Eileen,
No, it is your call. It is just another tool. You may want to try it and then go to your students and ask the students their thoughts about using the tool. Nothing wrong with that.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kara,
You make a great point. You can set different expectations for blogs that are different from discussion. I would find examples of blogs that experts engage in and have your students follow them.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Do you think this actually happens? I haven't been able to find any studies to support it -- and it would be great if it's true. There is always a small percentage of "lurkers" an online course -- maybe a mandatory blog assignment would finally encourage them to emerge.
How about using Blackboard's blog feature instead of posting for the whole world to see? Or do you think the "outside world" factor is important in the educational process?
I love a blog as an educational tool. I feel that most students can express themselves more freely in a blog. I would like to use it as a writing-type assignment. I think that it would be great for a student to put something up and then have the class participate in a discussion related to it.
Kara
Karen,
I agree with you. I know it is a risk to open to the outside world but it does allow you to incorporate others in a "natural blogging" way to interact with your students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think blogs are a type of non-traditional communication channel that lends itself very well to thoughtful introspection - the type that often occurs outside formal classes, often after reflective thought was given to the subject matter being disscused.
Karen,
Could explain more why you think this is important and how you articulate this to your students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
That is so very important!
Christopher,
It won't happen unless you let it. Students will rise to the expectations. I actually use microblogging to teach concise writing. Students know there are expectations of grammar, punctuation and word usage by the instruction and the rubric I use to evaluate the assignment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The ability to write WELL is being lost, and a standard blog with focused content is one of the few places where technology does not enable the loss. Microblogs by comparison can easily encourage fragmented thoughts and poor grammar, along with email and texting.
Revonna,
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I too use wikis quite a bit in a writing course. Students can write to one paper and I can follow who is participating. The students really like to use it as they feel it is an efficient way to write a group paper.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Lesley,
I use microblogging to strength writing skills, to keep word count down. Students feel they have to use so many and business writing isn't that way! It seems to speed up the learning process of less is better.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Lesley,
I like your way of thinking! You are making your students to articulate their own viewpoint regarding a discussion and others have to respond. What a great way to connect discussion and blogging. Thank you for sharing this is a valuable technique.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Why is a blog a good educational tool?
I have found blogging to be a great educational tool, by allowing my students to take 3 important items from a chapter and placing it in a blog, to allow their colleagues to respond and learn, especially formulas. We also use Wiki, which is a software that allows users to create and edit web page content. It is a flexible type of blog that supports collaborative web editing (wiki.org). It has been a great discussion tool and sometimes it is used as a chat room. Initially, students did not feel comfortable using Wiki or blogs, however, once they began to set up their blogs, they appeared more excited and comfortable working with the tools.
Also strengthens a student's writing skills - a nice sideline benefit!
Blogs are a great way to learn about other points of view and perspectives given a certain topic. In an online class, the blog can be correlated to the "in class discussion" of a ground based class. Each student presents their point of view on a given topic.
Another plus with a blog is that it gives students who are shy about speaking up in the traditional classroom a chance to present their point of view in a forum that may be more comfortable for them.
Lois,
I guess I don't understand that concern. If it supports the outcomes and helps learning why would this be an issue. It is part of the learning and addresses a different way of learning. Interesting. . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The institution in which one teaches my have a concern that extras such as blogs will detract students from focusing on the elements of the course that the course developers have provided. I think this is likely to be the case in online courses where the syllabus is likely to be firmly fixed.
Grace,
How do you assess their work in a Blog?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
