Very simply, a forum is an older version of self expression and is similar to that of a bulletin board. It is a niche specific thread, as it allows the author to attract like-minded people to their interests. The commentator is able to choose which thread they wish to leave their opinions on.

A blog is similar to creating your own webpage and typically has templates to choose from, meaning your page is automatically set up and just needs to be customized to your liking! It is similar to an online diary, where anyone can read and leave a comment.

A forum is more discussion based and tends to turn into something like a debate, which is perfect to stimulate conversations in the classroom. Our class tends to flow smoothly with using the forum, however a blog can do the same and tends to be more for ones who seek to express themselves freely across the internet.

Now what position do you wish to take? Choose wisely!

Go to sunygeneseoenglish.org. You will see “Log in” in the top left corner. Click this, and it will bring you to a page that asks for your user name and password. Enter this information, and you will be logged in, and now have the access to go to your group and post in a blog or forum.

Find your group and go to that page. On the left hand side you will see the “Forum” option. Click this. There will be an option for Topics. Click on the topic you wish to comment about. Scroll down until you see were it says “Reply To: Topic.” Type your response in that box. There will be a check box that says “notify me of follow-up replies via email.” Click this if you wish to get an email notification about replies to your post. If not, leave it unmarked. When you have finished your reply hit the “submit” button at the bottom right of the reply box. You will see your post pop up under the most recent one.

Find your group and go to that page. On the left hand side you will see the “Document” option. Click this. This will bring you to the group blog. To make a new blog post, hold your mouse over “+New” on the toolbar at the top of the page. You will see an option that says “Post.” Click this. This will bring you to a new page where you will be asked to create a title for your post. Then you may type your response in the textbox below. When you have finished, look to the options on the right of your textbox. Click the blue “Publish” button when your post is complete and you wish to post it to the blog. This may take a few seconds. A notification will come up telling you that your post was successful and you may click there to view it. Click on that text and you may view your post.