For those school leaders just now venturing into blogging, you can easily use the web application offered by services such as Blogger, Edublogs, or WordPress. These apps will get your posts done, but if you are just starting to blog and want an application that might make the act of posting a blog a bit more painless, Microsoft's Live Writer and ScribeFire are two options to consider. Livewriter, which is available as a free download, and the App/Exyension Scribefire both give bloggers, and I would add first-time bloggers the tools to get started. I have used both of these apps and found them a practically "glitch-free" approach to blog posting. Both are available for free as well.
Microsoft Livewriter
- Includes a blog post editor that allows you to see exactly what your post will look like on the web site.
- Works with multiple blog platforms. (I use it with Blogger.)
- Interface is quite familiar to current Microsoft product users.
- Save blog posts locally. (On Your Hard Drive)
- Extensive formatting control of text
Windows Live Writer Interface
To get more information and download Windows Livewriter, check out the web site.
Windows Live Writer Web Site
ScribeFire
ScribeFire is a blog post composing app for use within FireFox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari Browsers. While not as "featureful" as Live Writer, it is still fully functional, and for the novice blogger, it will do everything you need to do.
- Fully featured in sense that it will do just about everything you would want to do in a blog post: insert photos, insert YouTube videos, insert tables, etc.
- Interface has a simple layout that works right within your favorite browser.
- Font Choices and sizes along with basic text formatting
For more information on ScribeFire, check out their web site.
ScribeFire Informational Web Site
Both of these blogging apps are good, solid choices for the school leader just venturing into blogging.
cross posted at the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.com
J. Robinson has decades of experience as a K12 Principal, Teacher, and Technology Advocate. Read more at The 21st Century Principal.
