Education_Reform">business leaders</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act">politically motivated legislation</a>, we need to continuously evaluate what students need and deserve out of their school careers.</p>
<p>My ideal purpose of schools and formal education is to expose students to as many ideas, topics, and challenges as possible. The end results (achievement tests) and the specific curriculum covered isn&#8217;t nearly as important as the learning experiences along the way.</p>
<p>The rest will then fall in to place.</p>
<p>What I am saying, especially to all of my friends and former colleagues in the midst of another stressful round of heavy state testing &#8211; do not forget that all of those great lessons, activities, and projects you did with your students this school year are <strong>way more important</strong> than any test results or grades.</p>
<p>Yes, really.</p>
<h3>WHAT&#8217;S YOURS?</h3>
<p>Leave a comment below with your ideal purpose, or any relevant thoughts you might have!</p>
<p>Image: Quadratic Equations from <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-8848639/stock-photo-quadratic-equations" target="_blank">Bigstock</a></p>
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		<title>Interview with Jeff Meade from the Smithsonian’s EdLab</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/7h1ylbhJGfo/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/03/07/interview-with-jeff-meade-from-the-smithsonian%e2%80%99s-edlab/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:20:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sue Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Professional Learning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/?p=4396</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We’re always interested in programs that are designed to help teachers incorporate new technologies and 21st century skills into classroom teaching. So when I heard about Smithsonian’s EdLab I contacted Jeff Meade, their Mobile Learning Program Lead, and asked him &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/03/07/interview-with-jeff-meade-from-the-smithsonian%e2%80%99s-edlab/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We’re always interested in programs that are designed to help teachers incorporate new technologies and 21st century skills into classroom teaching.</p>
<p>So when I heard about Smithsonian’s <a href="http://www.edlab.si.edu/">EdLab</a> I contacted Jeff Meade, their Mobile Learning Program Lead, and asked him to tell us how they are helping educators.</p>
<p><strong>Check out what he has to say:</strong></p>
<h3>Can you tell us what is EdLab?</h3>
<p>The EdLab is a place for educators to explore and establish new media practices for their classrooms. We provide workshops that put teacher in the creative role, solving missions, working in teams, and exploring digital and analog (non-digital) tools. We emphasize learning from failure, using the right tool for the job, building 21st century skills, and empowering teachers and students to make a difference in the world.</p>
<p>EdLab hosts weekend workshops during the school year and week-long workshops during the summer. Workshops leverage digital media to increase connections between Smithsonian museums, collections and experts to focus on authentic learning.</p>
<p>Signing up is easy- you can join us for free on the <a href="http://npm.si.edu/edlab/index.html">Postal Museum’s website</a>.</p>
<h3>What about educators who can’t attend your EdLab Workshops? How can they get involved?</h3>
<p>We’ve started a new <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/edlablivingarchive/database">Living Archive</a> of resources and teacher-inspired connections. Connections are mission-based learning plans embracing authentic learning experiences, peer feedback, product creation and sharing opportunities.</p>
<p>Teachers can check out ideas for activities they can do with their students or get in and <a href="http://www.edlab.si.edu/connect.html">share their ideas</a> with us. A good way to get started is on the EdLab facebook page where we discuss current education issues and share what educators are doing in the classroom. We also showcase work being done by teachers on <a href="http://www.edlab.si.edu/">our blog</a>.</p>
<h3>Why was EdLab program started?</h3>
<p>The <em>why</em> behind EdLab is the fun part.</p>
<p>Teachers are looking for new ways to connect with their students. EdLab enables us to help educators achieve their goals while helping them make sense of how museum resources can be used with students.</p>
<p>EdLab’s emphasis on digital media skills is <a href="http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/MjcyNDE1MzU2">not the only reason</a> teachers come- teachers say they’re fed up with with students being disengaged from curriculum content and, well, the kids are bored. Bored students do not make teaching any fun.</p>
<h3>What is the role of the Smithsonian?</h3>
<p>We challenge teachers in EdLab workshops to make sense of the Smithsonian by connecting museums, collections or experts to real life and current events. The Smithsonian has vast resources that include millions of objects, nineteen museums, a national zoo, expert curators, international research facilities and partnerships with museums and education groups around the globe. The question is, how do we use these museum resources to enrich the content taught in classrooms, promote research and critical thinking skills and give students ownership over the largest museum institution in the world?</p>
<p>Museums and classrooms both face the same difficulty in making content about the here and now. Ideas don’t just live in a textbook or under an exhibit vitrine. They come alive when learners can not only increase knowledge, but do something with it.</p>
<p>That makes me think of the Smithsonian’s mission: to <em>increase and diffuse knowledge</em>. The increase part isn’t so tough, but the <em>diffusion</em> implies action.</p>
<h3>Does the content connections need to take place only at the Smithsonian?</h3>
