Lesson video

Hello, I'm Mrs. Jones, and I'm really pleased that you're here today.

Today we're going to look at features of a blog, so let's get started.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit Using media to gain support for a cause.

Today's lesson is called Features of a blog.

And by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe the features of a blog and how they can be consistently formatted.

There are two key words to today's lesson.

Blog, a regularly updated website or webpage where an individual or group shares written content, images, or videos on various topics.

Microblog, a short form blog with brief updates, often on social media.

There are three sections to today's lesson: explain what a blog is, explain why text styles are used, and describe common features of blog posts.

We're gonna start with explain what a blog is.

There are lots of different ways to communicate online, for example, messaging apps, social media, email, video calls, blogs and personal websites, online gaming chat, and live streaming platforms. The term blog is shortened from weblog.

The idea of a weblog was developed over 20 years ago.

It was a web-based system that allowed people to create logs, journals, or diaries to share online.

People who created those online blogs are called bloggers.

Let's have a quick check.

What does the term blog originate from? Is it A, book log, B, weblog, or C, binary log? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was B, weblog.

Well done if you got that correct.

A website is interlinked information about an organisation or theme.

A blog is articles that are date stamped.

A microblog are short messages that are timestamped.

Organisations often maintain a blog to provide regular updates and news alongside a website and other social media.

You can usually find an organization's website by searching online using their name.

If you add the term blog to your search, you'll find their blog.

Blogs are sometimes described as news.

And here you have the website, search organisation name, and blog, search organization's blog.

Let's have a quick check.

Why do organisations often maintain a blog alongside their website? Is it A, to replace their website, B, to provide regular updates and news, or C, to make their website harder to find? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was B, to provide regular updates and news.

Well done if you got that correct.

You'll need your worksheet for this activity, and there are three questions.

What are blogs? Give some examples of what people might write about in a blog.

Two, how did blogs start? What were they originally called? And three, how are blogs used today by individuals and organisations? Pause the video, use your worksheet, and then we'll go through the answers.

Let's check your answers.

Question one was, what are blogs? Give some examples of what people might write about in a blog.

And the answer is blogs are like online diaries or news pages where people or groups write about their interests, like hobbies, games, or even what's happening in their community.

Question two, how did blogs start? What were they originally called? Blogs started as web pages when the internet was invented and were originally called weblogs.

In question three was, how are blogs used today by individuals and organisations? Blogs are used today by individuals to share their thoughts, and by organisations to give you the latest news and updates.

Sometimes blogs are even called news sections on websites.

Well done if you've got that correct.

The second part of today's lesson is explain why text styles are used.

Blogs like websites and word-processed documents contain texts that can be presented in different ways.

This blog post contains text with different size.

Headings are larger than the main text, and emphasis, some words are bold.

On a blog, text that is bold or underlined is often a hyperlink.

This means you can click on it to go to another webpage.

This is different from simply formatting text in a word processor.

Using a computer, you can display and print text in different styles and formats, bold, italic, underline, big, small, different fonts and different colours.

Let's have a quick check.

What is the main purpose of formatting text in a blog post? Is it A, to make the text load faster on a computer, B, to make the file size larger, or C, to make the text more visually appealing and easier to read? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was C, to make the text more visually appealing and easier to read.

Well done if you got that correct.

If you want text to look consistent throughout a document or between documents, you can use styles.

Styles are given names, such as title, heading, body text.

When you set text to have a particular style, for example, heading, you can change all heading text in one go.

You can use styles in different applications, including word processors, presentations programmes, web editors, and blog editors.

Let's have a quick check.

What is the main purpose of using styles in documents? Is it A, to make the document look random, B, to slow down the editing process, or C, to ensure consistent text formatting throughout the document? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was C, to ensure consistent text formatting throughout the document.

Well done if you got that correct.

You'll need your worksheet for this activity.

Explain the benefits of using text styles in a blog post.

Pause the video, use your worksheet, and then we'll go through the answer.

Let's check your answer.

Using text styles in a blog post helps to keep the document consistent and makes it easier to change the look of your text.

For example, if you use a heading style for all your section titles, you can change the font or size of all headings at once instead of changing them one by one.

Well done if you got that correct.

The last section of today's lesson is describe common features of blog posts.

A typical blog post may include: title that grabs the reader's attention.

Date, shows when it was published.

Author, identifies who wrote the post.

Main text, the content of the post.

Links directs readers to related content.

Images, makes the post more engaging.

And links to other blog posts keeps the readers on the site.

On this one, you can see we have a single blog post.

We have the title at the top.

We have the date, the author.

We have the text.

We have a link at the bottom, and we have an image.

On the right, we have links to other blog posts.

Each feature helps structure the blog post and improves the reader's experience.

Title encourages people to read, a date and author provides credibility, text and images makes content clear and engaging.

Links helps with navigation and extra information.

Let's have a quick check.

How do images and main text contribute to a blog post? Is it A, they encourage people to read the title, B, they help with navigation, or C, they make the content clear and engaging? Pause the video and consider your answer, and then we'll check.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was C, they make the content clear and engaging.

Well done if you got that correct.

If you were writing a blog, what would it include? The blog title, the date, the author, the blog text, and an image.

You'll need your worksheet for this activity.

Explain four features of a blog post and why they are important.

And the second part is you're going to create a short blog post.

Imagine you are writing about a topic you enjoy, like a hobby, a favourite book, or a recent event.

Your blog post must include the following elements: a title for your post, the current date, your name as the author, a short paragraph of at least three sentences, at least one image, or you can describe the image, and a link to another webpage.

Pause the video, use your worksheet, and then we'll go through.

Let's have a look at the answers.

Question one, explain features of a blog post and why they are important.

Features of a blog post are the title, author, text, images, and links.

The title grabs the reader's attention and indicates the post's topic, while the author's name and date add credibility and context.

Text presents the main content in a readable format.

Images make the post visually appealing and illustrate the content, while links direct readers to related information.

These features are all important for attracting readers, providing information clearly, and enhancing the overall blog post.

Well done if you got that one correct.

And here is an example of a short blog post.

Title, "My Awesome Adventure to the Park." Date, October 26th, 2023.

And the author, Lucas.

And the content, "Today was an amazing day.

I went to the park with my friends and we had so much fun.

First we played on the swings and tried to see who could swing the highest.

Then we had a picnic with sandwiches and juice.

After lunch, we played a big game of tag, and I was it most of the time." And the image, imagine a picture of children playing on swings at a sunny park.

Check out this cool website about local parks, www.

localparks.

com.

Well done if your blog post was similar to this.

In summary, a blog is a type of website where individuals or groups share frequently updated information like text, images, and videos.

To enhance their appearance and ensure consistency, blogs use text formatting, and styles.

These features help to organise information and make it easier for readers to navigate the content.