WordPress @ ESU 10

The ESU/GNENC WordPress MU server was upgraded to the latest version – WordPress 3.0.1, on Saturday, August 14th. You may have noticed some downtime during that process. Hopefully not but if so, that was the cause. I wanted to send out this message with two important items to share – 1) new features you will notice and 2) options you have to learn more about WordPress.

Several new features you will notice:

• 500 Mb default storage space
• Updated Themes and Plugins
• Undo/”trash” feature, which means that if you accidentally delete a post or comment you can bring it back from the Trash.
• Built-in image editor allows you to crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale your images.
• Easier video embeds that allow you to just paste a URL on its own line and have it magically turn it into the proper embed code, with Oembed support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more).
• New default theme “Twenty Ten” takes full advantage of the current features of WordPress.
  
  • New Custom Menu Management feature, allows creation of custom menus combining posts, pages, categories, tags, and links for use in theme menus or widgets.
  • Custom Header and Custom Backgrounds.
    
• Contextual help text accessed under the Help tab of every screen in the WordPress administration dashboard.
• A lighter admin color scheme to increase accessibility and put the focus more squarely on your content.
  

Learn More:

• WordPress Codex/Official WP Documentation – http://codex.wordpress.org/
• Atomic Learning (Subscription Service) – http://www.atomiclearning.com/uk/en/wordpress
• ESU 10 Docs – http://blog.esu10.org/wordpress/
• ESU 10 WordPress Webinars (Adobe Connect)
  
  • WordPress Webinar – https://odie.esu10.org/workshops/WorkshopDetails.aspx?WorkshopID=943
  • WordPress Advanced Topics Webinar – https://odie.esu10.org/workshops/WorkshopDetails.aspx?WorkshopID=944
    
• ESU 10 F2F Training (Odie)
  
  • WordPress – Making your Web Presence – https://odie.esu10.org/workshops/WorkshopDetails.aspx?WorkshopID=870
  • WordPress – Advanced Topics – https://odie.esu10.org/workshops/WorkshopDetails.aspx?WorkshopID=879
    

I want to take this opportunity to give you a brief update on the state of Manila and to share the opportunities teachers have to build their web presence at ESU 10.

A brief history: In 2002 we were awarded a grant titled “A Web Page for Every Teacher.” At that time we knew the value of teachers having a web presence and were committed to providing the resources needed for teachers to have an easy to use and access online presence. We purchased a server and license to install and run Manila, the only real viable content management system for us at the time. We also provided professional development and other resources for teachers to help development of their web sites.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to the Technorati 2009 State of the Blogoshere, what percentage of bloggers are hobbyists? - 72%

• Of these 71% update weekly, 22% update daily.
• 15% blog part-time for money
• 9% are self employed
• 4% are considered professional (hired by a firm)

Who uses WordPress?

• Lance Armstrong Foundation (LiveStrong)
• MTV
• Harvard
• New York Times
• In fact, WordPress is the most popular choice among the top 100 blogs. In fact, WordPress usage is at 27% followed by Typepad with 16%. Blogsmith and Movable Type are next with 14% and 12% with Blogger (Google) down the scale at 3%. http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/01/15/the-blog-platforms-of-choice-among-the-top-100-blogs/

What are the most popular tags on WordPress.com? (What are people writing about most?)

There are 9.2 million hosted WordPress accounts and 9.7 million active installations.

We have a couple of new announcements for use on our installation of WordPress.

Of biggest interest is probably the TypePad AntiSPAM plugin. It is automatically enabled and will reduce the amount of spam you receive through your blog. You may want to review the spam it has collected. Click Tools> TypePad AntiSpam Spam

We are also working at installing a plugin that will allow us to review stats on your site easier. Stay tuned!

We are also working on installing a test installation of the new version of WordPress MU 2.9.1. It has some exciting new features that will enhance your workflow.

Keep your eye out for WordPress workshops. Here is a list of upcoming WordPress workshops at ESU 10. There are also opportunities to participate in WordPress webinars. We also will do onsite workshops for faculty and staff in-services. Please contact us for more information.

We recently had a workshop on using contact forms on your website. For instructions on using this feature, visit http://blog.esu10.org/wordpress/training/contact-forms/.

This is a great article I ran across explaining the different roles you might consider giving contributers to your website.

Managing Students on Blogs…What Role Do You Assign Students?
October 12th 2009 by Sue Waters

Here are some example blogs for the Library Media Specialists Day workshop at ESU 10 in Kearney today. Blogs play an important role in education. In researching different blogs, I came accross this quote that I thought was fitting.

“Libraries should be the beating heart of the school, not mausoleums for dusty books.” -Nonfiction Matters, Stephanie Harvey

---

For Media Specialists

• OELMA
• Diamond State Reading Association Conference Blog
• List of Blogs for School Library Media Specialists

By Media Specialists

• Check It Out
• MHS Media Center
• PES/LES Library Media Center
• Auburndale Elementary
• Amberly Media Center

Other Examples

Compose your own searches using the following tools.

• Google Advanced Blog Search – Possible keywords: library, “media specialist”, “media center”, “book review”, “information literacy”. Also try a ~ before your keyword to find like examples. eg: ~library It is helpful to search for a current date for more updated blog examples.
• Google Advanced Search – Search specific domains such as edublogs.org, wordpress.com or blogger.com for keywords. An example advanced Google search might look like this: site:edublogs.org “media center”

Please share other blogs you have found and why you (or why you haven’t)  found them useful.

You can find an Contact Form 7 online tutorial developed for the WordPress Advanced Topics workshop under the Training Resources tab. This tutorial contains the steps needed to create and implement forms on your website.

WordPress @ ESU 10 supports mobile devices. More and more students, teachers and parents have mobile devices that can access the web such as a Blackberry or other cell phone with a data plan or an iPod Touch, PSP or other similar device. We no longer need a computer to access information on the web. As a result, educators may wish to make their WordPress site accessible to these mobile devices. Parents would have easier access to the online classroom and students could have 24/7 access to assignments, project or resources to support instruction.

To enable this feature on your ESU 10 WordPress site, enable the “WordPress Mobile Edition” plug-in in the Plugins panel. This is all you need to do! You will see a new option under settings for Mobiles but you don’t need to do anything with it at this point.

If you would like to see an example, point your mobile device to this site: http://blog.esu10.org/wordpress/ or http://edtechstudio.esu10.org/

Good luck and have fun!