Why Blog Live from the Field?

As a grant funded teacher fellow on an Earthwatch expedition, you are asked to help bring a piece of your experience back to your students. What better way to engage your students in experiential learning than to engage them in your journey while you are live in the field? One of the most effective methods we have found is with an online web log, or blog. People back home can read and comment on your experience. Though we encourage open communication on your blog, please be conscious of your audience and monitor the comments on your blog and tailor your writing appropriately. We also ask that you contact your Earthwatch point person if there are any issues regarding your experience with the principal investigator, field staff, or the accommodations, instead of posting them on your blog.

With that said, please begin by checking out the following posts on how to set a blog of your own. Happy Blogging!

Start with a Blogging Account

Because of the user-friendly interface, flexible template options, and numerous feature options, we would like to suggest setting up a Life from the Field Teach Live Blog site through Blogger.com. There are other free blogger options online. If you are already familiar with another or your school only allows a certain one, please feel free to use the blogging service you like. We only ask that you still add the required features into your own blog, such as the LFF Flash map, sponsor logos, and site counter.

To get started with Blogger.com, you first need to set up a blogger account. Follow the step-by-step instructions in Blogger to create a blog page. Choose any page template you like and add the required and suggested features after. See the next blog entries to learn how to add required features and suggested features.

Allowing Comments and Moderating Them

If you would like to allow your students, colleagues, and or friends to comment on your blog, you will have to make sure the settings are correctly set in your blogger account. In your account, go to the Settings tab. Under the Comments sub-tab, make sure the following is set:

• Comments - show
• Who can comment? - Anyone
• Enable comment moderation? - Yes (add your email that you will be checking regularly. If you will not check email, you can leave this blank, but you will have to log into your blogger account to review the comments before allowing them to be posted).

Once you have set up your preferences, make sure to Save Settings. You are now set to receive comments and have the power to publish only the ones you deam worthy.

Adding the LFF Flash Map

This Flash application showcases all the current Live from the Field expeditions. An example of one is placed in the upper right menu part of this blog. It currently launches and opens to the Butterflies of Vietnam Expedition. Users can rollover each red dot and see the detailed map, expedition title, expedition dates, and link list. The link list will have direct links to the Earthwatch expedition page, its briefing, scientific case study (is available), teach live sites, and other project related site.

To embed a LFF Flash map into your blog, first make sure that your blog will allow embedding flash objects. If it does not, you will have to resort to a static map which you can find on the earthwatch expedition page. The following instructions explain how to add this Flash map to your blog on Blogger (Beta version).

1. In your Blogger (Beta) account, go to the template tab.
2. In the menu area click on the “Add a Page Element” link.
3. Locate the HTML/JavaScript (3rd down on left) and click “Add to Blog.”
4. In the Configure HTML/JavaScript window, copy and paste the following text into the content box.
   <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" width="220" height="286" id="LFFmap_minimap" align="middle"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"><param name="movie" value="http://www.earthwatch2.org/flash/education/LFFmap_minimap.swf?startFrame=Vu"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#003366"> <embed src="http://www.earthwatch2.org/flash/education/LFFmap_minimap.swf?startFrame=Vu" quality="high" bgcolor="#003366" width="220" height="286" name="LFFmap_minimap" align="middle" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" allowfullscreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object>
   If you would like the map to load with your particular project, follow the instructions below to replace the appropriate text in the script.*
5. Give it a title of "Earthwatch LFF Projects" if you wish.
6. Click "Save Changes."
7. You should see a new box with your title in it on the template.
8. Click and drag that box to the location you like on the template. For example, if you would like the map to appear at the bottom of your Blog Archive, then click on the new box and drag it below the Blog Archive box.
9. Preview the template to see the update.

* To change the map applet to start on a desired project, change the startFrame callout in the file source URL . The value to change is in red: ".../education/LFF_minimap.swf?startFrame=Vu." Make sure to leave the rest of the URL intact. Use the appropriate value listed below.

