blog design

You are going to be a blogger! So exciting, right?! I assign at least one entry per week, usually on Friday (so you have the weekend to draft, review, and revise prior to publishing). 

Maybe you already have a blog. Create a new one for this class. Here's how:

1. Create a Gmail account separate from your Lewis gmail account (you are able to create more than one Gmail account). Go to Gmail.com, and sign up for a new one. Be sure to write down your new username and password. Please choose a username that is appropriate for a university course and one that is as close to your actual name as is possible.
2. To create your blog, you may do one of two things. You may choose from your apps; the icon looks like a small grid @ the upper right of your Gmail page. Scroll until you see the icon for "Blogger," and choose it. You may go straight to Blogger.com to start.
3. Choose "create a blog." 
4. Follow the tutorial. 
5. You can make all sorts of interesting design choices by selecting "Design" from the upper right of the main blog page. Or, you can begin designing by using the menus you will see at your "My Blogs" page (clicking the Blogger icon will take you directly there). 
6. Choose "Customize" to see all options. Remember to "apply" to blog after you decide upon the choices that you like.
7. Choose wisely, and remember that good design depends upon readability, which includes:

•  A good amount of "white space" (clear space for legible text). 
• "Openness." Try to avoid the temptation to overcrowd your blog with images, but
• Include images strategically. Choose images to reflects your disposition to the class, to writing, or to some particular topic you're reflection upon in a post.
• Choose fonts and colors carefully; help your readers read your posts clearly. 
• Provide captions for your images, especially if you download them from the Internet and are not using images that you yourself created. For your caption text, write "image source" in very small, light lettering. Then, highlight the link icon in your menu options, and paste in the copied URL (web address) from which you found the image. Alternatively, create a "Works Cited" list at the bottom of your posts.

Send your new, non-Lewis Gmail address and your blog's URL (web address in the topmost address bar) to dr.kyburz@gmail.com. I will then add you to the blogroll. 

how to locate your Blogger Blog's URL (web address):

1. Go to your Blogger Blog.
2. Go to "Dashboard."
3. Go to "Settings."
4. Go to "Publishing." There, you should find your blog's URL. If you have not specified one (if the field that says "Blogspot address" is blank), go ahead and give your blog a name. Choose wisely so that you emit a sense of self that seems appropriate for this course blog.
5. Start blogging! I suggest starting with reflective writing about a picture you like that's currently topmost in your files. Post it and write about what it means to you. Be sure to respond to 2-3 peers' posts.