ASSETT

This article is a part of the series focusing on tools you can use to create a class website. Unlike a lot of the options this series has included, TypePad is not a free tool. However, we included it due to its large number of features and easy accessibility.

Creating an account is free, but blogging plans costs vary. All the costs below are per month.

• Basic: $4.95, 100 MB of storage and includes design options, photo and video uploads, and support
• Plus: $8.95, 500 MB of storage and includes Basic features as well as additional blogs and domain mapping
• Pro: $14.95, 1000 MB of storage, includes Basic and Plus features, as well as allowing additional authors and more design options
• Business: $89.95, unlimited storage and includes all Basic, Plus and Pro features, as well as geting priority support and annual invoicing.

Students don’t have to pay to access private blogs—they can read TypePad blogs by creating a free account. TypePad also offers a 14-day free trial, so if you are unsure about using it, you can test drive it before using it in your class.

After creating your account TypePad takes you to your ‘Dashboard’, or personal homepage. From here you can navigate to other areas of the site:

• Profile: contains your display name, a picture you chose, a short-self written bio, and links to any other sites you have created.

• Library: Holds the photo albums and your file manager. The file manager allows you to upload and manage any type of file.  This is where you can upload resources for students to your blog.

Your blog starts as a blank slate. In the design area you can customize it:

• Theme: choose from hundreds of options or create your own

• Layout: TypePad offers a classic and mixed media layout. Classic is more text-oriented, offering a large range of sidebar modules (which will be explained later in this article). The mixed media style is for more image-based content. Both allow you to drag and drop content into different areas of the page.

• Widgets: Widgets are tools created by third-parties that can be used to help organize content, display information, and add extra features to your blog.

TypePad offers hundreds of widgets. In order to quickly find one that suits your content, they are divided into categories, including:

• Calendars and Events
• Chat
• Community
• Photos and Video
• Polls

In addition to all of these extra features, TypePad offers different security levels. You can create a password-protected blog just for you and your students. You can also add additional authors to your blog so multiple people can post (but this is only available with the pro version). TypePad can also be set to block certain words in comments and posts, so you don’t have to constantly censor students’ comments.

TypePad helps you create your blog by providing useful tips as you create you customize it step-by-step. And if you encounter problems, there is a FAQ section you can search, as well as support staff you can contact via email.

Though you have to pay for a TypePad blog, it contains more features than the free blogging sites we have discussed in this series. If you’re looking for extra options on your web page, TypePad is an option to consider.

Written by: Kaity Hauge, CU ’13, ASSETT Research Assistant

Tech Ideas blog, class website, Teaching technology, technology tools, Web 2.0