Friday, August 31, 2007

Welcome to our class blog!

If you aren't sure what a blog is, click here first.

Generally, blogs post new entries (called posts) at the top of the page and older entries can be found as one scrolls down the page. Each entry is delineated by the bold heading and each day's entries are delineated by the section break. Bloggers set a number of entries to display on the front page and after that number is exceeded, older entries can be found in the archives along the sidebar.

Underneath each post are links that contain information regarding the entry. First is the entry's author (I'm annie). Most useful, is the comments button. This button allows you-the-reader to comment on the entry, which initiates the interaction that makes blogs so great. Some posts also have a category that each post falls into, like maternal health or course announcements. If you are interested in the post topic, you can click on the category to read more like it.

The time stamp makes the web address in the URL window into a permalink, which is a permanent link to that post on its own page that never scrolls with future entries. Because blogs change every day, if you want to link to a blogger's post, it's best to link to it via the post's permalink so readers will be directed to exactly the entry you refer to in your blog. Some blogs' permalinks are a number sign (#) at the bottom of the post, and some are a time stamp (3:54 p.m.) either under the entry heading or at the bottom of the entry.

Class members can begin participating in this blog by sending their email address to Annie. You will be invited to create a Google account, if you don't already have one. Then, you can begin commenting on existing posts and making your own!

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