Did you know that you can read about blogs in print too?

Did you know that you can learn about blogs from these things called ‘books’ too? I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true!

I ran into Will Richardson at the ICE conference last week and bought a copy of his new book, Weblogs, Wikis, Podcasts and and other powerful web tools for classrooms. I even got him to sign it for a ‘friend’ of mine who happens to be named Steve

I like to think I know a pretty fair amount about blogs, so to be honest I wasn’t really expecting to learn too much that was actually new but I already got one great little tip that was totally worth the price of admission! You know that annoying "Next Blog" link that makes a perfectly good blog not quite so education friendly (that link is like a box of chocolates)? Well, he gives a great tip for getting rid of it!

First, open up the main template. next, find the <body> tag. Just in front of it, type <noembed> and right after it type </noembed>. That should solve the problem!

So beautifully simple yet solves a problem that plagues so many people.

I’m still working my way through the book, but enjoying it greatly. To be honest, it seems like he has basically aggregated 2-3 years worth of blog entries, and wrapped them up in one neat little package that actually flows pretty darn well. Once I get through it, I’ll give it a proper review. Until then, I’ll just say that I’m enjoying it just as much as I enjoy reading his blog. ’nuff said.

4 Comments

Michelle
3/7/2006

Thanks so much for this great tip! Now, is there a way to add the login to the blogger page? As far as I know, in order to login to post to your blog, you need to go to blogger.com. Thanks again Steve for this great tip!

jetech3
3/7/2006

I completely agree. Will Richardson’s book is a must-read for any educator of today (and adminstrators, too). This book is an easy read but full of meat. It is a great mix of the basics (what a wiki is, what a blog is) and great tips for those a bit more advanced, like the tip you mentioned. The only thing that would make it better would be if it could be read electronically.Ditto on Will’s blog, too.

Casey Hales
3/7/2006

Unbelievable! This is the exact topic of conversation this morning at out Tech Talk with all the teachers. We are pushing Blogger for our teachers to use and the fact that "next blog" button on the top of the page can conceivably send a student to some most inappropriate blogs.
You’re scary, Steve!
Thanks! Now I’m gonna look real smart!
OK, OK, I’ll fess up where I go it, geez…