Blogging Syllabus

BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS

Course Description
Because blogs are easy to setup and require little or no start-up costs they have enabled users to quickly and easily publish their thoughts and ideas on the Web. Blogs are used to promote every kind of business, sporting event, musical activity, or provide information to readers. This hands-on training class is designed to take you step-by-step through the process of starting a blog, choosing its look, posting content and uploading images. We will also discuss how to expand and enrich your blog, count traffic and use RSS Feeds and Aggregators to quickly and automatically find content on the Web.

Course Objectives:

	Know what a Blog is, why and how it can be used
	Learn how to choose a blog platform
	Design, create and professionally manage a blog using blogger.com
	Learn how to use Blogger Help
	Learn how to insert hyperlinks and images into your blog
	Expand and enrich your blog using special features like Audioblogger
	Register and optimize your blog with search engines
	Advertise, market and promote your blog Web site
	Attract and track visitors to your business Web site
	Use RSS feeds and aggregators to find and distribute content for your blog
	Manage your blog and keep it up-to-date

Class Prerequisites:

Knowledge of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.
Web browsing skills and knowledge of email.

Blogging Resources:

Tutorials, Books, Newsletters

Week 1 - Introduction to Blogging First Hour: Overview of Blogging Class

	A. Student Introductions. Class web site. Class Blog.
	B. Blog Definitions. Resources: Online Tutorials, Books. Blog Examples
	C. Intro to OLLI Class. Student Emails. Link students to class blog.

Second Hour: Setting up your blog using www.blogger.com

	Online Tutorial (http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=113)
	Create an account. Name your blog. Choose your template. Use Blogger Help
	Complete a user description. Post your first entry. Publish and view your blog

Week 2 - Adding Hyperlinks and Images to Your Blog
First Hour: Overview of hyperlinks and images

	How to use hyperlinks in your blog. Uploading images. Use images as a hyperlink.
	Upload images Using Flickr. From the Web Doing more with Links
	Editing Blogging templates. Edit User Profile. Edit Settings. Word Verification.

Second Hour: Blog Writing Tips and Model Blog sites

	Finding and attracting an audience. Blogging Tips. Blog Ethics.
	Model Blog Sites Time Magazine's Best 50. 2005 Weblog Awards
	Demonstrate individual student blogs

Week 3 - Expand and Enrich Your Blog

First Hour: Special blogging features

Editing a Sidebar. Audioblogger. FAQ. Sitemeter.

Blog Portals: Blogarama. Online Communities. EatonWeb. GoogleWeblog. Purdue U.

Popular Blogs: Google Blog Search. SFGate. Compact

Second Hour: How Bloggers attract viewers and make Money from Blogs

Demonstrate individual student blogs

Problogger.net. Search engine optimization. Google Analytics.

Google Adsense Using Banner Ads. BreedTraffic. Affiliate Programs. FindSticky

Week 4 - Promote and Manage Your Blog

First Hour: Active Blogging Tools

Blog tracking directories: del.icio.us. Blo.gs, Technorati, Livejourna FeedBlitz

RSS Feeds. Aggregators. MyYahoo. Google Reader. Bloglines. NewsGator. Pluck

Blogger Relaunch. blogroll, weblogs.com, trackbacks, & backlinks.

Second Hour: How to create your own web site

How to create and host your own web site for under $20 per year

Discount-Hosting. godaddy.com, Other Web Hosing sites

Demonstrate individual student blogs. Class Evaluations

Updated 07/27/2006