When you have a tablet such as an Android or an iPad, you can always access blogging platforms via the browser, but an app specially designed for the device works much better when it comes to speed, offline use, layout, functionality and focus. There’s so much that students can do with a blog that it is really well-worth downloading the preferred app on to your device.
WordPress on Android
WordPress for Android puts the power of publishing in your hands, making it easy to create and consume content. Write, edit, and publish posts to your site, check stats, and get inspired with great posts in the Reader. What’s more? It’s open source. WordPress for Android supports WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org sites running WordPress 3.5 or higher. Visit the forums to get help with the app: http://android.forums.wordpress.org
Richard Byrne cites this video ‘WordPress for Android 2’ on his excellent post listed under Additional Reading below.
WordPess for Android 2
Kidblog via the WordPress app
Kidblog is a great, safe blogging platform to use in the classroom especially with younger students. I am thrilled to see that although they don’t have an Android app available, they have included information on how to use the WordPress app for uploading posts to Kidblog via a process called phishing. (See the post that outlines this here.) Here are the directions:
“Kidblog allows you publish natively via iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone. Download the WordPress app and enter your Kidblog class details.
- For publishing to work, you also need to enable Mobile Publishing under the Settings tab of the Control Panel.
- Start up the WordPress app on your iOS device.
- Select “Add self-hosted WordPress blog” option.
- Enter your:
-Kidblog URL (e.g. http://kidblog.org/yourclass)
-KidblogID (your unique username – visible under the Users tab of the control panel)
-Password”
Blogger on Android
Download the latest release of the official Blogger app, and start blogging on the go. With Blogger for Android you can:
* Compose a post that you can save to draft or publish immediately
* Edit existing posts
* View list of your saved and published posts
* Switch account/blog if you have more than one
* Embed an image from the gallery, or, by taking a picture directly from the app
* Add labels to your posts
* Add location information
With the Blogger app for Android, you can quickly and easily publish posts to your blog wherever you are.one of the great additional advantages that Blogger provides to bloggers is that you can upload posts, either in draft or published form, via email. You just have to enable some settings in your Blogger account to be able to do this.
Edublogs on Android
Edublogs is a widely used blogging platform in education around the world that uses WordPress blogs. They have a web page entitled ‘Mobile Blogging’ with helpful information on their Edublogs app. http://help.edublogs.org/user-guide/mobile/
Get started with blogging
Sue Waters from Edublogs always writes wonderful posts on blogging and in this diagram she gives some reasons why students would want to blog.
In the post from which the above image was taken namely, ‘Getting More Out of Student Blogging’, Sue gives many tips and tricks to educators wanting to start on the blogging journey with their classes. Sue’s excellent post entitled ‘Blogging with students’ gives 11 steps to getting started on the blogging trail. Both these posts are really worth readng.
Additional reading
A Short Guide to Mobile Blogging Apps for Students and Teachers – by Richard Byrne
