Blogging Skills

	Blogroll Description: A Blogroll allows you to display links to other blogs that you read or that you see connection with. This is not only a helpful aspect for readers of your blog to find other resources but also shows where you see yourself in the educational blog world (edublogosphere). Activity: In the blogging system we use (WordPress) the blogroll is now called Links Manager. Set up a blogroll on your blog site. Select blogs that make sense to you or that you read frequently.
	Searching Blogs Description: Although following a specific blog or set of blogs is helpful, it is also important to follow topics across blogs. Using specific search tools designed to look at blogs are good. The key with these is that you can actually follow a specific tag (think keyword) or subscribe to a specific search. This means that once you have found a good search phrase, you can see regularly what is posted that follows that topic. Activity: Select a topic that you want to follow across the blogoshpere. Use a blog specific search engine to search for that topic. Tweak your search until it is finding what you want. Save that specific search for later use.
	Google Reader Description: The real power of blogging technology involves three little letters- RSS. Basically, this allows you to subscribe to the blogs and have the posts come to you. Activity: Set-up A Google Reader account and subscribe to some favorite blogs (don't forget the GRS cohort). If you already have an account, there is an AMAZING amount of additional options in Google Reader. Look at the advanced tutorials for these.
	Embedding links Description: A powerful aspect of blogging is the ability to interconnect to various blogs. You will need to be able to embed links in both your posts, but also (if the blog allows it) in your comments. This creates a hyperlink over to another webpage, blogpost or comment. Activity: Create a post that links to another blog entry. Then on the other blog site, comment with your thoughts and a link back to your post on the subject.
	Adding Media Description: The 'next level' of making interesting blog posts is the ability to embed media into those posts. This takes the video, photos, etc and places them right in the text of your blog rather than just having a link. Activity: Create a post and add media to it. Note that both the type of blog you use (wordpress) and the type of media you are trying to embed both effect if you can do it and how to do it. Once you have succeeded at placing photos or video, you may want to get more creative and see what else you can embed. Many Web 2.0 tools allow you to embed the work you do on one site into your blog.