coComments related to Welcome to The Edublogger!

I am trying to have students a

2009-06-16T15:53:19.922+02:00

I am trying to have students add to the class blog as a contributor and make posts about our class topics. How do I allow them capabilty to add media, such as images and video links…which of course I will approve as I review? Thank you.

Hi Sue, What application did y

2008-11-10T07:22:11.948+01:00

Hi Sue, What application did you use to create the graphic for this post? I tried to read the ……com at the bottom but my eyes are old and tired!

In our school, parents are ask

2008-09-04T19:50:54.171+02:00

In our school, parents are asked to fill in an AUP for online publishing and internet usage. These forms are checke to ensure their are not custody issues. I find students love having photos online. However, we try to upload students as part of a group rather than individuals. There are times, though, where students are so proud of their achievements, that they wish to record this visually. Students and staff are asked not to identify the names of students in the photos and so far after 12 months of blogging there have been no issues. We have grandparents from overseas who regularly visit their grandchildren’s blogs and this is a fantastic way of keeping them up to date and connected. Here is the chance to teach students appropriate use of photos and images before they become too embroiled in social networking sites and inappropriate media.

Hello folks, At my school we h

2008-08-29T23:29:51.099+02:00

Hello folks, At my school we have the following policy:Students will be identified by their first names only. Student pictures posted online will NOT have students names connected to it.This policy isn’t written anywhere (that I can find) but is agreed upon by our staff (we are a small school in a small town, we can get away with it).

This is still an important iss

2008-08-29T16:19:34.646+02:00

This is still an important issue for debate in the school community. Our school policy allows images and even student identification with parental consent. We have a separate permisssion form dealing with pictures and if a newspaper comes in and photographs a student, the parent is contacted to be sure they are okay with the identification by name before it runs in the paper or on television. As a kindergarten teacher with a blog meant for home school communication, I pay close attention to having documented parental permission for the photos. For the upcoming year, I am still missing a few permissions; no one has said no but some have not returned the paperwork. In my blog, I make every effort to avoid using names. I blur them out if they are written on a child (nametag). In the past I have blurred the face of child in a compostite shot when it is important to the story I am telling and want to include it. I have also done this for handed out newsletters to homes. I have erred a couple of times as I am also using videos and if they involve academic work, I may inadvertently use a child’s name when talking with them in the video. Just more practice with the medium should fix that. It’s been a couple of years since a parent has denied permission to release photos and these usually involve hiding kids from non-custodial parents. All in all, the response to student photo use has been tremendous. It shows the students interacting together; it provides a starting point for student-parent communication about schoolwork and classmates; it engages everyone in the technology; it show parents that using pictures properly can be a safe and positive experience; it shows extended family members around the country what is happening in their little friend’s classroom and it makes them more connected somehow. Gail P

I think common sense rules her

2008-08-29T14:15:18.517+02:00

I think common sense rules here. As the webmaster and photographer at a school. All students’ parents are aware in their school contract that their daughters image may be used for advertising purposes etc. They then have the choice to opt out of this and insist that no images can be used – and their wishes are obviously respected. When a photo is used it is usually “annonomised” so a student name is never attributed to a photograph – this even applies to newsletters and most publicity documents too.If a student or parent objects to a photo that is used and posted to a newsletter or website then it’s polite and respectful to take the photo down immediately.I find that most students and parents think that it’s fantastic to see themselves online – I’ve never had a photo on our splash screen complained about, but have had lots of praise and comments such as ” that’s a great photo of my kid on your website, can I have a copy?”

@ScienceGeek. Sometimes, depen

2009-10-08T17:48:46.904+02:00

@ScienceGeek. Sometimes, depending on screen resolution, when you click on Appearence, Themes. You have to scroll down quite a bit before you see the themes. We have this happen in 800 x 600 resolution.

Reply: @sciencegeek, Did you c

2009-09-14T21:10:37.433+02:00

Reply: @sciencegeek, Did you click on Appearance > themes? Here are detailed instructions for changing themes. If that doesn’t work please give me your blog URL so I can check it out.

When I go to the dashboard and

2009-08-22T00:32:27.962+02:00

When I go to the dashboard and click on appearance. I get teh pull down menu abd choose themes but then there is nothing… HOw do I see the themes and choose one for my blog? Reply: @sciencegeek, Did you click on Appearance > themes? Here are detailed instructions for changing themes. If that doesn’t work please give me your blog URL so I can check it out.

