Using Video on Blogs

You can post an occasional video on your blog, but if dedicate your blog to video, it will have to go by another name. This type of blog is known as a vlog.

A vlog is a blog that focuses on video, embedded directly in the post. A vlog should have a theme. Here's an example of a vlog, The Vlog Blog.

If you decide to create a vlog, there are some things to think about. You really can't share a vlog in the lab with all of your students and expect them to view videos simultaneously while sitting next to each other because that, of course, is network abuse. It is quite a strain on any network, and it will indeed slow things down for everyone. Instead, your vlog should be viewed by visitors at home, or by groups of students gathered around one machine.

Now that you have seen an example of a vlog, perhaps you are only interested in displaying a video occasionally on your blog.  There are a few ways to do this.

1. If you are using a source like Teacher Tube, or YouTube, you will find an embed code right on the page. Although it looks like gibberish, you can confidently copy the embed code and paste it into a blogger post, if you change the mode in the upper-right hand corner from Compose to Edit HTML. Don't worry, copying and pasting is easy, and it will work.
2. If you're using YouTube video, it's important to remember to deselect the option to include related videos underneath the embed code. Sometimes these videos are inappropriate. Thanks to Amy Vogt for the reminder!
3. If you want to conserve space on your blog, a very good option is to "fake it". You can take a snapshot of the video and use the Picture Gadget to post it in the sidebar. Copy the link to the video and paste it in the Picture Gadget and your viewers will be taken directly to the website where they can view the video. (See my example in the sidebar.)
   
4. If you're thinking about downloading a unitedstreaming/Discovery Education video and including it on your blog, please think again. This is quite illegal. D97 pays for a subscription to unitedstreaming/Discovery Education which allows us to share the video with our students, but not the world. There are copyright rules posted right on the unitedstreaming page.

Please remember, streaming video can drain any network. Be creative in the way that you ask students to view video. Project it to a screen for all, send students to your classroom computer in groups to view the video, and certainly send them home to view a video as homework. Students will most likely enjoy this type of assignment and they are bound to do it. After all, video is something they spend a lot of their free time viewing.

Please do choose educationally appropriate video carefully and also take a minute to view the carefully chosen video I've posted in the sidebar of this blog, Why Let Students Blog? by Rachel Boyd

Photo Galleries

 If you already have a Google Account, it's easy to login to Picassa Web Albums. Every image you upload to your blog is automatically saved there. You can create a slideshow of photos and publish them as a gadget in the sidebar of your blog.

Get directions in the handouts section of this blog.

Links

A link allows you to direct your visitors to a document or website and connect it to your blog. It's a good thing because it let's you conserve space on the blog itself. Think of the blog as the launcher and remember that visitors to your blog are not going to scroll through the blog looking for information. Rather, they are going to take in the information they can see on the screen when the blog loads.

Here is information about types of links:
You can create a link right within a post, but perhaps the best place for a link is in the sidebar of your blog because it will stay there until you decide to move it.  Links in the sidebar are Gadgets and there are a few different Gadgets to use to create them. Step-by-step directions for creating these types of links can be found in the sidebar of this blog.

The Text Gadget simply provides you with a place in the sidebar to post text. Within the text gadget you will find a symbol to create a link at the top of the screen.  Just highlight the text you want to link, paste the web address in the box that appears, and Save.  

The Picture Gadget lets you create a visual link in the sidebar, like I have done on this blog. You can upload an image, then use the link box to type in the web address. When visitors click on the picture, they will jump to the designated web address. 

The Links List Gadget is the Blogger tool designed to create links, but after much experience using this particular gadget with teachers, I can tell you that it tends to cause confusion. My advice is to skip this gadget and simplify your blogging  by using the Text Box or Pictures Gadget.