Proper startFrame value to enter in the path:
Butterflies of Vietnam: Vu
Bahamian Reef Survey: Rollino
Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge: Kershaw
Mammals of Nova Scotia: Buesching
Hunting for Caterpillars in New Orleans: DyerNO
Kenya's Forest Monkeys: Foerster
Marine Mammals of Monterey: Maldini
Mexican Mangroves and Wildlife: Keir
Earthwatch Pantanal: Pantanal
Puerto Rico's Rainforest: Silverstone

If you are interested in changing the blue color of the banner and borders, change the hex color code in both the object tag and the embed tag. In the object tag, go to the param tag and attribute value. For the embed tag, change the bgcolor attribute.

If you are interested in changing the dimensions of the Flash element, you are able to modify the dimensions within the object and the embed tag. Note, however, that the map will maintain its proportions. I do not recommend doing this especially if you are shrinking the element. The already tiny text within the details area will become very small and hard to read. The map images will be pixelated and not crisp and clear. If any resizing is necessary, shrink as little as possible. Thanks!

Final note... the reason changes need to be made on both the object and embed tags is because different browsers refer to different tags to embed the Flash element. For example, Internet Explorer looks at the object tag while Firefox looks at the embed tag.

Thanking Those Who Supported the Project

Research supported by:

The Live from the Field program is made possible by a generous grant from the National Geographic Education Foundation:

Instructions:

In your Blogger (Beta) account, go to the template tab.

1. In the menu area click on the “Add a Page Element” link.
2. Locate the HTML/JavaScript (3rd down on left) and click “Add to Blog.”
3. In the Configure HTML/JavaScript window, copy and paste the following text into the content box. This will include logo links to Earthwatch and National Geographic Education Foundation.
   Research supported by:<br/><a href="http://www.earthwatch.org" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.earthwatchonline.com/LFFBlog/EWI_logo.jpg" alt="Earthwatch Institute" border="0" /></a><br/><br/>The <em>Live from the Field</em> program is made possible by a generous grant from the <strong>National Geographic Education Foundation</strong>:<br/><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foundation/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.earthwatchXtreme.org/LFFBlog/NGEFLogox.jpg" alt="National Geographic Education Foundation" border="0" /></a><br/>
   
4. If you are required to add other supporters' logos, please see the options below. Remember to add "
   " break tags as needed between each logo to create a line spacing.
5. No need to add a title since it is part of the code.
6. Click "Save Changes."
7. You should see a new box on the template.
8. Click and drag that box to the location you like on the template.
9. Preview the template to see the update.

Other Logo Options:

My expedition fellowship is funded by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation:

My expedition fellowship is funded by <strong>The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation</strong>: <br/> <a href="http://www.grdodge.org/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.earthwatchonline.com/LFFBlog/grdodgelogo.jpg" alt="Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation" border="0" /></a>

My expedition fellowship is funded by The CARLISLE Foundation:

My expedition fellowship is funded by <strong>The CARLISLE Foundation</strong>: <br/><a href="http://www.grdodge.org/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.earthwatchonline.com/LFFBlog/CARLISLE_logo.jpg" alt="The CARLISLE Foundation" border="0" /></a>

Incorporating a Site Counter

There are plenty of options when it comes to adding a site counter to your blog. You can choose to insert an invisible counter or a visible meter. You can use the help menu from Blogger to get more options on counters, but I have weeded through them and these are a few that I thought were worth looking at. Granted I only spent a few minutes to do my evaluating. If anyone has other suggestions, please feel free to add to the comments section. Your experience will most likely surpass mine in this matter.

• Google Analytics (Requires the placing of javascript tags on pages to be tracked. This does not require much knowledge on HTML or javascript. The vast amount of data collected is presented in vividly colorful visualization tools.)
  