Reply: @Kyle, You need to read

2009-07-29T03:54:18.491+02:00

Reply: @Kyle, You need to read Controlling who can comment on posts in the Getting Started with Edublogs manual

Hi,I would like for the commen

2009-07-05T07:16:09.020+02:00

Hi,I would like for the comments that students post to be automatically “approved.” Currently, their comments don’t show up on our class blog until I’ve approved them. Is there a way to do this?Thanks,–Kyle Reply: @Kyle, You need to read Controlling who can comment on posts in the Getting Started with Edublogs manual

Reply: @msharrishawks, You can

2009-06-11T10:37:59.549+02:00

Reply: @msharrishawks, You can’t. Every blog has only one post page but you can have as many static pages as you like. If you want to write posts on different topics you are better organising it by using categories – I suggest you read the information on the Help site about posts, pages, categories and tags.

Hi!I am really confused about

2009-05-18T13:59:50.078+02:00

Hi!I am really confused about pages vs posts. I am setting up a blog for my fourth grade classroom. I initially thought that pages would be “pages” of my blog. I thought we would be able to update each page with different kinds of posts. For example, the “Fly Away” page was supposed to be the page on which we could collaborate with other schools and the “extra extra” page was where I would have kids update readers on our newest class discoveries. Instead, the “home” page appears to be the place where we can “blog” and the other pages appear to be more static. How can I have a blog that has links/tabs that link up to “pages” where we can be blogging for different purposes on each page? Thank you! Reply: @msharrishawks, You can’t. Every blog has only one post page but you can have as many static pages as you like. If you want to write posts on different topics you are better organising it by using categories – I suggest you read the information on the Help site about posts, pages, categories and tags.

Reply: Looks like Anubis doesn

2009-04-24T17:21:40.607+02:00

Reply: Looks like Anubis doesn’t allow comments on pages. Only the ones listed in the table above currently allow comments on pages.

I am very new to the world of

2009-03-31T20:43:31.136+02:00

I am very new to the world of blogs. I’m trying to create a blog for my classroom where there are 2-3 pages where comments can be made. I read the above posts and am still confused as to how this works. The theme for the blog is Anubis1.0 It is listed as a very flexible, 3 column, custom header theme. There’s a spot on the welcome page only for comments. What am I doing wrong? Reply: Looks like Anubis doesn’t allow comments on pages. Only the ones listed in the table above currently allow comments on pages.

Reply: My understanding Marie

2009-02-27T17:01:17.438+01:00

Reply: My understanding Marie is that once you add any widget to the sidebar it removes the default widgets and you have to add them each in manually. Very frustrating if you don’t realise and probably a post I need to write for people.

Reply: Thanks Sue, yes it is a

2009-02-23T13:59:15.326+01:00

Reply: Thanks Sue, yes it is a strange one. When I first did this, it certainly removed my blogroll but also my pages as well. However, I discovered I could put the pages widget and have the look I was after.Sue Waters Reply: My understanding Marie is that once you add any widget to the sidebar it removes the default widgets and you have to add them each in manually. Very frustrating if you don’t realise and probably a post I need to write for people.

Reply: By default new blogs co

2009-02-19T10:57:13.214+01:00

Reply: By default new blogs come set up with the blogroll in their sidebar. If you add any widget to the side bar from memory it will either remove the blogroll widget or display it so that you can remove. Trust me that one has also driven me crazy ’cause it made no sense.Marie Reply: Thanks Sue, yes it is a strange one. When I first did this, it certainly removed my blogroll but also my pages as well. However, I discovered I could put the pages widget and have the look I was after.Sue Waters Reply: February 20th, 2009 at 4:09 pmMy understanding Marie is that once you add any widget to the sidebar it removes the default widgets and you have to add them each in manually. Very frustrating if you don’t realise and probably a post I need to write for people.

