Recommendations for Getting Started
Frequency:
Throughout this project we ask participants to post two to three times each week with the understanding that at least one post be related to one aspect of the mission of the Schreyer Honors College: academic excellence, civic engagement, global perspective, honor, integrity, and leadership. Use these terms as tags for relevant posts. Also remember to tag EVERY post for this project with PSUHonors.
Questions:
Here are some sample questions for each topic to get you started:
Reading and Commenting on Peer Postings:
One of the most important aspects of this project is the potential means to create a community and build learning and knowledge development. While you want to keep up with your own postings, reading and commenting on other posts is just as important. Posting to a public space doesn't do much to spread your word if nobody is listening or responding. We hope that you'll interact with each other in order to build off of common ideas so that small thoughts expand as much as possible.
Adding Multimedia to Posts:
One way to break away from the norm is to add multimedia to your posts. This can be as simple as providing a few pictures, a little more hands-on by linking to (or embedding) audio or video files, or highly challenging by creating an entire post as a podcast or video. The sky's the limit as they say and your possibilities are endless! Don't feel as if you're chained to one medium. We're interested in seeing what you come up with and how you use your space!
Creating Your Movable Type Blog
• Login to the blogs system at http://blogs.psu.edu/ using your Penn State user name and password
• Click the "System Overview" menu, then click "Create a new blog"
• Fill in your blog name, then select either classic blog, or professional website and press "Create Blog".
• Your blog has now been created. However before it will be visible to the public, it must be published.
• If you want to publish your blog immediately, click the "Publish" link provided. If you don't want your blog to be public quite yet, you can publish it at any time by clicking the "Publish Site" button to the right of the tools menu. The first time you publish your blog, be sure to select "All Files" when prompted.
Tagging
Tagging provides a simple, dynamic way to organize your posts. To add a tag to a blog entry, simply type it into the tags field. You can add as many tags as you like, just be sure to separate each tag by a comma. Once you've added tags to a published blog entry, they should automatically build out your tag cloud, making it easy to search your content as well as view the major themes that drive your posts at a glance. You can view your list of tags and the entries associated with them at any time by clicking Manage --> Tags on the blog toolbar.
Though you are free to build out your tag cloud with whatever words inspire you, there are seven tags you are expected to use as a part of the SHC blogging experience. Those tags are:
• PSUHonors (for all posts)
• Academic Excellence
• Civic Engagement
• Global Perspective
• Honor
• Integrity
• Leadership
Images and File Uploads
To add an image to a blog post, simply click the insert image button your blog entry toolbar. To add non-image files, click the file upload button (to the right of the image upload button) and follow the instructions provided.
Embed Video
Most Web sites which allow video content to be re-posted will provide a line of code known as an embed tag, which makes adding video to your blog simple. A sample embed tag from Youtube is shown below.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pdi48oUdZP0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pdi48oUdZP0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
To embed a video in your blog:
• Copy the embed code from the video's main page
• Click the <A> button on the blog entry toolbar to enter HTML mode and paste the embed code wherever you would like the video to sit.
• Return to WYSIWYG mode and enjoy!
Bring Your Blog Into Facebook
• Login to Facebook and click "Notes"
• Click the "Import a blog" link (right side of the page)
• Enter your blogs RSS feed, check the agreement box, and press "Start Importing" (your blog RSS feed should look similar to http://www.personal.psu.edu/cas391/blogs/blogtitle/atom.xml)
Add a 'Share On Facebook' Link To Your Blog Posts.
1. From your blog dashboard select Design --> Templates
• If you are using the classic blog, open the Entry Summary template
• If you are using the professional website, open the Entry Metadata template
2. Copy the code below.
<span class="separator">|</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'facebook','toolbar=no,width=700,height=400'); return false;">Share On Facebook</a>
3. Paste the code into your template between the </mt:unless> and the </div> tags
• If you are using the Entry Summary template, look between lines 16-17
• If you are using the Entry Metadata template, look between lines 12-13
4. Save your template, and republish your blog (all files)
Need More Help?
Visit http://blogger.psu.edu/gethelp for FAQs, screencasts, discussion boards, tips and tricks, advanced features, and more!
OR
Email us at Blogs@psu.edu with any problems you may be experiencing.
Frequency:
Throughout this project we ask participants to post two to three times each week with the understanding that at least one post be related to one aspect of the mission of the Schreyer Honors College: academic excellence, civic engagement, global perspective, honor, integrity, and leadership. Use these terms as tags for relevant posts. Also remember to tag EVERY post for this project with PSUHonors.
