Scribd for Embedding PDFs

Another request I had, which I've neglected to get round to a little (sorry about that), was to investigate a widget or programme that could host PDFs on your blog.

Scribd.com is the programme for the task.

To use scribd, you simply log in using your Facebook account, or you can create a separate login if you want students to use it too. Next you upload your PDF file (it also claims to accept some other formats, though I have not yet tried). Once the file is uploaded you can adjust the settings to allow or not allow downloads, and to adjust the privacy settings. Remember though, it needs to be public or your blog readers may not be able to see it. You can, however, set it so that they have to come to the image directly and that will stop it turning up randomly in a search.

To add it to your site you can link or embed it into your blog by copying the code it gives (buttons on the left above) into your blog post.

Linking, will mean the file name will show in your blog as a hyperlink (blue underlined text) and your readers will be redirected to view your file on the actual scribd website. To do this, copy the link code, given by Scribd, into the link option on your blog.

I prefer to embed, as in the example below, as this allows the reader to view the document without leaving your blog.

Some important settings to consider are;
1) Downloadability:- You can set whether the readers can download the work or not. In the last post I allowed downloads as my aim was to share the file. However, in the example below I will share some of the children's work. I'm not so keen to share that so I'll turn off (or disallow) the download function in edit settings to the right of my scribd screen (as shown above).
2) Language Settings:- In the settings, you can tell the site what language your document is in. This helps browsers, such as Google Chrome, get their language management correct. There is nothing more annoying than your browser offering to translate something to english from some random language all the time. Getting this setting right reduces the annoyance factor for your reader. Scribd doesn't tend to guess right on it's own.
3) I've also just realised that by removing the title in the settings, you can stop Scribd adding a link above the embedded document. To see what I mean with this, compare the example below with the example on the previous post. You will see that there is no extra hypertext title on the example below. I personally like that because it's tidier. If I want to introduce the document I'll use formatting that matches my blog. Like this....

Why Use Scribd?

I find Scribd useful as a way to share kids real work. I can scan it and share it without having to get them to publish it. I can also share work that they publish by hand, which gives the kids a real audience and purpose for their handwork as well as their computer publishing. I intend to use this increasingly as the year goes on.

In the example below, we were talking about God's work and how God is diligent and wants us to be diligent too. We talked about the 7 days of creation and realised that on the 7th day, God rested. We realised that resting is just as important as working because it refreshes us for the tasks ahead. The kids remembered that we are created in God's image so we figured that God probably made us to enjoy relaxing in ways that he also enjoyed. Thus, on the 7th day, we drew God relaxing and enjoying our favourite relaxing activities. I got a particular giggle out of my gorgeous creative darling who drew God (a man) dressing up in a pretty dress complete with high heels, hairy arms & legs, and a beard! I think we had some real fun with this lesson.

Here is the example;