EduBlog


 * Date |||| // 10-9-08 // || Rating ||  ê ê ê ê ê      (5 of 5 stars)  ||
 * Reviewer |||||||| // Jenny Conklin // ||
 * Web 2.0 tool name |||||| // Edublogs // ||
 * Web address |||||| http://edublogs.org/ ||
 * Description of tool |||||| // "Edublogs hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education.

Edublogs are completely free, without any advertising, and come with 100MB of free upload space (easily extended to 3 Gig) and a heap of great features We also cater for schools and universities looking to create, manage and control blogs at their own domain, with all the features of Edublogs." (from Edublogs website) // ||
 * Cost |||||| // FREE for educators // ||

// It can get tricky, however, when you are navigating the features of your own blog. We had trouble when we were trying to edit the name of the blog because there were so many sub tabs once we clicked on a tab. ||
 * ** Ease of use ** ||
 * Ease of navigation ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // The site is easy to navigate when first looking around. Here you see tabs to access various areas of interest. This is also a similar setup for the navigation of personal blogs.
 * Accessibility of help ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // [|Help & Support]

"There are three main ways to get help and support with Edublogs, these are (in rough order of usefulness): You can also find hints, tips, ideas and other useful information at… [|The Edublogger] is the official ‘how to’ Edublogs blog. Edited by Sue Waters, it contains heaps of advice, directions and discussion about how to make the most out of your blog and other web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning." (from Edublogs website) // || // || || You wanted features? We’ve got features! All posts are automatically spell-checked, auto-saved (so you never lose that post you’ve been working on for hours) come with a complete feature rich editor (with optional plain text view), allow for simple uploading of images and other files, are podcast ready and have automatic YouTube, Google Video and more video insertion devices… and that’s just a selection. Phew!
 * [|Videos]**: This is our section full of helpful short videos that explain different elements of using Edublogs.
 * [|The Edublogs Forums]**: Go here to search for answers, post your own questions and chew the fat with other Edubloggers.
 * [|Frequently Asked Questions]**: Check these to find quick answers to commonly asked questions and frequent issues.
 * Quality of help ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // Very comprehensive and helpful.
 * On-line tutorials |||| Yes || // They have great videos to walk you through setting up your blog. //
 * ** Compatibility ** ||
 * Export capabilities |||| || // na // ||
 * Embedding capabilities ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // **"Simply embed videos, podcasts, images and a whole lot more**

Import from other blogging sites – or export back to them.
Do you already have blogging sites up at places like Blogger, TypePad or LiveJournal? It’s not in the least bit difficult for you to import whole swathes of blogging goodness straight into your Edublogs blogs. There are simple step-by-step instructions in and if you want to export back to them – we’ve got that covered too… not that you’d ever want to of course. Or, you can just use the export feature to back up your blog." (from Edublogs website) // || Edublogs offers over ninety themes showcasing the very best in design. They’re slick, fully accessible, entirely standards based and we’re adding to them all the time. What’s more, bloggers can customise every sidebar using the Widget system, insert their own headers into many themes (through our simple in built cropping system) and even select the look and feel for those with alternative CSS displays." (from Edublogs website) // || // (public, private) // ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // The site can be made public or private. Users can post comments that are moderated by the owner of the blog. // ||
 * Compatible with these programs |||| // Information goes here // ||
 * Advanced Features |||| // Information goes here // ||
 * ** Customization ** ||
 * Ease of editing ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // "Experiment with contemporary, customisable themes
 * Ability to personalize ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // Information goes here // ||
 * ** Credibility ** ||
 * Quality of resources ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || ||
 * Citation & sources ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      ||   ||
 * Endorsements ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // The following link provides testimonials from users of edublogs: http://edublogs.org/testimonials/ // ||
 * ** Safety ** ||
 * User registration ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // Must sign-up with a username and email. You will recieve your password via a confirmation email. // ||
 * Website access
 * Advertisements ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // no // ||
 * External Links ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // no // ||


 * ** Comparable Tools ** ||
 * WordPress ||  ê ê ê ê     || // Information goes here // ||
 * Blogger ||  ê ê ê    || // Information goes here // ||