<p>No! In fact, I’ll give you an example:</p>
<p>I was chatting on Facebook this weekend with a teacher friend in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/PE-Kids-Going-Global-Postcard-Swapping/209600635717185">South Africa</a>. She’s curious to hear ideas on teaching ancient civilizations to her 5th graders. Ancient civilization is one of those topics that you either just love (like me- I have a B.A. in Ancient History and religious studies) or just really don’t.</p>
<p>The problem is that we teach Ancient history like it’s in the past- Mesopotamia “happened,” then Ancient Egypt “happened,” then Greece and then Rome. So on and so forth.</p>
<p>I asked her if any of the key themes she teaches about ancient history are still relevant and unsolved today. Themes like social organization, economic systems, city planning and community design, religious influence, art and culture exploration/demonstrations&#8230;Funny thing is that we still haven’t figured these themes out yet, so perhaps we should ask the 5th grade what their solutions might be! Better yet, let’s give the 5th grade a chance to research their questions, reach conclusions, document their understanding, then share those ideas with others actively trying to solve the world’s problems.</p>
<p>Challenging 5th graders in this way and giving them an opportunity to share what they’ve learned with real people doing real work means that students are active community participants and even global citizens. Seriously, in the 5th grade- in Ancient civilization class!</p>
<h3>And where do museums come into the picture?</h3>
<p>Museums are great places to find a grounded bit of research. In a sea of information, its really nice to have a raft to cling to! Museums and cultural institutions are all over the world and half the time they’ve fallen into distant memory as random statues, historic houses, etc. Try taking a look around your community and see how many places like this really exist.</p>
<p>Washington DC is filled with monuments to people most folks today have never even heard of!! And these are supposed to be national American heroes! I’m not trying to discourage anyone from coming to the Smithsonian, I’m just saying that you have more resources available than you might realize right where you live.</p>
<h3>What are the benefits in participating in EdLab programs?</h3>
<p>For starters, our teacher participants come away inspired and feel that the content they are responsible for is exciting.</p>
<p>Seriously, science is not just something you study, it’s something you do. Science is action-oriented and becomes a civic responsibility that even the first graders counting worms on the playground can participate in. Students, on the other hand, feel like school is fun and actually has a purpose! Who would of thought?</p>
<h3>Just as a reminder, how can educators get involved?</h3>
<ol>
<li>We welcome any educator who is able to attend our workshops to attend! Summer is a great time to travel, and we’d be happy to have any educator in our workshops.</li>
<li>You can also get involved by exploring your local museums and cultural sites. Real connections can be found there, and it’s even better when you challenge your students to find those connections. Make them get out of the classroom and explore their local community.</li>
<li>Also, document the connections you find between your classroom content and real world learning. There is simply no reason we have to teach alone anymore, so share all of these ideas.</li>
<li>Check out our showcase of work being done by teachers on <a href="http://www.edlab.si.edu/">our blog</a></li>
<li>We’ve started a new <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/edlablivingarchive/database">Living Archive</a> of resources and teacher-inspired connections, so get in there and <a href="http://www.edlab.si.edu/connect.html">share your ideas</a> with us.</li>
<li>Thanks Jeff for telling us about Smithsonian’s <a href="http://www.edlab.si.edu/">EdLab</a></li>
</ol>
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		<title>Don’t Miss Out! Student Blogging Challenge Starts Soon</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/H3XcOqACSUU/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/29/dont-miss-out-student-blogging-challenge-starts-soon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:53:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ronnie Burt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Using Blogs With Students]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[student blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[student blogging challenge]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The Student Blogging Challenge is a free and open collaborative project that runs for 10 weeks twice each year. And the next series starts next week, so now is your chance to register and get involved! Classes register here Students &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/29/dont-miss-out-student-blogging-challenge-starts-soon/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The <a href="http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/">Student Blogging Challenge</a> is a free and open collaborative project that runs for 10 weeks twice each year.</p>
<p><a href="http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org"><img class="size-full wp-image-4726 aligncenter" title="challenge" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/02/challenge-16hh87t.png" alt="" width="414" height="142" /></a></p>
<p><strong>And the next series starts next week, so now is your chance to register and get involved!</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/register-drop-down-list/classes-register-march-2012/">Classes register here</a></li>
<li><a href="http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/register-drop-down-list/students-register-march-2012/">Students register here</a></li>
<li><a href="http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/register-drop-down-list/mentors-register-march-2012/">Mentors register here</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Students and classes that participate work through a set of challenge activities that build blogging skills and foster collaboration by all involved.</p>