Re themes: do some have an inb

2009-02-15T07:55:11.102+01:00

Re themes: do some have an inbuilt blogroll that cannot be removed? I don’t need a blogroll for a site I’m doing. However, when I go to widgets I can’t get the blogroll off. It is saying ‘0′ widgets, but the blogroll is still there. Reply: By default new blogs come set up with the blogroll in their sidebar. If you add any widget to the side bar from memory it will either remove the blogroll widget or display it so that you can remove. Trust me that one has also driven me crazy ’cause it made no sense.Marie Reply: Thanks Sue, yes it is a strange one. When I first did this, it certainly removed my blogroll but also my pages as well. However, I discovered I could put the pages widget and have the look I was after.Sue Waters Reply: February 20th, 2009 at 4:09 pmMy understanding Marie is that once you add any widget to the sidebar it removes the default widgets and you have to add them each in manually. Very frustrating if you don’t realise and probably a post I need to write for people.

Reply: No problem Marie – ther

2009-02-07T06:08:07.373+01:00

Reply: No problem Marie – there is so much to know about blogging and I’m always learning some thing new.

Thank you kindly for your pati

2009-02-05T06:45:36.566+01:00

Thank you kindly for your patience and explanations. Reply: No problem Marie – there is so much to know about blogging and I’m always learning some thing new.

Thanks Sue, now I see the diff

2009-02-03T06:45:37.696+01:00

Thanks Sue, now I see the difference. The contents of the comments are inititally hidden but when you click on comments, they appear underneath the post. Some blogs I’ve seen though, have the comments appear under the post without having to click on the comments link. Reply: Marie – The situations where you are seeing the comments directly underneath without having to click on the links are most likely pages and not posts.

Deem, I have the same query (

2009-02-02T05:58:07.215+01:00

Deem, I have the same query (and theme as you). To access comments, you are taken to another page and then view the comments from there. Is it possible to have the comments view under the post same as Sue’s comments here? Re: themes and comments: Does it mean the theme list compiled shows the comments underneath the post as in Sue’s theme here or, that comments can be left but some are shown on the page and some you have to go to another page to view them? I don’t think the list differentiates in how comments are displayed. Reply: @Marie comments are normally displayed at the bottom of the page they are written on – so when you click on the page and scroll to the bottom you will see the comments. This post on the differences between pages and posts may help you both.

Reply: Pages are found across

2009-02-01T17:43:43.990+01:00

Reply: Pages are found across in your header – you only have two of them and the place to write a reply appears there. I think you are getting muddled up with posts which appear when your blog is loaded as normal – in posts you do have to click comments for them to appear under the posts.

I use the Andreas09 2.1 theme

2009-02-01T05:29:00.765+01:00

I use the Andreas09 2.1 theme and comments do not show up on the page. You have to click on the comments to see the comments. Do I need to change a setting to have the comments show up on the page? Reply: Not quite sure what you mean. When I click on your page “Book review” and scroll to the bottom of the page I can see the area to leave a comment.Miss W. Reply: Pages are found across in your header – you only have two of them and the place to write a reply appears there. I think you are getting muddled up with posts which appear when your blog is loaded as normal – in posts you do have to click comments for them to appear under the posts.

Reply: @marknair59, This lates

2009-10-24T14:08:23.324+02:00

Reply: @marknair59, This latest version of WordPress that Edublogs now uses does automatically delete the bad code from Word — so that definitely has helped. In terms of your other question it really depends on what you are wanting them to do in the assignment. It may be a combination of them writing reflections on a blog and writing the final product on a wiki is the best option. However it is hard to know without more specific details in terms of what you are waiting them to write.

Sue:Obviously a problem with p

2009-10-17T17:36:57.347+02:00

Sue:Obviously a problem with posing to blogs with word, though comments above offer solutions. Here’s MY problem. I want students to do some large projects like a long paper, powerpoint, stuff like that. I have an RSS feed on my own blog so I can track when my students post to it. Thus, potentially I can track submissions by students. Wrting a paper on a blog seems ridiculous. One reader comments about a program that probably removes code, and allows you to post. I don’t want to do anything until I get this figured out. Any suggestions. ThanksMark Nair New web 2.0 learner Reply: @marknair59, This latest version of WordPress that Edublogs now uses does automatically delete the bad code from Word — so that definitely has helped. In terms of your other question it really depends on what you are wanting them to do in the assignment. It may be a combination of them writing reflections on a blog and writing the final product on a wiki is the best option. However it is hard to know without more specific details in terms of what you are waiting them to write.

