I think this might be a very useful resource for teachers:

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

This allows you to view digital versions of hundreds of news publications from around the world.  You can print out high quality pages, instantly send articles to your blog and carry out a number of other useful functions. 

*This does not just show the online version of the news; they are the actual print publications in digital form.  A free account does have limitations in how many pages you can view per day, but it’s still pretty cool.

There are several options available for those who wish to create a weblog.  Which option is best and why?

Free Blogs

http://edublogs.org/  This is a good option for teachers creating a class blog with students as (as far as I know) is the only free blogging site the DET portal does not block. 

• Uses Wordpress software with a limited range of functions
• Has fewer layout options than Wordpress, fewer widgets etc.
• Is much the same as Wordpress, described below

http://wordpress.com/  Wordpress is a very popular option.  It’s free and easy to use but has some limitations. 

• Does not allow javascript to be inserted so 3rd party widgets etc. can’t be used
• Does not allow you to edit selected templates and CSS unless you pay a fee
• Does not allow you to post by email
• Does allow you to create secondary, linked pages with navigation

https://www.blogger.com/start (Google Blogger)  Another incredibly popular option.

http://www.livejournal.com/

• can be used as a private journal, a blog, a discussion forum or a social network
• allows posting by
  • Downloading a Client
  • IM Posting
  • Voice Posting  (creates a podcast of audio, but you’ll pay international call rates) 
  • Mobile Posting
• Poll creation
• Does not allow templates to be edited; no custom header images
• Does allow custom CSS, but you have to start from scratch

Earlier this year, students in year 10 computing completed a research assignment on the history of computers. Each student was assigned a particular, significant event starting with the invention of the abacus up to the present day.  The completed projects have been assembled as a series of web pages. 
click here to view the timeline project

Of particular interest to me is the entry about Grace Murray Hopper.  This woman was amazing.  She practically invented computer programming and was also an admiral in the U.S. navy. 

read more about Grace Murray Hopper here

I think the students did a great job on this project.  We plan to add more pages; thanks and well done to all those involved.
 

My year 10 classes have been working on video/multimedia projects in their computing classes. Visit this page to see some of the first round of projects.

If you have a blog, every post you make is automatically published to an rss feed. What’s an rss feed? To find out more; read this page

Rss feeds have the potential of attracting larger audiences to your publications. If you’d like to get your feed listed in my feed directory free of charge go to this page and submit your feed details.