• StatCoutner (An invisible stat collector that shows more accurate data on individual visits)
  
• Site Meter (The setup is simple and seems to allow automatic embeding into a specified blog)

If you want a quick and easy solution. We recommend the Site Meter. The following is a description of the steps necessary to set a site meter up. FYI, there is a site meter set up on this page, go and click on the site meter icon at the bottom of the page to see a sample stats page.

1. Sign up for a site meter account on their site: http://www.sitemeter.com/
2. Make sure you will conform to their terms.
3. Provide the URL and site name of the page the meter will be placed.
4. Enter a code name you will remember.
5. Maker sure the current time is set correctly to preset the time zone.
6. Provide the necessary contact information.
7. If you choose to, you can elect to receive any emails from them regarding topics of interest (It is not necessary to check ANY of the options)
8. Confirm the site information that you have entered then accept the setup.
9. Once you have set up the account, an email will be sent to you with your login information.
10. Back at www.sitemeter.com, log in to your account.
11. Once you are logged in, go to the Manager page and under the Adding Site Meter to your Site section, click on the instructions link.
    
12. Click on the Adding Site Meter to a Blogger or Blogspot Site link.
13. If you would like the site meter to be added to your site for you, you can provide your Blogger login information to Site Meter and the meter will be added automatically for you.
14. If you do not trust giving your login information to the site, you can try to add the HTML or Javascript code for the meter into your template yourself.
15. If you are manually adding the code, follow the link in the "NOTE:" section and copy and paste the appropriate link to your template below the footer area. (I recommend using the Javascript code to get more information on your visitors.)

Once you are set with embeding the site meter, you can click on the icon on your page and see the statistics.

Adding a List of Resources

There is a standard list of Earthwatch resources that you might be interested to link to from your LFF blog. If interested, add another Page Element to the side bar with "Resources" as the title and copy-paste the following code in an HTML/Javascript element:

<ul><li><a href="http://www.earthwatch.org/" target="_blank">Earthwatch Institute</a></li><li><a href="http://www.earthwatch.org/LFF" target="_blank">Earthwatch Live from the Field</a></li><li><a href="http://www.earthwatch.org/classroomearth/toc" target="_blank">Earthwatch Classroom Earth Series</a></li><li><a href="http://www.ngsednet.org/community/index.cfm?community_id=127" target="_blank">National Geographic EdNet: Earthwatch Community</a></il><li><a href="http://lffbloginfo.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">LFF Blog Info Center</a></li><li><a href="http://lfftechtips.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Teach Live Tech Tips</a></li></ul>

Setting up the Earthwatch Supported Research Template on a Beta Blogger Account

To incorporate the template that is seen on this blog with the Earthwatch Supported Research banner, follow the steps below. These instructions are for installing the template on a Beta Blogger account. If you have a Classic version of Blogger, please see the post below. If you would like to incorporate the template onto a non-Blogger account, please contact Chinloo Lama or post a comment on this blog post.

1. Go to the Template tab of your blogger account.
2. Pick a new template style. Select the very first option "Minima."
3. Save the template change.


4. Select the "Edit HTML" option under the Template tab.


5. Right click and download this template XML to your local computer.


6. Open the XML file in a text editor.


7. Copy the text within the HEAD tags and replace the HEAD tag text in the Template text field.
   
8. Save the changes to the template.


9. Refresh the blog and you should see the new template with your existing posts.
10. Feel free to edit the Fonts and Colors to suit your taste.

Audio Blogging with Gabcast!

A great feature to add to your Live from the Field Teach Live Blog is an audio blog. Not only can your students and colleagues read about your experience, they can hear straight from you the enthusiasm in your voice and the wildlife in your surroundings. These audio recordings are made through a regular phone call (LAN, cellular, or VoIP) recording. Through Gabcast, you can also synchronize the recordings with your blog to have the messages automatically post on your existing blog as soon as it is recorded. This is most helpful if access to the internet during your expedition is not readily available. You will still be able to leave audio journals just by picking up a phone or a satellite phone.