Hi I am new here, but I’m sure

2009-10-10T21:05:31.370+02:00

Hi I am new here, but I’m sure glad that this was the very first post to my blog. It actually solved a dilemna I had copying a word document into my Yola web page. Yes, it has to do with code.I just want to thank everyone for writing because you just helped me to avoid some future frustration with my highschool classes blogging. You guys are marvelous. Thanksmbrehm in Harvey, LA Computer User from the Atari and Commodore 64 days!!

Reply: @Michele Can you give m

2009-10-04T00:34:05.393+02:00

Reply: @Michele Can you give me the link to the page you mean so I can check it out?

I just wrote a page by by sele

2009-09-27T04:02:39.416+02:00

I just wrote a page by by selecting new page from the dashboard. I did use bullets since they’re on the toolbar. When I looked at my page the bullets were not there.I didn’t write in Word, but the pagee doesn’t look like the one I wrote from the dashboard.Help!Michele Abramsky Reply: @Michele Can you give me the link to the page you mean so I can check it out?

Reply: @Ken Allan, I guess I w

2009-09-20T07:31:13.439+02:00

Reply: @Ken Allan, I guess I was coming at from the point that all observers were until very recently reporting the same behaviour. (As an investigator, I looked at the source code and understood why it was behaving in the manner reported, but that is merely an aside.)I think you comment is entirely true when it comes to investigating natural systems. BTW: I am still waiting for Higg’s boson to put in an unequivocal appearance.

Reply: @Sue Waters – I don’t k

2009-09-13T10:59:47.462+02:00

Reply: @Sue Waters – I don’t know if there is a ‘help’ here. But many decades ago, when I was drafting research reports and a thesis, my good supervisor, Ted, was always ready with advice.He didn’t criticise, but proffered ideas and suggestions. One of his best was in the use of language in scientific reports – I think his advice could also help in reporting on blogs.Ted explained that if a finding seemed to lead to a conclusion, rather than state that conclusion it was better to say, “it suggests that . . .”.If an observation tended to refute a claim, rather than say the claim was in error it was better to say, “the observations did not support the claim”.If almost unequivocal evidence was amassed refuting a claim, it was collegial to suggest that a closer look at the evidence was in order but to admit that there was still margin for more observation to be made.Humility goes a long way with this, but it’s hard to be humble. I know how difficult it is, for I’m the most humble person I know. Catchya laterphilhart Reply: @Ken Allan, I guess I was coming at from the point that all observers were until very recently reporting the same behaviour. (As an investigator, I looked at the source code and understood why it was behaving in the manner reported, but that is merely an aside.)I think you comment is entirely true when it comes to investigating natural systems. BTW: I am still waiting for Higg’s boson to put in an unequivocal appearance.

Reply: @grw04002 @Phil Hart @K

2009-09-06T14:28:21.485+02:00

Reply: @grw04002 @Phil Hart @Ken Allen I learnt a long time ago with blogs if someone says or implies opposite of what you thought was true to never discount. Always investigate! Because more often than not — they aren’t wrong and further investigation was definitely needed. So thanks @grw04002 for bringing it to our attention…and based on this what advice would/should I give others re-Word — no idea Still pondering.Ken Allan Reply: @Sue Waters – I don’t know if there is a ‘help’ here. But many decades ago, when I was drafting research reports and a thesis, my good supervisor, Ted, was always ready with advice.He didn’t criticise, but proffered ideas and suggestions. One of his best was in the use of language in scientific reports – I think his advice could also help in reporting on blogs.Ted explained that if a finding seemed to lead to a conclusion, rather than state that conclusion it was better to say, “it suggests that . . .”.If an observation tended to refute a claim, rather than say the claim was in error it was better to say, “the observations did not support the claim”.If almost unequivocal evidence was amassed refuting a claim, it was collegial to suggest that a closer look at the evidence was in order but to admit that there was still margin for more observation to be made.Humility goes a long way with this, but it’s hard to be humble. I know how difficult it is, for I’m the most humble person I know. Catchya laterphilhart Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 3:58 am@Ken Allan, I guess I was coming at from the point that all observers were until very recently reporting the same behaviour. (As an investigator, I looked at the source code and understood why it was behaving in the manner reported, but that is merely an aside.)I think you comment is entirely true when it comes to investigating natural systems. BTW: I am still waiting for Higg’s boson to put in an unequivocal appearance.

