A blog as a learning log

Something which we have a lot of enquiries about in the OCA forums is the subject of blogging. For some people, blogging couldn't be simpler and have been doing it for years, but for others it's yet another buzz word in an already quite buzz-word swamped world of podcasts, dongles, i-This and i-That. This OCA element aims to introduce the uninitiated to the world of blogging... or the 'blogosphere' as some call it.

What is a blog... and blogging?

A blog is just an online diary or journal that you can use to document anything you like, whether that be your daily routine, your hobbies or, indeed, your progress through an OCA course. The benefits of using a blog over a paper diary or journal are numerous:

• A blog can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection by any number of people simultaneously around the world
• It can be structured in any way that you like - chronological, reverse-chronological, by subject, by author, or through the use of descriptive tags
• A blog, if made public, doubles as a means of self-publication
• Blogs enable you to easily reference other articles on the web (no scissors and pritt-stick)
• Your blog can double as a portfolio of images, videos or music tracks.

So, they're quite versatile, and whether or not you choose to use one for your studies with OCA is up to you, but they can be useful tools to have when it comes to promoting yourself as an artist, writer or photographer. The following video deals with the initial hurdle some face, which is actually 'getting a blog'. I've known a few people who have paid for a blog after seeing an online advertisement. I would recommend that anyone who is new to blogging first register for a free blog with either Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr or another free blogging service; you can always switch to a blog with your own unique web address at a later date if you wish to.

Registering for a blog

Uploading an image

If you're a student of courses that deal with visual media, you will most likely want to upload images to your blog. The following video deals with that aspect: