Create a rubric based on objectives
Milka,
How would you measure it? Would you create a rubric?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The content and how the student is leveraging other sources in the information that they present.
Michael,
Before I would have my students blog, I would have them follow blogs and then discuss the content. there are so many opportunities to follow experts. I would start there.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Personally, I would have to review the netiquettes of blogging; however, blogging does sound to be more quaint than microblogging and appears to provide more substance, but does not fuction in realtime as microblogging, unless the students are informed to go to a blog site on a particular day and time, it would function more as a discussion board but on a variety of topics (which sort of defeats the purpose of the classroom setting). I think the same rules would apply to blogging as it does to other media outlets more importantly as you would assess students work in the classroom, with guidance and direction.
Mike
Thomas,
You make such a great point. You should have a purpose and assessment for EVERY tool you use in teaching.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Thomas,
I really like your assessment questions. You do need to them to reflect on their post to determine if they have met expectations.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kimberly,
I love your term "guiding lights" I will use it (and cite you). I have used rubrics for most of my grades particularly if it is action or project based. It sets the expectations for the students and it allows me to grade in a more objective way .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Willie ,
I think you have a great plan for assessing blogging. A rubric is a tool that can be so helpful for both the student and the instructor.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Yes, just because blogging is new doesn't make it hard to assess. As with all assessment you link it to the learning objectives for the course. In a literature course it is very logical to see it as an extension of the in class discussions of authors and books with the same expectations for content and quality.
Since blogs are becoming an important means of presenting an image to the professional world I would use that as my basic criteria and assess it based on the follow.
It the content appropriate and focused?
Does the student use language that is professional and demonstrates a knowledge of the terminology of the field?
Does the student conduct themselves professionally on the blog?
Does the student demonstrate good blog etiquette?
Does the student stay focused on issues and facts?
Does the student show respect for others?
Does the student respect copyrights and give appropriate credit to others when writing about their ideas?
In short, does the student present a professional image to the world, one they would be proud of others seeing?
Rubrics are the guiding lights for us online instructors! :) Have you used this in the past as an item for grading? In a rubric for this I would want to include:
1. Appropriateness of content for online viewing
2. Proper spelling/grammar/sentence structure
3. Complete thoughts
4. What else is appropriate?
I would love to hear from someone who has used these in the classroom setting!
I have not use blogging yet in any of my classes, but like any assignment, I would give students guidelines/rubrics. I would continually do formative assessment in my classroom — that is, assessment for learning. I would probably watch the students, listen to their questions and answers and see the assignments they produce. I can imagine that I would constantly gauge their understanding of a concept in their blogs. This is a guess! :-)
Sabahudin,
Yes, all of these topics have to be covered. I would also look at responses to others as you do want to capture engagement with others.It is so important for students to support their writing with research. That is something they don't always understand as they may not see blogs in a professional light.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Scott,
What a great post. This is a great point to ponder. I often provide multiple examples (usually two) of a bad blog and a good blog regarding the term substantive. It helps clarify the term.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Stacy,
I agree with you; rubrics are a win-win. Students know what the instructor expects and the instructor can evaluate less subjectively; all working toward meeting and/or mastering outcomes.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jerome,
Yes it should. The rubric should also reflect the outcomes of the course so students are working toward mastering them. You should be able to identify outcomes through the measure of assessment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dori,
You make a great point. I do look at grammar more than punctuation with tweeting but I am focusing on conciseness of words. I also have googled others to see how they evaluate their short piece of writing and/or blogs. You want the rubric to reflect your outcomes.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
That is not as easy as a submitted assignment. I would look the most at quality of student's engagement with the content, such as engaging in critical thinking about the material, sharing observations and the experiences, asking relevant questions, and sharing research.
I would argue that the first thing to do would be to have a minimum word count. At the very least, a minimum word count forces some substance to be written. Second, I often use the word substantive when assessing a student blog post. While substantive is certainly a subjective word, using the term with a rubric gives an expectation that a blog is not just a formality; but rather that a reflective answer is expected. Substantive means that the student should not only answer the question posed, but drive the conversation in a new direction as appropriate by bringing in research or a new angle.
Scott
