Melissa Wilson EME6415 June 2, 2007 Captivate Tutorial Paper “Guide to Setting up a Blog” Introduction “A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis…Since Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people, to have a voice and connect with others.” http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g As blogs are becoming more commonplace in today’s society, this tutorial guides the user through a simple process of setting up their own blog using blogger, making the first post and editing the profile. Description of intended audience This tutorial is designed to assist any individual who wishes to establish a blog. Blogs have become increasingly popular over the years. Therefore, it is not only valuable, but necessary for some individuals to remain up-to-date with differing technologies as they emerge. The tutorial presented is a basic tutorial for those new to blogging. This is not a tutorial designed for those more experienced in the area. The module would be beneficial to secondary education students who are required through their educational endeavors to maintain a blog. It would be beneficial to any individual wishing to maintain a blog as a personal diary, commentary page, political discourse, etc. Because of the wide-range of blog uses, this tutorial is open to a wide-range audience, but only for those new and wishing to establish a blog. Learning objectives addressed by the tutorial -To instruct the learner on establishing a blogger account -To instruct the learner on how to make their first post on their blogger account -To instruct the learner on how profiles may be edited on blogger Description of how the learner will interact with and control the tutorial This tutorial is designed as a “how-to” guide to establishing a blog and first post. The tutorial is designed for individuals to watch. No actions, beyond observation, are required. However, individuals are likely to follow along with the tutorial in a separate window to complete the task. Additional clicking required on screen might tend to distract learners from the objectives and task at hand. No opportunities for practice feedback were included in the tutorial itself, however, the tutorial is designed for individuals to practice and perform the tasks highlighted by the tutorial as it progresses through in a separate window. Students are therefore “learning by doing,” a vital component of the instructional process. Students are also working individually, a necessary element of effective instruction.