To set up this feature, follow the step below. Please don’t hesitate to comment on this blog as to your experience and what advice you might have for others who would like to use this feature. Thanks!

1. Create a new account (http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=register)
2. Read the Terms and Conditions and verify that you are older than 13.
3. Fill in the form and submit.
4. Note the phone numbers to call to leave an audio message:
   1.800.749.0632 (US only)
   1.647.723.3682 (Toronto, CA)
   1.403.775.9947 (Calgary, CA)
   3537.6670.9691 (Dublin, IE)
   0207.100.2530 (London, UK)
   3120.890.8137 (Amsterdam, NL)
   6129.037.1938 (Sydney, AU)
   6186.365.4411 (Perth, AU)
   702681 (Free World Dialup)
   422@sip.gabcast.com (Gizmo / SIP)
   See Gabcast’s FAQ for even more ways to connect!
5. Check your email to activate the account.
6. Create a new channel and add a numeric channel password that can be typed into the phone to access this account.
7. Choose an appropriate category for your channel and fill in the rest of the channel options.
8. You have the option to have Gabcast publish audio blogs directly to your Blogger Beta version. If you have a blogger Beta account, you might want to use this handy feature. You just have to click on the option and add your login information. Then Gabcast will automatically post an audio blog directly into your blogger postings. It will embed a Flash player that users can use to listen directly to your recording. If your blog does not support the ability to embed Flash in the posting, such as LiveJournal, then Gabcast will insert a link from your blog to the Gabcast site where the audio could be played.
9. If you are web savvy and would like to manually enter the audio recordings into parts of your site, do the following:
   1. Record your Gabcast message from a phone.
   2. Log into your Gabcast account.
   3. Go to the “My Channels” tab.
   4. Choose the “manage episodes” link.
   5. This will show you a page with the audio recordings you have recorded by not published. If you chose to publish the message on the phone, then to view the published list, you have to click on the “Published Episodes” link on the right side menu.
   6. Here, you can tag the recording with a title and keywords. You can also delete an unwanted recording.
   7. Click on the “player html” link to access the code necessary to embed either the Flash player or the image link.
   8. Copy the one you like and add it to your site. You’re all set.

Note: A single Gabcast account can be used collaboratively between multiple users and blogs since each account can have multiple channels and each channel can be linked to different blogs. This would be useful for collaborative blogs and teach live sites. The only limitation is that a FREE Gabcast account only has the capacity to hold 200MB of audio data. If there will be a lot of recordings, consider setting separate accounts.

Happy Gabcasting!

Setting up the Earthwatch Template with a Classic Blogger Account

Once you have registered for a Blogger.com account, you can choose to change the template to an Earthwatch LFF template as you see here on this page. The template will come complete with the blue logo and banner at the top (with your specific title and description), the Flash map feature on the right sidebar, the preset resource links, and the sponsor logos. If you are code savvy, you are free to modify the template file and add or take away elements as you like. This template was designed to give consistency to the look and feel of the LFF teacher blogs as well as give all teachers quick resources to begin blogging.

To begin setting up the template, open your blog dashboard and launch your blog editing tools. Under the "Template" tab, you will find the code behind your blog page. All you have to do is copy all the text from this text file (if you end up seeing an HTML page, please right-click here to download the text file to your local machine and open it in a text editor like Notepad) and replace all the text that is in the text field of the "Template" tab. Go ahead and "Save Template Changes" and "Publish." Refresh your blog page and you will see the new template.

Please note that if you have cutomized content on the right side bar, the content will be replaced with the template content as you see here. The "About Me" section should retain your own bio. The "Archive" section should have all your blogs. The "Previous Posts" should still have the same information as you had. The only things you should pay attention to and be sure to either restore or customize would be the Flash Map element, the Links section, and the Sponsors section. These sections in the code should be pointed out by denoted comments.