Google Translate & Your Blog

Did you know you can add a simple button to your blog that will make a world of difference to our international students and their parents?  Here's how.

Go to your blog settings by clicking on 'Design' at the top of your blog.

Click on 'Layout' on the left side column.

Click on 'Add a Gadget' in whichever area you wish your gadget to appear.

Scroll through the options until you find 'Translate'  (This is a good time to remind you to add 'Follow by Email' if you haven't yet, so that your parents can receive emails when you post on your blog - it's in the same list)

Choose 'Translate' and then decide which of the three options you want on your blog.  You can go back and change this later if you prefer a different look.  Then click 'Save'.

Click 'Save arrangement' on the top of the Layout screen.

This is what it will look like on your blog home page.

And this is what it will look like when you click on your chosen language.  It's magic!  

Linking Student Blogs to Your Blog

If you wish to link your students' blogs to your classroom blog you can do so with one of the gadgets.  This gadget will put links to each of your student's blogs on the front page of your blog.  As your students write a post, it will feed a snapshot of it to your blog.  This is beneficial for people who read your blog to be able to view what your students are learning and sharing.

Go to the blogger dashboard.

Go to Layout.

Click on 'Add a Gadget'

Choose 'Blog List'

Title your Blog List.  Choose how you want the blogs sorted and what you want shown.  Add your students' blogs by clicking on 'Add a blog to your list' and then enter the URL for the blog. Continue until you've added all of your class blogs.  Save when done.  Your students' blogs should now be visible on your classroom blog page.

Blog Tips

This has been an exciting time for our school staff!   We currently have 13 new class blogs up and running!  People are trying out the smartphone blog app and seeing how incredibly easy it is to blog using it.  Others are looking into the deeper functions of blogging and looking at adding gadgets and other features.

GADGETS:
If you have a blog and you would like to add a gadget or two, this is how it is done.

Go to your blogger dashboard.
Click on 'layout'

Click on 'Add a Gadget' - a selection will come up for you to choose from.

 A couple of good ones are 'Link List' and 'Follow by Email'.  Link list allows you to make a 'blog roll' down the side of your blog.  You can add the other blogs from our school like I've done on my class blog.  See here:  

Follow by Email allows parents to receive an email when you update your blog.

You can arrange the gadgets however best suits the layout of your blog.  Just click and drag them where you want them.

COMMENTS:

Make sure that your comments are enabled for anyone to leave a comment.  Go to your dashboard > Settings > Posts and comments.  Make sure you've clicked 'anyone' beside 'Who can comment?'

DATE and TIME
Make sure your blog is set to the correct time zone.  Go to your dashboard > Settings > Language and formatting.  Find appropriate time zone.

Make sure to save every time you make changes within your dashboard.