Questions:
Here are some sample questions for each topic to get you started:
- What has impressed you in terms of instruction and research?
- How do your experiences so far rate in quality and play a part in academic excellence?
- How do you invest yourself in the community around you?
- What actions have you seen that create a sense of belonging?
- What is being done that is "making a difference" in the community around you?
- How have you come to understand the world and the role you play in it?
- What are you learning from other cultures you are meeting and interacting with?
- How/What do you participate in to shape your community that can play a part in the bigger picture?
- What
principles or core values do you find yourself basing your actions on?
Do you see these being tested in any way in college? Can these change?
- Have you witnessed any examples of good leadership? Do you feel that you're growing/being tested as a leader?
Reading and Commenting on Peer Postings:
One of the most important aspects of this project is the potential means to create a community and build learning and knowledge development. While you want to keep up with your own postings, reading and commenting on other posts is just as important. Posting to a public space doesn't do much to spread your word if nobody is listening or responding. We hope that you'll interact with each other in order to build off of common ideas so that small thoughts expand as much as possible.
Adding Multimedia to Posts:
One way to break away from the norm is to add multimedia to your posts. This can be as simple as providing a few pictures, a little more hands-on by linking to (or embedding) audio or video files, or highly challenging by creating an entire post as a podcast or video. The sky's the limit as they say and your possibilities are endless! Don't feel as if you're chained to one medium. We're interested in seeing what you come up with and how you use your space!
Creating Your Movable Type Blog
• Login to the blogs system at http://blogs.psu.edu/ using your Penn State user name and password
• Click the "System Overview" menu, then click "Create a new blog"
• Fill in your blog name, then select either classic blog, or professional website and press "Create Blog".
• Your blog has now been created. However before it will be visible to the public, it must be published.
• If you want to publish your blog immediately, click the "Publish" link provided. If you don't want your blog to be public quite yet, you can publish it at any time by clicking the "Publish Site" button to the right of the tools menu. The first time you publish your blog, be sure to select "All Files" when prompted.
Tagging
Tagging provides a simple, dynamic way to organize your posts. To add a tag to a blog entry, simply type it into the tags field. You can add as many tags as you like, just be sure to separate each tag by a comma. Once you've added tags to a published blog entry, they should automatically build out your tag cloud, making it easy to search your content as well as view the major themes that drive your posts at a glance. You can view your list of tags and the entries associated with them at any time by clicking Manage --> Tags on the blog toolbar.
Though you are free to build out your tag cloud with whatever words inspire you, there are seven tags you are expected to use as a part of the SHC blogging experience. Those tags are:
• PSUHonors (for all posts)
• Academic Excellence
• Civic Engagement
• Global Perspective
• Honor
• Integrity
• Leadership
Images and File Uploads
To add an image to a blog post, simply click the insert image button your blog entry toolbar. To add non-image files, click the file upload button (to the right of the image upload button) and follow the instructions provided.
Embed Video
Most Web sites which allow video content to be re-posted will provide a line of code known as an embed tag, which makes adding video to your blog simple. A sample embed tag from Youtube is shown below.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pdi48oUdZP0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pdi48oUdZP0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
To embed a video in your blog:
• Copy the embed code from the video's main page
• Click the <A> button on the blog entry toolbar to enter HTML mode and paste the embed code wherever you would like the video to sit.
• Return to WYSIWYG mode and enjoy!
Bring Your Blog Into Facebook
• Login to Facebook and click "Notes"
• Click the "Import a blog" link (right side of the page)
• Enter your blogs RSS feed, check the agreement box, and press "Start Importing" (your blog RSS feed should look similar to http://www.personal.psu.edu/cas391/blogs/blogtitle/atom.xml)
Add a 'Share On Facebook' Link To Your Blog Posts.
1. From your blog dashboard select Design --> Templates
• If you are using the classic blog, open the Entry Summary template
• If you are using the professional website, open the Entry Metadata template
2. Copy the code below.
<span class="separator">|</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'facebook','toolbar=no,width=700,height=400'); return false;">Share On Facebook</a>
3. Paste the code into your template between the </mt:unless> and the </div> tags
• If you are using the Entry Summary template, look between lines 16-17
• If you are using the Entry Metadata template, look between lines 12-13
4. Save your template, and republish your blog (all files)
Need More Help?
Visit http://blogger.psu.edu/gethelp for FAQs, screencasts, discussion boards, tips and tricks, advanced features, and more!
OR
Email us at Blogs@psu.edu with any problems you may be experiencing.
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