Blog Post Four

In Defense Of Gadgets:

When looking at blogs I often find gadgets to be distracting and overwhelming. They can make a good blog seemed cluttered or unorganized. While adding gadgets to my blog I looked for gadgets that would enhance the quality of my blog. The gadgets chosen will help the reader understand the issue of Plagiarism in schools.

1. Pages: I added Pages as the first gadget. I wanted the reader to easily see the different pages of the blog. This allows them to easily navigate the blog and instantly find the page that they want.
2. Search: This gadget will also help the viewers navigate the blog. If they do not know the title of the page they are looking for, then they can type in key words and locate the page. I wanted to put this at the top of blog so that the readers do not get frustrated if they cannot remember the blog post's title.
3. Poll: This poll surveys how much the readers think that college undergraduate students admit to cheating. The actual answer is 36%. This statistic was provided by PlagiarismDotOrg.
4. Link List: This gadget allowed me to list the links to helpful websites. I linked it to PlagiarismDotOrg, a helpful website that provides many facts about plagiarism, as well as tips for preventing plagiarism. I also linked it to the Purdue Online Writing Lab. This provides step-by-step instructions on MLA formatting. Students can use this link to make sure that they document their sources correctly and do not plagiarize.
5. List: I created a list about books on plagiarism. This gadget differs from Link List because it does not involve linking the list to websites. For this list I included two books aimed towards high school and college students, they talk about preventing plagiarism. I also included a children's book that explains plagiarism in a simple way.
6. Slide Show: I linked the website to a classroom slide show that I created. This would be ideal for a teacher's blog. It showcases classroom events, artwork, and daily activities. The slide show was created using Picasa.
7. Profile: About Me, this section allows the reader to get to know the author. While reading my professor's blog I found it helpful to read a bit about him and his purpose for the blog. It allows the reader to "get to know" the author without actually meeting them. For the parents of students they might find it reassuring to know about the teacher.
8. Blog Archive: This allows readers to find previous blog posts. They can look at them by date and title. I wanted the reader to easily see the different blog post. This allows them to easily navigate the blog and instantly find the page that they want.
9. Follow By Email: This gadget allows constant followers to be notified when there is a new post. It can be extremely helpful in a classroom blog because it allows the parents to be immediately notified when new information is posted. It can inform parents of upcoming events that are posted on the blog. It also can be useful if parents forget to check the blog because they receive an email, and this helps encourage the parents to interact with the online classroom.
10. Video: I posted three videos about plagiarism. One video was created for a school project, another video presents the issue of plagiarism in a very visual way, and the last video is from a news station. The video link allows viewers to look at specific videos chosen by the blog author. This can help eliminate wasted time that the viewer would have spent trying to find credible videos online.