<h3>Quick facts:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Anyone can participate using any blogging platform</li>
<li>All levels of blogging skills welcome &#8211; complete beginners encouraged to join</li>
<li>Teachers can tailor the challenges or incorporate theme however needed to fit in your time frame and curriculum</li>
</ul>
<p>This post wouldn&#8217;t be complete without recognizing the tireless efforts of the volunteer coordinator of the challanges, Sue Wyatt. From everyone involved, <strong>we can&#8217;t thank you enough</strong>!</p>
<p><strong>Don&#8217;t miss out! </strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>The Class Blog List has been updated! Is your class blog on the list?</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/rqC_iPp82XU/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/28/the-class-blog-list-has-been-updated-is-your-class-blog-on-the-list/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:57:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sue Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Using Blogs With Students]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[class blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/?p=4690</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Once yearly we go through the entire Edublogger&#8217;s class blog list to ensure the list remains current, contains helpful resources and see what else we can do to help you to find class blogs for the grades and subjects you teach. &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/28/the-class-blog-list-has-been-updated-is-your-class-blog-on-the-list/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/02/classlist-1kwqcdn.pdf"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4705" title="classlist" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/02/classlist-10xvty9.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="278" /></a></p>
<p>Once yearly we go through the entire <a href="http://theedublogger.com/check-out-these-class-blogs/">Edublogger&#8217;s class blog list</a> to ensure the list remains current, contains helpful resources and see what else we can do to help you to find class blogs for the grades and subjects you teach.</p>
<p>We&#8217;ve just completed the 2012 update!  We hope you find the list helps.</p>
<p><strong>You can view the list by:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Going to our <a href="http://theedublogger.com/check-out-these-class-blogs/">Check out our class blog list</a> page.</li>
<li>Downloading our <a href="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/02/classlist-1kwqcdn.pdf">Edublogger&#8217;s class blog list PDF</a> &#8212; handy if you want to print copies to share with others!</li>
<li>Scrolling to the bottom of this post to view our embedded <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AnuR2-1MSEbqdDQ4dHNxb3pzWE9Xb0tadXVFR1JjOEE&amp;output=html">Google Spreadsheet of the Edublogger&#8217;s class blog list</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p>Please let us know if you would like your class blog added to the list.  We add new blogs onto the list throughout the year and would love to add yours.</p>
<h3>About The Edublogger&#8217;s Class Blog list</h3>
<p>The Edublogger&#8217;s class blog list was originally <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2008/11/10/calling-all-class-blogsplease-share-your-blog-url-with-us/#comments">created in 2008</a> for educators to use as a resource to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Get ideas on how class blogs are used with students.</li>
<li>Check out ideas they can use with their students and on their own class blog.</li>
<li>Make connections with classes in other countries.</li>
</ul>
<p>Now 3 years since the list was first created:</p>
<ul>
<li>It’s still growing &#8212; the list is updated monthly to add new class blogs to the list.</li>
<li>It’s the most visited page on this blog</li>
</ul>
<p>The list is created by teachers who submit their class blogs to be added to it by leaving a comment on these posts.  </p>
<h3>Keeping the list current</h3>
<p>To ensure that the class blog list remains current and contain helpful resources we go through the entire list once a year to remove any blogs that:</p>
<ol>
<li>Have been deleted</li>
<li>No longer exist</li>
<li>Are no longer active (haven’t updated recently)</li>
<li>Have changed their privacy from public to private.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Improving the list</h3>
<p>During the yearly update we also look at how we can improve the list.   This year we have made the following changes:</p>
<ul>
<li>We&#8217;ve changed to an embedded Google spreadsheet because it makes it easier to quickly update the list.</li>
<li>We&#8217;re broken the class blog list into Grades; Subject Areas such as Maths, Science, English, History, LOTE, EFL /ESL; type of blog such as Library, School news.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Blogging Since</h3>
<p>We&#8217;re also aware that with some many blogs on the list that educators needed a way to quickly scan the list while learning more about the age of specific blogs.</p>
<p>The solution was the Blogging Since information.  For example, 2004 means the blog has been used for class blogging since 2004 whereas 2009 means a blog with has been used as a class blog since 2009. A class blog with ‘Since’ and the date indicates the teacher has been blogging for awhile but is now using a different class blog URL.</p>
<p>I continue to be amazed with how long some of these blogs have been used for class blogging!</p>
<h3>Is your Class Blog on the List?</h3>
<p><strong>If you want to add your class blog to this list (or update your class blog details) leave a comment on this post to share with us:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Your Class Blog title(s) and URL(s).</li>
<li>Grade level(s) of your student</li>
