How to Use This Blog:
Posts - The Home page lists the titles of all the blog posts, with the newest one at the the top of the page. Only a few sentences of the post show on the Home page, but you can read the rest by clicking on the title. If you’d like to read an older post that isn’t showing on the page, go to the bottom and click on “Older Entries”.
Categories - All posts are also grouped by category. In the blue category bar you’ll see:
- culture (what makes us a group)
- in the news (interesting things happening around the world)
- interesting people (everyone has a story to tell)
- learning (You can do it!)
- my world (me and mine)
- this and that (the things that don’t fit anywhere else)
- useful words (real-world English)
Clicking on one of these will take you to a page that shows all the posts that relate to that category.
Comments - Many posts have a blue rectangle at the bottom that says “Tell Me!” followed by a question. The question is designed to give you something to think about and talk about. If you’d like to share your answer with me, you can leave a comment. In fact, you can leave a comment at any time, about anything. Your comments don’t have to be responses to the “Tell Me!” questions. I love your comments, and I read and respond to them all.
If you’ve never left a comment on a blog before, it may seem strange at first. Here’s how you do it: Go to the very bottom of the post that you want to comment on. You will see the words “Leave Reply,” and under that, a big empty box. That box is where you put your comment. When you are finished writing your comment, click on the gray “Submit Comment” button. That’s all! If your comment doesn’t show up immediately, don’t worry. It will appear later.
Links - Blue words are links to another site where you can read more about the topic or watch a video.
Translation - If you would like to read the page in another language, use the Google Translator button. It’s on the top left of most pages. However, you should be aware that this translation tool is really not very accurate. It can be useful to give you a general idea of the meaning, but don’t put too much trust in it!
Definitions - You will notice that some words are underlined with a dashed (broken) line. If you move your cursor over these words, a definition will appear.
Advanced Topics:
Subscribing - Subscription is a handy way to keep in touch. When you subscribe, you will automatically be notified every time I update the blog with a new post. Updates can be sent to your RSS reader, your email address, your Twitter account, or your Facebook account. You can make your selection from the “Subscription Options” bar at the top right of the Home page. If you would like to subscribe, but aren’t familiar with all the subscription options, just choose email.
Sharing - At the bottom of each post, you’ll see the words “Share and Enjoy!” with seven different symbols underneath. The symbols represent different social media sites (you will see the name of each one when you place your cursor over it). They are: del.icio.us, Digg, Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, Google Buzz, and Google Reader. You can click the symbol of your favorite site to quickly share a link to the post with your friends.
