What are blogs?

A blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order... Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.

Key underlying component of every blog is an RSS feed, making it possible for readers to subscribe.

Blog content searchable more quickly than other "static" types of web content (Google Blog Search)

> 380k blogs hosted by Edublogs alone

"Microblogs" (communication tools like Twitter) have many of the same attributes and benefits of blogs and contributions are restricted to 140 characters

Blogs in Plain English

Blogs make it easy to share news, ideas, and other resources with a others. Here's a short explanation of why blogs have become so popular today.

Syndicating and Aggregating Using RSS

One of the key features to blogs is the ability to subscribe to blogs using an aggregator like Google Reader so that new contributions can be delivered automatically for easy viewing without revisiting blogs to check for new updates.

Many web 2.0 technologies are powered by RSS. In many ways, RSS is like a funnel that helps aggregate news items from sites, blogs, and other online information sources that one is interested in together in one place.



Google Reader is a free, easy-to-use aggregator that can bring make it possible to read all new items from blogs and other online news sources in a single place! Here's a short intro to how to use Google Reader to how to read all your blogs on a single screen.

Why blogs in education?

• Connected, fostering the development of a learning community
• Give students ownership over their own learning and an authentic voice
• Genuine, and potentially worldwide, audience for student work
• Contribute to identity formation in students (Bortree, 2005)
• Display all student work in one central location; interconnected learning
• Students organizing their own learning
• Develop writing, research, and digital literacy skills
• Add to the collective knowledge available online

Examples of blogs

Here are some examples of NIU student, faculty, or staff blogs:

• Jason Rhode - EDT 6030: Using Technology to Build Learning Communities (Summer 2010)
• Jason Rhode - personal blog
• Rob Brookey - COMS 380: Corporate Advocacy and Issue Management (Fall 2009)
• NIU Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
• NIU Blackboard Tutorials
• NIU College of Educational Technology Services
• NIU Library - Music
• NIU Library - Theater & Dance
• NIU View Points
• Northern Law Blog

For more examples, see Jason Rhode's blog bookmarks 

Are you aware of another NIU or other education-related blog that you'd like to share as an example?  Leave a comment to this post with the URL of the blog a brief description to share it with others.

Blogs vs. Discussion Boards

• Blogs accessible outside the learning management system and persist after the course ends
• Blogs afford increasing options for customization and
• Blogs = student-driven, Discussion Boards = instructor-driven
• Blogs = student-owned, Discussion Boards = instructor/institution-owned
  
  In what other ways do blogs differ from discussion boards? In what ways are they the same? Leave a comment to this post

How to use blogging in learning - via Downes

• Begin simply. Most uses of blogs in the classroom began with the instructor using blogs to post class information such as lists of readings and assignment deadlines. This fosters in the teacher a familiarity with the technology and with students a habit of regularly checking the online resource.
• Lead by example. Before requiring students to blog, instructors should lead by example, creating their own blogs and adding links to interesting resources and commentary on class topics. This not only produces a useful source of supplemental information for students, it creates a pattern and sets expectations for when students begin their own blogging.
• Read. Students should begin their entry into blogging by reading other blogs. Teachers should use this practice not only to demonstrate how other people use blogs to support learning but also to foster critical thinking and reading skills. Teaching how to respond to blog posts is as important as creating blog posts.
• Create a context. Like the author facing a blank sheet of paper, a blogger will be perplexed unless given something specific to write about. Have students blog about a current issued, about a specific piece of writing, or some question that comes up in the course.
• Encourage interaction. Blogging should not be a solo activity. Encourage bloggers to read each other's works and to comment on them. Encouraging students to set up an RSS reader with each other's blogs will make reading and commenting a lot easier. Teachers, also, should subscribe to student blogs and offer comments, again setting an example of the expected practice.
• Respect ownership. A student blog becomes important because it is a manifestation of his or her own work. However, to have this value, a student's ownership of a blog must be genuine. While reasonable limits or codes of practice need to be respected, student bloggers should have the widest latitude possible for personal expression and opinion.
• Address issues immediately. The most significant danger to students online is posed by other students. In particular, bullying (or ragging) is a significant problem. It is important to spot instances of bullying as soon as they occur and to take steps to prevent further incidents. Teachers should educate themselves as online bullying can be invisible and hard to address.

Considerations

• Open vs. closed learning environment
• Can you require the students in your course to make course communications available publicly? What is your institution's policies regarding student communications or work? It is possible to make posts private and/or restrict access to only certain students, but this disables RSS syndication and aggregation.
• Groups vs. networks (via Downes)
• Does your institution already offer / support a blogging platform?
• What is your level of technical expertise? Your students?
• Will you blog for a single course, or multiple courses/sections?
  
  What additional questions should an instructor planning to use blogs consider? Leave a comment to this post

Designing blogging activities

• Model the type of work you expect
• Start slowly and walk students through the process
• Suggest a blogging and aggregation tool for all students to use
• Provide clear expectations for how contributions will be assessed
• Require regular participation (weekly)
• Encourage students to comment on each other's posts
  
  What suggestions do you have for designing blogging activities for a course? Leave a comment to this post

What to avoid

• Creating busywork for yourself or your students
• Waiting until the last minute to become familiar with blogging and create your own blog
• Assuming students have previous experience blogging
• Letting students figure out blogging all by themselves (structure and guidance is necessary)
• Jumping into blogging for your class without first experimenting with the technology in a sandbox environment
• Choosing to not provide an organizational structure to your blog (e.g. categories, tags, blogroll)
  
  What else should an instructor seeking to teach with blogs avoid? Leave a comment to this post with your suggestions.