Reply: @Ken Allan, What a beau

2009-08-30T17:56:55.508+02:00

Reply: @Ken Allan, What a beautifully insightful comment! Thanks, Ken. Sue Waters Reply: @grw04002 @Phil Hart @Ken Allen I learnt a long time ago with blogs if someone says or implies opposite of what you thought was true to never discount. Always investigate! Because more often than not — they aren’t wrong and further investigation was definitely needed. So thanks @grw04002 for bringing it to our attention…and based on this what advice would/should I give others re-Word — no idea Still pondering.Ken Allan Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 12:44 am@Sue Waters – I don’t know if there is a ‘help’ here. But many decades ago, when I was drafting research reports and a thesis, my good supervisor, Ted, was always ready with advice.He didn’t criticise, but proffered ideas and suggestions. One of his best was in the use of language in scientific reports – I think his advice could also help in reporting on blogs.Ted explained that if a finding seemed to lead to a conclusion, rather than state that conclusion it was better to say, “it suggests that . . .”.If an observation tended to refute a claim, rather than say the claim was in error it was better to say, “the observations did not support the claim”.If almost unequivocal evidence was amassed refuting a claim, it was collegial to suggest that a closer look at the evidence was in order but to admit that there was still margin for more observation to be made.Humility goes a long way with this, but it’s hard to be humble. I know how difficult it is, for I’m the most humble person I know. Catchya laterphilhart Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 3:58 am@Ken Allan, I guess I was coming at from the point that all observers were until very recently reporting the same behaviour. (As an investigator, I looked at the source code and understood why it was behaving in the manner reported, but that is merely an aside.)I think you comment is entirely true when it comes to investigating natural systems. BTW: I am still waiting for Higg’s boson to put in an unequivocal appearance.

Reply: @Sue Waters – Aha!Kia o

2009-08-23T21:25:29.531+02:00

Reply: @Sue Waters – Aha!Kia ora Tātou!This is similar to a problem we frequently have at work when different versions of software are being used by different people. Of course, it causes problems (and arguments!)I have been unable to impress on (some of) my colleagues that mutual respect and a bit of trust goes a long way in keeping relationships open sufficient to resolve problems that arise due to this.A couple of weeks back I was about to address 60 teachers and facilitate a discussion on cybersafety. I’d selected a series of videos to spark discussion. Naturally I arrived 45 minutes earlier so I could check out the equipment set up in the discussion room. I discovered that the laptop there would not play any of my vids. When I asked for assistance I was regarded as someone who really didn’t know how to use the equipment for all the laptops were set up the same way including the one set up in the discussion room – and I should have known that.Not!A quick check by an irritated IT manager confirmed that I was right. The problem was quickly resolved thereafter.The issue I bring here is that we need to think in terms of communication and possibilities as well as respect our fellows. Not everyone is using the same equipment/version/type of software. Not everyone uses these the same way either. Nothing new here.To argue that I am wrong when I say, “this is what I’ve found when I did it”, is as helpful as arguing about the right to have an opinion in the first place. Perhaps we should be more inquisitive when someone finds something different from ourselves.Glad we’re closer to resolving something here!And good on you Sue for being persistent – the hallmark of a true scientist!Catchya laterphilhart Reply: @Ken Allan, What a beautifully insightful comment! Thanks, Ken. Sue Waters Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 10:33 pm@grw04002 @Phil Hart @Ken Allen I learnt a long time ago with blogs if someone says or implies opposite of what you thought was true to never discount. Always investigate! Because more often than not — they aren’t wrong and further investigation was definitely needed. So thanks @grw04002 for bringing it to our attention…and based on this what advice would/should I give others re-Word — no idea Still pondering.Ken Allan Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 12:44 am@Sue Waters – I don’t know if there is a ‘help’ here. But many decades ago, when I was drafting research reports and a thesis, my good supervisor, Ted, was always ready with advice.He didn’t criticise, but proffered ideas and suggestions. One of his best was in the use of language in scientific reports – I think his advice could also help in reporting on blogs.Ted explained that if a finding seemed to lead to a conclusion, rather than state that conclusion it was better to say, “it suggests that . . .”.If an observation tended to refute a claim, rather than say the claim was in error it was better to say, “the observations did not support the claim”.If almost unequivocal evidence was amassed refuting a claim, it was collegial to suggest that a closer look at the evidence was in order but to admit that there was still margin for more observation to be made.Humility goes a long way with this, but it’s hard to be humble. I know how difficult it is, for I’m the most humble person I know. Catchya laterphilhart Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 3:58 am@Ken Allan, I guess I was coming at from the point that all observers were until very recently reporting the same behaviour. (As an investigator, I looked at the source code and understood why it was behaving in the manner reported, but that is merely an aside.)I think you comment is entirely true when it comes to investigating natural systems. BTW: I am still waiting for Higg’s boson to put in an unequivocal appearance.

