I decided to start a new blog.
I wanted to create a blog that emulates the types of blogs that I like to peruse.
I like blogs that:
* Introduce me to a new and useful website.
* Provide brief, impersonal descriptions.
* Include a thumbnail.
So, these will be the mission statements of my new blog.
Jamstudio is a website that lets easily compose songs.
Teachers can request a free educator account. Within a couple days of my request, I received an email with an access code good for 200 accounts.
Last week, I had the students in my Music class write a song. Unfortunately, the “Share” button did not function properly; therefore, the students could not email me their songs.
I found a work-around solution.
There is a button on the Jamstudio website, “Mp3 Mix.” This allows users to email themselves an MP3 file of their creation. I will instruct my students to send their MP3 to their own email accounts. I could just ask them to then forward the email to me. However, I want their music to be publicly available, on their blogs. Unfortunately, Blogger does not allow for uploading MP3s.
Thanks to this great website, Zippa.com, which is a repository for Web 2.0 websites, I found this interesting and useful website, File2.ws. File2.ws allows users to upload a large variety of files, which are then converted into a simple web page. There is no sign up procedure. So, each student will upload their MP3, which will be made into a web page. This web page can then be linked to on their blog.
When I first started using Blogger, I composed my posts within Blogger itself. Often times, this proved to be a frustrating experience because Blogger is a very limited word processor.
I tried using Microsoft Word, which has a blog template. However, when I published from Word to Blogger, I frequently received error messages, which required correction.
I started using Windows Live Writer, which is bundled with Vista. You can also download it here.
Live Writer is designed for composing and blog posts. Without a doubt, this is the best program for composing blog posts. Writing within Blogger was frequently painful; Live Writer makes it enjoyable.
