Create+a+Blog

You will need to create a place to post your videos once you shoot them, and, for this class, you'll be using a simple blog (a term that means "web log") for posting, sharing, and getting comments on your speeches.

There are many different services that offer blogs for you to use, and most of them are free.

In the past, students have found two such services, Blogger (owned by Google) and Wordpress, to be the easiest to use.

If you've not set up a blog before--or if you just want to keep it simple, I urge you to try Blogger. It's what I always use for blogging because it's easy to set up, easy to use, and easy to format. Blogger also integrates well with other Google products (since it's owned by the same company), and it provides you with a tool for following other peoples' blogs, something that we'll be doing soon.

However, in terms of appearance and design, Blogger is relatively bland. For this reason, some students choose to use Wordpress. Wordpress isn't that much harder to use and it gives you many more design features. I have never used Wordpress myself, so I can't tell you much about it, but some students have loved it.

Here's a list of other blog services you might investigate.

How to get started with Blogger: 1. Go to Blogger.com and click on the "get started" button.

2. This will take you to a sign up form for a Google account. If you already have one, click the "sign in first" link. Otherwise, complete this information. Even if you don't not want a Gmail account, you will need a Google account to use Blogger since Blogger is owned by Google.

3. Once you complete this form, you will be taken to another form. On this new form, give your blog a name (Don't call it "Public Speaking!" Make it personal in some way so others will recognize it); then select a web address (URL) that's easy to remember. Complete the word verification and you're set.