So here we are a whole year later and the Tel Tales blog is still going strong!  

Rather than just us rambling on, we’d like to invite colleagues from around the University to write a blog for us. We’d like your blog to be associated with technology in some shape or form, but that’s not always necessary.

It’s often difficult to get started, so we’ve detailed some types of content that we’re interested in publishing in the hope that it might prompt you to tell your story:

    • Have you’ve tried a piece of software that you found amazing? Or started using a new App that you want to shout about? It could help you with your studies, get you ready for the exams period or calm you down after a really stressful day.
    • Have you attended a conference where new technology was demonstrated and you’d like to share with colleagues across the University.
    • Have you produce a course introductory video with us, and want to encourage others to do the same? You could embed this video into your blog post.
    • Have you attended a TEL training session and then incorporated what you learnt into your teaching? Tell us how your audience responded, was it a success or a failure?
    • Have you taken a Lynda.com course and want to write your verdict on it? How did you feel using Lynda.com? Would you use it again? Have you been able to implement what you learnt on Lynda.com into your teaching?

When you start to think about writing a blog, even one on a topic you’re familiar with, does your mind go blank? If so, you’ll find some help and tips on what makes a successful blog in our first ever post Why Blog? Good question, why blog indeed?. If you want to gain more confidence and knowledge before tackling your first blog try taking a course on Lynda.com, there are a wealth of informative videos on blogging, and also some aimed at creating a blog, and finding images for blogging. Some of these are videos which are only a couple of minutes long, so go on, take a look, you know, you want to!

For a slightly longer course take a look at the Writing a Compelling Blog Post by Starshine Roshell. Starshine is an award-winning journalist and writing coach, her course covers area such as, content, structure, style policies, much the same as other courses, but she also demonstrates how to personalise your blog “by developing your own voice” and how to turn your knowledge into a brief, passionate, but sensitive blog that will make people want to read it. Starshine includes a Blog Checklist, which reminds you of things to keep in mind when writing your own content, and is certainly useful to look at once you’ve completed your writing.

If you’re interested in writing a blog for us, email elearn@port.ac.uk with your ideas on a subject.

So are you ready . . . . . . .

Image credits: Photo by Mona Eendra on Unsplash