Create a classroom newspaper using Google Docs

Google Docs is an amazing way to create a classroom newspaper. Last night we scheduled a SchoolNet webinar featuring Brenda Hallowes from Port Elizabeth, where she outlined how she uses Google Docs to create classroom newspapers with Foundation Phase students.

First she starts off with a template like this one shown below. This template can be accessed here.

Here is another template sample that can be accessed here.

The class is then assigned different parts of the template to write on at the same time. This is the beauty of working in a collaborative programme such as Google Docs.

Here is the screencast that Brenda created for the webinar. Take a look and listen.



I am hoping that Brenda will send me a link to the finished product. This is a fantastic lesson to do with a class that has computer access. Thank you for sharing this Brenda.

The AMAZING Google Chrome (webinar presentation)

My experience of Google Chrome is that it is one of the fastest internet browsers available today. It also offers some great features, including synchronization across computers, multiple browsers, autofill, application and extensions for every browsing situation. The webinar last night mentioned some of these features. Thank you very much to all who attended the SchoolNet webinar last night entitled 'The AMAZING Google Chrome'. I hope you were inspired to try more of what this browser offers.

The presentation on SlideShare

If you would like access to the presentation used in the webinar it can be downloaded from Slideshare as a PDF. Here is the link:

The AMAZING Google Chrome from Fiona Beal


Recording

If you missed the webinar (18 minutes) and would like to list to what was said, here is the recording link: http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/p29kfsqcsu3/

Back up your Blogger blog

Recently I was opening my Blogger blog when I was directed to a message from Google saying that people in two parts of the world (Austria and Sweden) were trying to access the blog. Google gave the IP address of the devices concerned  They had refused permission to these unknown people but wanted to know if I wanted to give them access – good old Google! They advised me to change my password in case it was someone trying to compromise my account…which of course I did. So I knew it was time for me to back up my blog!

Other reasons for backing up a blog
I remember Richard Byrne on this blog Free technology 4 teachers urging his readers one time, as a weekend project,  to back up our blogs; so I crossed over to his post for guidance.  He gives some good reasons for backing up a blog, 'The fact of the matter is, if we rely on a free web-based service we should be aware of the possibility that it could shut-down or move to a fee model at some point. To that end, we should be in the habit of periodically creating offline back-ups of our data.’

How to back up a blog?
It is a relief to know that nothing happens to the original blog when you backup!  I have put the steps I took into a Slideshare. It was rather nerve-wracking at first as I imagined how it would be if something went wrong and I lost the whole blog! To allay that fear I practised on a not-too-important previous blog and all went well. So here is what I did...

Back up your Blogger blog from Fiona Beal

What else can be done with the exported file? 
If you decide to change blogging platforms you can import the xml backup files to the new blog. Amazing! The other thing you can do with the xml file is convert it to a PDF and make it into a book using BlogBooker – a free service! It takes about 5 minutes. Imagine how nice it would be to do this for your students’ blogs at the end of a year!  BlogBooker points to some public examples on the web to look at.

You can also get this done professionally on the web into a hard cover book using blog2print. I have seen one of these at a friend's house and they are lovely.

If you are the proud owner of a Blogger or Edublogs/Wordpress blog please think about backing up your blog. It would be a terrible plight to lose all those hard-earned hours of work just like that!

Further reading
1) 7 tips for turning your blog into a book
2) How to back up your blog and why you should