Welcome to the Blog
Hello there and welcome to the blog!
As you will see, I've put up a few different categories on the blog to organise what we produce. The readings each have their own category. Make sure you give your entries a category. Otherwise they will disappear once they leave the "latest entries" area. Then there is Prof & Greg's Corner, which is what you see here on the front page. This is where Greg and I will make important announcements. (If it is about something time-crucial you will receive an e-mail telling you to go look at the blog.)
HOW TO GET YOUR OWN TEXT UP HERE
From this site you can read the work of your fellow students and leave comments on other people’s contributions. You cannot, however, create an independent entry.
Make sure that you only use the comment function if you are making a strong connection to the previous posting. If what you have to say is primarily a separate point about the reading, make your own entry by logging in. This way we get coherent threading throughout the blog.
NB All your OBEs have to be entries, not comments.
SETTING UP A NICKNAME
Those of you who registered for the class before last week should already be entered on the site as authors. All you need to do is set up a “Nickname” in your user profile, so that the “posted by” line under your blog titles shows a real name instead of a x500 ID. From the main menu page (as soon as you have logged into the blogs), click on the ID next to the “welcome” button at the top right of the page:
Once inside, in the “display Name” box, type in a nickname.
CHOOSING A NICKNAME
The blog is publicly accessible, so anybody with internet access can read what you’ve written. If you feel fine about putting your name “out there” on your blogs use your full name. However, if you want to be unidentifiable to someone outside of the class, you still need to create a nickname that will allow someone within the class to identify you, normally your first name (if your first name is unique within the class) or your first name and last initial.. (If you already have a nickname of your own for other blogs administered by the U of M library, tell the TA and make sure to sign your blogs and comments with your real first name.)
HOW TO POST AN ENTRY
You are strongly advised to write all your entries and extensive comments first in a word processing program which has automatic backup facility (e.g. Microsoft Word), and then to paste them into the blog. Otherwise you risk losing your work if your connection goes down or computer crashes. (Any work lost in this way will have to be made up ASAP.)
1. Click on “Log in to UThink Blogs” and enter your x500 ID and password.
2. In the “Cities 07 ” box, click on “Create a new entry on this Weblog.
3. The Title and Category: Under “Primary Category,” select the appropriate week’s discussion topic. Note: if you fail to categorize your entry properly, it won’t be read! Then give your entry a title, and paste/type your entry into the “Entry Body” box.
4. Check through your entry, scroll either up to the top or down to the bottom of the page and click “Save.” That’s it! If you want to see what the entry looks like before you publish it, click on “Preview.” Remember that you still have to click “Save this entry” afterwards.
MUSIC AND IMAGES
You can also upload music and images onto the blog. Just log into the UThink blogs, then click on "Upload File" and you will find it very self-explanatory. It takes quite a while with a slow connection. Make sure that you add at least a paragraph with anything you upload, saying why you think it is interesting and relevant.
If you find any of this confusing, make sure you look at the section of the syllabus about how to use the blog, which has illustrations which may help you. If you still have problems with it, get in touch with Greg at narr0009@umn.edu.
Onwards and upwards!
TG