Blogs.rice.edu, Rice University’s new blog service, is hosted in the cloud by an external provider, CampusPress.  EduBlogs calls it’s CampusPress product “WordPress for Education.” EduBlogs was designed specifically for blogging.  CampusPress includes blogging tools as well as features that easily accommodate higher education needs for web sites, online community communications and digital magazines. Read more on the EduBlogs site: http://edublogs.org/2014/03/04/campuspress-wordpress-for-education/

Previous content from the original blogs.rice.edu is being migrated to the new service provider.

More than a Blog

Although blogs originated as online journals (web+log=blog), the systems that host blog platforms are now frequently used as content management systems –for both traditional web sites as well as dynamic, social media-connected exchanges of comments and ideas, Rice’s blogs.rice.edu offers an easy-to-use platform for publishing information such as (but certainly not limited to):

• A professional profile that highlights scholarly, pedagogical, and service activities, with pages for a biographical statement, curriculum vitae, teaching overview and course listing, research statement and major projects, and other details.
• A professional blog site with regular posts about ongoing research, coursework, instruction, or administrative projects.
• A portfolio of projects, both in process and completed, that can be used to demonstrate skills and experiences.
• A site to store and share resources, notes, and collections of digital materials.
• A site created for use in a class or as a group project.
• A multi-author site that can facilitate group publishing.

 I already use Blogger, WordPress, or another blog.

No problem.  Continue using the external service as long as it satisfies your requirements.  If you decide to move your content to blogs.rice.edu, see the EduBlog User Guide for tips on importing your existing blog content into your Rice site.  Many of the most popular service provider’s features are also found in blogs.rice.edu, including:

• A widely-used and established blog engine
• Easy sidebar customization using widgets
• Lots of themes – over 90 – to choose from
• Ability to import from WordPress, Blogger and others
• Privacy controls at your fingertips
• Ability to assign user roles
• Embed content from popular services such as YouTube, Google Video, Slideshare and others
• Ability to set up a static front page instead of displaying latest posts
• Various plugins to enhance your blog