About the Blog


The Class Blog

Period 2:                  http://hcp2y1011.blogspot.com/
Period 3:                  http://hcp3y1011.blogspot.com/

What is Our Class Blog?
Our class blog represents the cooperative effort of our class to document what occurs in class on a daily basis. Each day, one student in the class will serve the role of being the scribe. The scribe is responsible for documenting the lesson of that day. The scribe tells the story of class. He/she describes the details of the activities that occur and explains the concepts, principles and mathematics of the lesson. Before the next class period, the scribe is responsible for logging onto our class blog and adding a "post" to our class blog. This will involve some planning, thinking and writing. Once completed, the post is published and becomes a part of the blog.

As we proceed through the course, the blog will become our story - it is an ongoing and growing document that details our journey through chemistry. In effect, the blog becomes "our book", written by us and for us. And being that the blog is on the internet, it will also be there for whomever else happens to drop in. So make an effort to be at your best because you will be writing for an audience that is much larger than 25 students.

As we collectively document our story, we will be creating a resource that we can use. As we each do our best to present the lesson of that day, we will be creating our personal book. The textbook should include explanations of concepts and principles, example math problems and solutions, diagrams which were presented and discussed, photos and videos of demonstrations, discussions of labs, embedded YouTube videos, links to useful websites, etc. Furthermore, our book will be searchable, allowing us to use it as a study and resource tool. When it comes time to prepare for a quiz or exam, the blog will be a useful study tool. When we recognize we are having difficulty with a concept, the blog will be a quick and ready reference tool. As the collective effort of our class to document our journey through chemistry, the blog will always be there to provide guidance to any student who is finding themselves in troubled waters.

What Should Be in My Blog?
Many students will find that blogging can be fun. It can also be rewarding to view your writing published on the internet. But blogging will also require some time and effort. Fortunately, it is a responsibility which you will assume only once in 20-25 school days. On the day that you are the scribe, you will receive one homework credit for successfully completing your blogging responsibilities.

As described above, your scribe post should include a complete and detailed documentation of the day's activities. You should describe the lesson and explain the content that was presented. This description and explanation should include anything relevant to understanding what occurred on that day. You may include important diagrams, videos, photos, charts or web links. You may reference pages from the packet and include scanned images that show your completed solutions to questions. You may use your camera phone or simply a camera to take pictures or videos of demonstrations, laboratory results, whiteboard notes, etc. These items can be embedded in the post and discussed. You can embed YouTube videos into your post if such videos were shown in class. Any item that is necessary or useful for documenting the activities of that day should be included in the post. Whatever you include, keep in mind that you are the author (the scribe) and your goal is to document that day of our journey through chemistry.

Blogging Directions and Information
Blogging requires that you have a Google account. We will use Blogger - which is a Google blog tool. 

  1. The school has set up for you a Google account that can be accessed by going to Google and logging in as ID@glenbrook225.org (where ID is your student ID number). 
  2. From the Settings tab (top right), select Google Account Settings. 
  3. Click on Blogger; a page appears listing your Honors Chemistry Blog.  
  4. Click on New Post; a word-processing looking page appears. This is where you write your blog. 
  5. Enter the day and date as the title (Friday, August 27). 
  6. Plan and write your blog; there is a Save button at the bottom. There are a wealth of buttons to format your blog and to embed links, pictures and videos. 
  7. Before you Publish the blog, give it a thorough checking. 
  8. Enter the following into the Labels field: your firstNameAndLastInitial (TomH), chemistry, the unitNumber (Unit1), and any other words or terms that would allow one to find relevant content in your blog through a search (e.g., scientific method, lab safety, goggles, working around flames, lab accidents). 
  9. When finished, click on the Publish Post button.


Your blog can be saved using the button at the bottom of the page. You can close your article and come back later. Click on the Edit Posts link and find your post. Click the edit button next to its name.