Reply: @philhart, Thanks Phil

2009-08-17T00:54:03.554+02:00

Reply: @philhart, Thanks Phil – you can make it pretty again. There is a reason why I have numerous test blogs.

Reply: @Sue Waters, http://philhart.edublogs.org/ very unpretty atm.Sue Waters Reply: @philhart, Thanks Phil – you can make it pretty again. There is a reason why I have numerous test blogs.

Reply: @Phil Hart, can you giv

2009-08-03T07:51:11.600+02:00

Reply: @Phil Hart, can you give me a link or title to the draft post in your dashboard so I can look at it? mmmm well the good news is now if people do copy/paste from Word into an Edublogs blog it is extremely unlikely to now cause problems in Internet Explorer. However that doesn’t apply to all blog software, and may only apply to this specific version of WordPress MU. Thoughts?philhart Reply: @Sue Waters, http://philhart.edublogs.org/ very unpretty atm.Sue Waters Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 6:52 pm@philhart, Thanks Phil – you can make it pretty again. There is a reason why I have numerous test blogs.

Reply: @Sue Waters, I got a si

2009-07-27T11:19:45.623+02:00

Reply: @Sue Waters, I got a similar, though not identical, result. It certainly seems to clean up all the extraneous MS-Word clutter, and it translates appropriately bold, and dumps strange fonts, but it does not accept colours . On the whole, I think this version is a major improvement on its predecessor. Sue Waters Reply: @Phil Hart, can you give me a link or title to the draft post in your dashboard so I can look at it? mmmm well the good news is now if people do copy/paste from Word into an Edublogs blog it is extremely unlikely to now cause problems in Internet Explorer. However that doesn’t apply to all blog software, and may only apply to this specific version of WordPress MU. Thoughts?philhart Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 6:39 pm@Sue Waters, http://philhart.edublogs.org/ very unpretty atm.Sue Waters Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 6:52 pm@philhart, Thanks Phil – you can make it pretty again. There is a reason why I have numerous test blogs.

