Transcript Blogging in the Classroom

Blogging For Beginners
Jay Devaughn
Director of Library Services
Community College of Aurora
What is Blogging and Why Do I Care?
 Stands for Web Log (weblog) and is called
Blog for short
 Easily created, easily updateable Web sites
that allow authors to publish instantly to
the Internet from any Internet connection.
 “A weblog is a coffeehouse conversation in
text, with references as required.”-Rebecca Blood, The Weblog Handbook
Learning the Jargon
 Blog – a noun and a verb
 Blogger - the author of a blog.
 People who post new journal
entries to their blog may often
say they blogged today, they
blogged it to their site, or that
they still have to blog.
What is a Blog?
 The writings are
called “entries”
or “posts,” and
generally appear
in reverse
chronological
order
 Entries of a
certain age often
disappear and
are usually
archived.
Growth of Blogs
 In 1999, a company called “Pyra” released
“Blogger,” a service that let anyone publish
a blog for free by typing in a box in their
web browser.
 The blog movement started to grow, but
September 11, 2001, marked a tipping
point.
–Scripting News
–Kottke.org
 Today, there could be as many as 70 million
blogs using dozens of blogging products.
Characteristics of a Blog
 1. Usually maintained by one
person
 2. Written in a conversational
manner
 3. Updated frequently (daily
basis)
 4. Provides context by linking to
sites on the Internet
Why You Should Care about Blogs
1.They act as information filters to help
you handle information overload.
 Help you keep current
2.They allow you to easily disseminate
your own ideas, thoughts, or
information.
 Including information related to your life,
work, etc.
 “Telling Your Story”
3.Networking
Blogs can.…

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Filter information
Provide context
Promote media literacy
Provide alternate points of view
Encourage evaluation of information
Encourage participation
Most Blogs…
 are comprised of short posts
 allow readers to comment on each post
 display a calendar or a date list for accessing
archives
 include a “blogroll” that lists the various sites
that particular blogger reads
 provide an “RSS feed” that “syndicates” the
content and lets you read posts in a separate
reader called an “aggregator”
Types of Blogs
 Basic- short items about a particular topic
 Group- multiple writers contributing items
 Family and Friends- planning for family
events, sharing experiences
 Collaborative- colleagues working on projects
 Photo- or audio or video
 Community- sharing local news and events
 Business- within organizations; sometimes to
attract visitors
 Knowledge- to manage information in a group
Advantage of blogging
 Don’t need to know HTML or any
programming language
 Can update your site from anywhere
 Lets you concentrate on content, not
the process
Blogging in Education
 Early-adopters are beginning to explore
the use of the genre as a
teaching/learning tool in educational
environments around the world.
Secret Life of Bees
 In New Jersey, a high
school literature teacher
used a blog to facilitate:
 Online Discussions
 Artistic
Interpretations
 Research/Links
 Author Involvement
Online Discussions
 Students were each assigned two posts:
 Chapter Summaries
 Character Sketches
 Artistic Interpretation
 Historical Events
 Symbols and Themes
 Class Discussion Summaries
 Choose how many additional comments (of
quality) to post: 4 = D, 10 = A
Artistic Interpretation
 Chose significant passages in the
book
 Scanned or digitally produced
 Depicted symbolism
 Generated discussion
Artistic Interpretation
Example
Author Involvement
“Dear Students,
It is an exceptionally nice honor to have you reading my
novel in your Modern American Literature class! I'm
extremely impressed with your weblog, which I've been
following. What fun for the author to listen in on your
discussions and see the wonderful and provocative
artistic interpretations that you've created. The
experience has opened my eyes to new ideas about my
own work!...”
--Sue Monk Kidd
Effects of Blogging on Class
Participation
 Reticent students participated in the
discussion:
“I have to disagree with Brian's post saying that Rosaleen does
stupid things. To Rosaleen I don't think that she believes that her
actions are stupid. I think she is just trying to show that you
should stand up for yourself even if it involves you getting hurt. In
Rosaleen's mind she believed that it was first a lesson to Lily that
you should stand up for your principles and Rosaleen stood for the
rights of the black people. Secondly she had to stand up to the
white men for herself, she needed to show them that they can't
just walk all over her and keep her from participating in voting. So
overall I don't believe that Rosaleen was acting stupid,
irresponsible, or anything of the sort. I think she was standing for
her principles and that is something to be looked [well] upon not
looked down on. “
Effects of Blogging on Classroom
Discussion
 Reflection and debate
 Portfolio of links and easy access to
relevant outside resources
 Literature in larger context
 Author interaction
 Instructor-Student Interaction
Writing before discussion
 Helps students think through
what they want to talk about
 Provides a way to “think aloud on
paper”
 Captures ideas inspired by what
was read.
Writing after discussion
 Helps students synthesize the
many ideas floating in the air.
 Provides multiple interpretations
of text.
So… what about
writing as discussion
 Every “voice” has equal weight.
 Introverted students can express their
opinions more freely
 Barriers disappear.
 Can invite thoughtful response. (Putting
thoughts in print requires somewhat more
thought than just speaking them aloud)
Potentials for Education
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Student Learning Logs/Portfolios
Professional Development
Classroom Collaboration
Research Logs with links to sources.
General Classroom
Considerations
 1. Software--all weblog software is not the
same. Instructors need to find the best tool
for intended use, and should think about
ease of use, depth of content,
collaboration, etc.
 2. Access -- not all students have the same
amount of access
 3. Privacy--posts can be accessible by
anyone, or can be only viewed locally
depending on software. Collaboration and
feedback can be limited and moderated
depending on software.
Classroom Considerations
 4. Time and Support -- planning and
set-up take time, and tech support is
required.
 5. Assessment -- what and how.
Finding and Searching Blogs
 Weblog specific search engines and/or
directories
 Feedster
http://www.feedster.com/
 Bloogz
http://www.bloogz.com/
 Blogstreet
http://www.blogstreet.com/
 Bloglines
http://www.bloglines.com/
How to get my own blog?
Place to get your blog
 Blogger
 http://www.blogger.com/start
 Xanga
 http://www.xanga.com/
 MSN Space
 http://spaces.msn.com/
 Blogstream
 http://www.blogstream.com/
Bloglines
Look for your interests