<li>If applicable. what subject areas or class blog category?  Refer to the category list on <a href="http://theedublogger.com/check-out-these-class-blogs/">Our check out Class blogs</a> page.</li>
<li>Country</li>
<li>Age of class blog.  Blogging since?</li>
<li>Feel free to add other information as educators refer to comments to create connections with other class blogs!</li>
</ol>
<p>Please check the <a href="http://theedublogger.com/check-out-these-class-blogs/">Check out Class Blogs</a> list first before providing updated information.</p>
<p>And here&#8217;s the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AnuR2-1MSEbqdDQ4dHNxb3pzWE9Xb0tadXVFR1JjOEE&amp;output=html">complete Edublogger&#8217;s Class Blog list</a>:</p>
<p><em>Just click on their blog title to visit the class blog!</em></p>
<p><iframe width='590' height='1500' frameborder='0' src='https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AnuR2-1MSEbqdDQ4dHNxb3pzWE9Xb0tadXVFR1JjOEE&#038;single=true&#038;gid=0&#038;output=html&#038;widget=true'></iframe></p>
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		<title>Essential Tips to Help Parents and Students Connect with your Class Website</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheEdublogger/~3/N58FAhEClKI/</link>
		<comments>http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/21/essential-tips-to-help-parents-and-students-connect-with-your-class-website/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:04:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sue Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Working With Web 2.0 Tools]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/?p=4611</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lately we&#8217;re getting more emails from parents and students asking us to help them find the class blog or explain how to do things like add comments. After spending the past few days trying to find my own son&#8217;s class &#8230; <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/21/essential-tips-to-help-parents-and-students-connect-with-your-class-website/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_4619" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22750018@N05/4434362439/"><img class="size-full wp-image-4619  " title="Computer" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/02/computer-2fvpuqb.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="133" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Stupid computer</p></div>
<p>Lately we&#8217;re getting more emails from parents and students asking us to help them find the class blog or explain how to do things like add comments.</p>
<p>After spending the past few days trying to find my own son&#8217;s class website I&#8217;m really feeling their frustration.  You&#8217;ve more chance of finding a needle in a haystack than a website if the web address is wrong and the site is set up to block search engines.</p>
<p>A class website can really help students with their learning and it doesn&#8217;t need to send your parents and students crazy trying to work out how to find it or use it.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s our two simple tips to help reduce their frustrations:</p>
<h3>1.  Create a Parent Handout</h3>
<p>The best way of making sure both parents and your students know how to find and use your website is to explain it using a handout.</p>
<p>Check out Kathleen Morris&#8217;s <a href="http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/files/2011/02/10-Steps-to-Navigating-the-2KM-and-2KJ-Blog-2011.pdf">10 Steps to Navigating the 2KM and 2KJ Blog</a>.  It&#8217;ll help you work out the type of information needed for a parent handout.</p>
<p>Make sure when you include your website address that you double check it is correct by clicking on the link <img src='http://theedublogger.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   You would be amazed at the number of URLs we&#8217;re sent each day that are completely wrong or missing a letter.</p>
<p>Tips:</p>
<ul>
<li>We&#8217;ll often see teachers include www. in their website address.</li>
<li>Websites like blogs and wikis generally don&#8217;t include www in their web address; adding it to your URL means the website takes longer to load because it needs to redirect to the correct URL.</li>
<li>I use SnagIT to create quick screen captures with arrows, text and effects.  You can <a href="http://www.techsmith.com/snagit2-1111.html?gclid=CNvc0MKcr64CFQaBpAodmgI4Pg">download a 30 free trial here</a>!</li>
</ul>
<div><a href="http://files.campus.edublogs.org/global2.vic.edu.au/dist/8/5256/files/2011/02/10-Steps-to-Navigating-the-2KM-and-2KJ-Blog-2011.pdf"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4622" title="Tips for creating a parent handout" src="http://theedublogger.com/files/2012/02/handout-1xwryn0.jpg" alt="" width="499" height="441" /></a></div>
<h3>2.  Gradually Introduce your website to your students</h3>
<p>Never assume your students will know how to use your website.</p>
<p>Our experience is students generally don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s expected of them and too often teachers assume too much.</p>
<p>The same principles apply regardless if you are working with younger students, teenagers or adults and the type of website you are using &#8212; the more you guide them through the process of what&#8217;s involved the more they&#8217;ll get out of it.</p>
<p>Check out Kathleen Morris&#8217;s information under <a href="http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2012/01/29/five-steps-to-starting-a-class-blog-in-2012/">4.  Introduce your blog to students</a> &#8211; it&#8217;s a great example how to gradually introduce and build on their skills.</p>
<h3>What do you think?</h3>
<p>How else do you help your parents and students?  What other advice would you give teachers?</p>
<p>Let us know in the comments below and we will be sure to add it to the post!</p>
<p>Image of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22750018@N05/4434362439/">Stupid computer by f1uffster (Jeanie)</a> licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution 2.0</a>.</p>
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