@grw04002 @Phil Hart @Ken Alle

2009-07-20T14:48:19.646+02:00

@grw04002 @Phil Hart @Ken Allen If @grw04002 means this blog http://mrwaldron.edublogs.org/ and the latest post on the blog – he is correct – there is definitely no extra code in his latest post. Understandably if he pasted directly from Word into the Visual Editor of a blog post he would ask why I am saying this if there is no extra code.So we have two choices 1) he is right 2) he is doing something that is removing the code. Time to test! And guess what – testing it looks like he is correct. To me it looks like with this version of WordPress MU – which is WPMU 2.8.2 it is removing the extra code. Here is my test post – Testing Word. I tried it several times and I’m not getting any code being transferred by just copy & pasting directing into the visual editor.Could some one also please test and confirm with me they are getting the same results?Interesting facts about this. WordPress MU is still including the Paste from Word button in their advanced formating toolbar. If this is correct – are they aware it is no longer needed? WordPress.com support material currently still provides exactly the same advice as me – although their support material is for an older version of WPMU. Reply: @Sue Waters, I got a similar, though not identical, result. It certainly seems to clean up all the extraneous MS-Word clutter, and it translates appropriately bold, and dumps strange fonts, but it does not accept colours . On the whole, I think this version is a major improvement on its predecessor. Sue Waters Reply: @Phil Hart, can you give me a link or title to the draft post in your dashboard so I can look at it? mmmm well the good news is now if people do copy/paste from Word into an Edublogs blog it is extremely unlikely to now cause problems in Internet Explorer. However that doesn’t apply to all blog software, and may only apply to this specific version of WordPress MU. Thoughts?philhart Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 6:39 pm@Sue Waters, http://philhart.edublogs.org/ very unpretty atm.Sue Waters Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 6:52 pm@philhart, Thanks Phil – you can make it pretty again. There is a reason why I have numerous test blogs.Ken Allan Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 8:38 pm@Sue Waters – Aha!Kia ora Tātou!This is similar to a problem we frequently have at work when different versions of software are being used by different people. Of course, it causes problems (and arguments!)I have been unable to impress on (some of) my colleagues that mutual respect and a bit of trust goes a long way in keeping relationships open sufficient to resolve problems that arise due to this.A couple of weeks back I was about to address 60 teachers and facilitate a discussion on cybersafety. I’d selected a series of videos to spark discussion. Naturally I arrived 45 minutes earlier so I could check out the equipment set up in the discussion room. I discovered that the laptop there would not play any of my vids. When I asked for assistance I was regarded as someone who really didn’t know how to use the equipment for all the laptops were set up the same way including the one set up in the discussion room – and I should have known that.Not!A quick check by an irritated IT manager confirmed that I was right. The problem was quickly resolved thereafter.The issue I bring here is that we need to think in terms of communication and possibilities as well as respect our fellows. Not everyone is using the same equipment/version/type of software. Not everyone uses these the same way either. Nothing new here.To argue that I am wrong when I say, “this is what I’ve found when I did it”, is as helpful as arguing about the right to have an opinion in the first place. Perhaps we should be more inquisitive when someone finds something different from ourselves.Glad we’re closer to resolving something here!And good on you Sue for being persistent – the hallmark of a true scientist!Catchya laterphilhart Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 8:56 pm@Ken Allan, What a beautifully insightful comment! Thanks, Ken. Sue Waters Reply: August 15th, 2009 at 10:33 pm@grw04002 @Phil Hart @Ken Allen I learnt a long time ago with blogs if someone says or implies opposite of what you thought was true to never discount. Always investigate! Because more often than not — they aren’t wrong and further investigation was definitely needed. So thanks @grw04002 for bringing it to our attention…and based on this what advice would/should I give others re-Word — no idea Still pondering.Ken Allan Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 12:44 am@Sue Waters – I don’t know if there is a ‘help’ here. But many decades ago, when I was drafting research reports and a thesis, my good supervisor, Ted, was always ready with advice.He didn’t criticise, but proffered ideas and suggestions. One of his best was in the use of language in scientific reports – I think his advice could also help in reporting on blogs.Ted explained that if a finding seemed to lead to a conclusion, rather than state that conclusion it was better to say, “it suggests that . . .”.If an observation tended to refute a claim, rather than say the claim was in error it was better to say, “the observations did not support the claim”.If almost unequivocal evidence was amassed refuting a claim, it was collegial to suggest that a closer look at the evidence was in order but to admit that there was still margin for more observation to be made.Humility goes a long way with this, but it’s hard to be humble. I know how difficult it is, for I’m the most humble person I know. Catchya laterphilhart Reply: August 16th, 2009 at 3:58 am@Ken Allan, I guess I was coming at from the point that all observers were until very recently reporting the same behaviour. (As an investigator, I looked at the source code and understood why it was behaving in the manner reported, but that is merely an aside.)I think you comment is entirely true when it comes to investigating natural systems. BTW: I am still waiting for Higg’s boson to put in an unequivocal appearance.

Reply: @Ken Allan, Thanks for

2009-07-13T18:16:53.669+02:00

Reply: @Ken Allan, Thanks for your comment. Been there, done that project. Being an HTML junkie myself, I can report with complete confidence that every time that I have copied and pasted from Word, the HTML formatting from within Word gets transferred via the clipboard into the post.

Tenei to mihi ki a koutou!I ha

2009-07-06T21:45:27.692+02:00

Tenei to mihi ki a koutou!I have to admit that having followed this discussion since January (!) and contributed to it, that there seems to be no resolution forthcoming. We all seem to have our own beliefs. Clearly there is a disparity between some of what’s being reported here. Those who support the direct pasting from Word seem just as resolute in their belief as those who do not.It cannot be a factor of how one holds one’s mouth at the time, geographic location or belief held.Surely there must be a simple (dare I say Scientific) way of showing whether or not rogue html is lifted from Word with the text when it is copied! It should be as easy to show if the html, if present, is deposited with the text when it is pasted.There’s a project.Ngā mihi nui Reply: @Ken Allan, Thanks for your comment. Been there, done that project. Being an HTML junkie myself, I can report with complete confidence that every time that I have copied and pasted from Word, the HTML formatting from within Word gets transferred via the clipboard into the post.

