Blogging with WordPress

Blogging with WordPressDaniel Mackley & Phil Vincent

Technology Enhanced Learning Advisors

d.mackley@yorksj.ac.uk, p.vincent@yorksj.ac.uk

Introduction

WordPress is a online platform that allows you to (individually or collaboratively) create websites and blogs.

It’s free to use and everybody at YSJ has access to their own WordPress site.

8+ ways to use blogs in Teaching & Learning

LSE Centre for Learning Technology / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Commentary and Expert Analysis

Blogs are an ideal tool for disseminating regular commentary and opinion. These blogs might be written by a single author or several; multi-author blogs in particular can provide an opportunity for sharing and expanding impact.

News and Announcements

This covers a variety of uses: departmental news, service updates, events or the latest information on a specific theme.

Supporting Research Projects

A website is a common requirement for funded research projects. Blogs make an ideal tool for recording the process and disseminating outputs.

Learning Journals

Students can use blogs to support and develop their learning. These blogs are often reflective and might be private, shared with a teacher or completely public.

Learning Communities

This could be a group blog for a course involving teachers and / or students using it to share information and discuss the course. Learning communities can also be more loosely connected networks involving many individuals reading and commenting on each other’s blogs around a common theme.

Personal Homepage

Blogs can be used by university staff and students as an alternative to a traditional homepage.

Resource Sharing

Many blogs are developed specifically to share resources with their community.

Collaborative Authoring

Blogs can be used to develop a ‘publication’. Commenting allows readers and collaborators to discuss each other’s contributions or annotate a text.

Other uses of WordPress

• Collaborative class websites & blogs• Online textbook / class publications• Online Portfolio / reflective writing• Collaborative assessments • Placement journals• Soft marketing tool – share course insights to

perspective students & parents• Create websites for clubs, students groups, events,

sports teams or just about any other type of group • Get feedback or gather information on the course

(comments, forums, forms)

Accessing your website

You can find your own personal website space by going to this URL and logging in with your YSJ IT username and password: http://blog.yorksj.ac.uk

Thereafter, you can access your own website space directly by using the following URL: http://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/[insert your IT Username]

http://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/d.mackley

Example WordPress Blogs

• Technology Enhanced Learning • iPad Project • Inclusive Assessment• Wilson Waffling• Theatre @ YSJ

Let’s take a look…

Any Questions?

If you have any questions after the session, please email: tel@yorksj.ac.uk