Several IF,Ts have asked me how to go about setting up a class blog, so I thought I would do my first “How To” blog on exactly that.

First, let’s take a minute to decide how we want to use a class blog. This is a very important step, because there are different settings you will want to choose as you go about setting up the blog. Here are some important questions to consider:

• What is the purpose of the blog?
• Is this a place for students to post?
• Do you want your students to have their “own” blog under your class umbrella?
• Is the teacher the primary (or only) author of posts?
• Take some time here to come up with a name!

I have created a few class blogs, and each has a different purpose:

1. A 5th grade class is using their blog to focus on their year-long PBL lesson on natural disasters. These students each created their own blog under the class.
2. A 5th grade class is using a single class blog with multiple users to create a “Travel Blog” as they learn about the different regions of the US.
3. A 2nd grade class is using a single class blog with multiple users to create a class blog to share what they are learning with parents.

Once you have determined how you are going to use the class blog, you’ll have it set up in no time!

Step 1: Create Your New Site – From your dashboard, click on “My Sites” on the left. Add a new site from the button next to “My Sites.” Follow the directions to create your site.

Tip: Your “Site Name” is your blog’s URL. You can only use lowercase letters and numbers here. Your “Site Title” is the title of your site.

Once you have your brand new site, visit the site’s dashboard. You should now have a menu of new tools on the left. One of those tools is “My Class.” If you hover your mouse over “My Class,” you can create, or join, a class. Don’t worry if you already clicked on “My Class!” You can choose create or join a class from the menu on the left.

Under “Create a Class,” you have options for your new class blog. You have to check the first box in order to create your class blog. Then you can decide if you want to allow comments, and whether those comments need to be approved. (I’d recommend moderating and approving posts and comments!) I allowed the blog to be viewed, but I blocked it from search engines.

Make sure to scroll down and hit SAVE!

Now, all you have to do is invite students (and teachers!) to your new class blog. From the blog’s dashboard, when you hover over “My Class,” you have a new menu of options that includes “Invite Students.” Make up an invite code for students and teachers.

 Tip: My invite codes are “student” and “teacher.” It doesn’t have to be hard!

Decide if you want to make your users create their own blog. With elementary students, I’ve done both. When I required users to create a blog, I gave them a name in advance (Emma’s 5th Grade Blog, George’s Travel Blog). When you click “Add New Invite Code,” you get a link you can now share with students (or teachers). I turned my links into QR Codes and saved them in Google Docs so the class can easily join the blogs with an iPad.

Congratulations! You now how a class blog set up! Share in the comments some things you might have students blog about.