Reply: Hi James, I do understa

2009-05-28T23:22:23.873+02:00

Reply: Hi James, I do understand why users often write in Word. Often it is a case that no one has ever told them the issues or what can happen if they paste straight from Word into a blog post. Some it has to do with access to the Internet, wanting students to have access to grammar and spell checker. Others try and use Word to create tables etc that then work in their blog posts. In most cases it is simpler, and safer for me to say, don’t copy/paste from Word then talk about the other options which can then confuse them — our users range in age from 6 years upwards. It becomes a huge issue when you have a user that has been doing it for a really long time. Going through all the posts to work out which post in particular is causing the problems isn’t a lot of fun.

If you like writing your blog

2009-05-19T07:17:08.524+02:00

If you like writing your blog posts in Word, why not just hit ’save as…’ and save as a text file? Saves the additional step of copy + pasting into a new text editor. Alternatively, you can also highlight and copy everything you’ve written in Word, and then select Edit >> Paste Special… >> Unformatted text.One last way to do this is also to view your formatting palette, highlight everything you’ve written and hit ‘clear formatting’. Reply: Hi James, I do understand why users often write in Word. Often it is a case that no one has ever told them the issues or what can happen if they paste straight from Word into a blog post. Some it has to do with access to the Internet, wanting students to have access to grammar and spell checker. Others try and use Word to create tables etc that then work in their blog posts. In most cases it is simpler, and safer for me to say, don’t copy/paste from Word then talk about the other options which can then confuse them — our users range in age from 6 years upwards. It becomes a huge issue when you have a user that has been doing it for a really long time. Going through all the posts to work out which post in particular is causing the problems isn’t a lot of fun.

Kia ora mledarkness /p

2009-05-09T15:11:53.175+02:00

Kia ora mledarkness /p> p class=”MsoNormal”> ![endif]– This is just a mock-up to show how what it looks like pasting across from Word. I havnet mangaed to run it through the splellchkcher, but it’s looking good just as it is. /p> p class=”MsoNormal”> p class=”MsoNormal”> Catchya later ![endif]– from Middle-earth (Sorry Sue ![endif]–

Reply: Well said!

2009-04-29T23:06:37.826+02:00

Reply: Well said!

Reply: Sure Word is great for

2009-04-20T07:01:22.477+02:00

Reply: Sure Word is great for spell checking – just make sure you put it through NotePad to remove the code. Remember that some of the code it brings in can totally cause Internet Explorer to lock up which means that it doesn’t matter how well you have written your post – many of your readers won’t be able to read.If everyone was able to use FireFox and Flock we wouldn’t have this problems philhart Reply: Well said!

Reply: Hmmm. This does rather

2009-04-10T14:56:07.128+02:00

Reply: Hmmm. This does rather make the assumption that the grammar checker and spell checker in Word actually work. I have long since forgotten how many times I have had to over-ride those two checkers.

I don’t agree. Word is a great

2009-03-31T22:50:51.779+02:00

I don’t agree. Word is a great. Maybe if this site had word processing, I would just use it. Since it doesn’t I have to resort to using Word, a program I like. I’d rather have tons of html and have it be grammatically correct than use this and have there be tons of mistakes. Reply: Hmmm. This does rather make the assumption that the grammar checker and spell checker in Word actually work. I have long since forgotten how many times I have had to over-ride those two checkers.Sue Waters Reply: Sure Word is great for spell checking – just make sure you put it through NotePad to remove the code. Remember that some of the code it brings in can totally cause Internet Explorer to lock up which means that it doesn’t matter how well you have written your post – many of your readers won’t be able to read.If everyone was able to use FireFox and Flock we wouldn’t have this problems philhart Reply: April 7th, 2009 at 2:56 pmWell said!

Reply: Good point about the gr

2009-03-07T05:10:42.152+01:00

Reply: Good point about the grammar check. I use FireFox that automatically spell checks but doesn’t do a grammar check.