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Blogs, Wikis and
Learning TogetherA series of webinars on
Teaching & Learning 2.0 tools
from the NROC Network
Creating, Sharing, Learning Together
How to Participate in this Webinar
• Participate in the conversation by using the chat feature throughout the session
• Presenters will ask and answer questions throughout the session
• Use the conference line for audio – we are not using the TALK feature, (Voice
Over IP) in Elluminate
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Welcome
The NROC Series on Teaching and Learning 2.0
What, why and how of web 2.0
in online education
- Recorded versions of this series available in the NROC Network online community
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Lisa Cheney-SteenCo-Executive Director of Learning Technology,
Colorado Community College System
Rob StephensonE-Learning Architect; Flounder-in-Chief, OpenCourse.org;
Community Manager, Global Education and Learning Community @ Java.net
Webinar 1: Blogs
What’s Teaching and Learning 2.0?
• Using “social software” for education
• More active learning, less “sage on the stage”
• Students learning from each other as well as from professor, textbook, etc.
• Breaking down classroom walls
• Faculty collaborating in creating digital content
Group Learning Technologies
• Email (Listserves)
• Threaded Discussion Groups
• Blogs
• Wikis
• Others (podcasts, vodcasts, &c.)
Email & Listserves
• Disadvantage: No history of past messages• Disadvantage: Lots of distractions
Threaded Discussion Groups
• Part of LMS or e.g. Yahoo! Groups• Has a history• Doesn’t scale to large classes
Limits of Email and Discussion Groups
• Part of the “DarkWeb:” not searchable or visible to outsiders
• Ephemeral: gone by semester’s end
Wikis
• A Wiki is a bunch of editable Webpages• Group writing/editing with history of edits
preserved
Blogs
• A blog is an online diary• A contraction of “weB LOG”
Lisa’s Experience
Blogs - Key Concepts
• A weblog is a log file with dated entries listed on a web page in chronological order
• Maintaining a weblog means continuously writing
new entries which can be categorized under different headlines
• A weblog in itself is not a social or collaborative tool, but is rather individual and point of view
» Adapted from Christian Dalsgaard
Blogs - Characteristics
• Often maintained by a single individual
• Does not support discussion
• Readers may comment on the entries
• Primarily support independent and
individual presentation
» Adapted from Christian Dalsgaard
Top Eight Reasons to Blog
#1 Blogs enlarge the classroom space – you can include more than one class or people outside of the class
#2
• Blogs allow learners to read and comment on each other’s work.
#3• Blogs are a public space. Learners are writing not
just for themselves, but also for other readers. – That also means learners are accountable to
more readers than the faculty.
(from Liz Kleinfield, RRCC faculty, blogger for several years now)
#4
Learner ownership of the space and maybe even the material
– Blogs allow learners to define their own space with
color and pictures– Blogs allow learners to include hyperlinks to
additional material– Blogs pass some control to the learner
#5
Blogs are tools for journaling and reflection
– As such they
encourage critical thinking and more careful analyses of topics
#6
Learners are able to access a record of the course after the term has ended
– This emphasizes that the material the
learner is engaged on is not germane only to that specific course, but to the rest of the learner’s life.
– It gives learners ownership of material after the course ends.
#7
Blogs automatically archive learner work in a searchable format.
#8
Using a technology in the classroom helps learners begin to use that technology outside of the classroom.
Why not Blog?
• The Blogosphere may not feel safe to learners.• Faculty has 2 places to login, 2 to keep track of, etc.• Blogs are yet another technology to break down.
Other Reasons not to?
Thoughts on blogs from Liz Kleinfield:
Thoughts on blogs from Liz Kleinfield:
Every semester, a number of students simply do not blog. (They say) they “forget” about the blogs. When I relied on journals, I always had students “forget” journals, so perhaps there’s just something about reflective work that some students forget.
Should Administrators Blog?
• Blogs help you build community of distant faculty,
particularly adjuncts.
• Blogs help you share information effectively and
efficiently.
– www.CCCOnlineFacultyNews.blogspot.com
– www.CCCOnlineStudentNews.blogspot.com
Goal – Community
How to Blog
Use a free service or upgrade for a small monthly fee -
www.blogger.com
www.typepad.com
CNET has reviewed several services –
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6028_7-6040346.html
Read Blogs –
Creating Passionate Users, Kathy Sierra (Who rides horses) http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/
Using Blogs in Education
Thank you!
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Next in this series…
Wikis
with Lisa Cheney-Steen and Rob Stephenson
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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
NROCNetwork.org/Commons