Saturday, January 21, 2012

Making our blogs more user-friendly

Here are some of the ways we discussed making our blogs more user-friendly.  Please comment to this post with the strategies you intend to start with this weekend.  I've tried to hit the major points without making this list too long, so if you have an idea you don't see here please include it in your comment.  As you try these techniques, please also comment to this post with what works and what doesn't-- trial and error is a lot easier when your team has 95 players!
  • Including a "hello bar" or other permanent header that stands out to describe the blog and welcome visitors
  • Using pages and other features to categorize data (lit terms, essays, et al) for easy reference
  • Using jumps to shorten the blog entries and make navigation easier
  • Using the orientation video from the course blog (Design/Add a Gadget/ youtube channel is dpreston111)
  • Include your own video introduction to your blog
  • Include a sidebar with a "Table of Contents"
  • Include a graphic design of the network and/or link to a mindmap for reference
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9 comments:

  1. edith gonzalezJanuary 22, 2012 at 8:22 AM

    I believe that having a table of contents and having a title page describing the motive behing our blog, kind of like an introduction would really organize my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jon HoffmanJanuary 22, 2012 at 1:39 PM

    Also, if people try playing with the Dynamic View layout on the blog, you can sort all your posts by content but also have the freedom of choosing how to view your posts. Example being is if you discovered a literature analysis on a blog and wanted to see more of them. If the owner of the blog has that under a specific label then all you, the viewer would have to do is hit organize by label on the dynamic view layout under flip card and you will see many other similar posts to the one you were just interested in.
    Hope this helps.
    Jon Hoffman

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kelly BrickeyJanuary 22, 2012 at 4:41 PM

    How do you make the pages that categorize your posts? I can't find it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dr. PrestonJanuary 23, 2012 at 7:42 AM

      Go to "Edit Pages" (next to "Edit Posts" in the composition window) and follow the prompts.

      Delete
  4. Hannah HoskingJanuary 22, 2012 at 8:03 PM

    Same question as Kelly... I REALLY like that idea but I can't seem to find it.

    I also want to include your YouTube video as a kind of intro to the blog. It's a great (and easy) way to give new visitors an idea of what the blog and our class is all about

    ReplyDelete
  5. KelliJanuary 22, 2012 at 9:01 PM

    I think a table of contents would be great, and possibly one that's linked so you can just click on the topic you want to jump to. Along with a description of the blog I think an About Me section might also be a good idea.
    Kelli Carrillo p.3

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnnaisJanuary 22, 2012 at 10:45 PM

    When we comment to other blogs, are there specific ones or random?
    Annais Acosta
    Period: 6

    ReplyDelete
  7. N.AndersonJanuary 22, 2012 at 11:55 PM

    I think the "table of contents" and a "hello bar" are both really good ideas.. buuuut im technically challenged and cant figure out how to change things correctly on my blog.. haha

    Nicole Anderson
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  8. KaylaJanuary 23, 2012 at 4:15 PM

    Can someone explain how and when to use jumps?
    Thank you
    Kayla McCallie
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete

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