Using Blogs in the Classroom Overview Blogging can improve students’ writing skills and build their confidence as writers. By blogging, students can take ownership of their writing, become better observers of others’ writing, and develop a more immediate and powerful understanding of audience. Blogs encourage experimenting and risk-taking, seriousness and play, and they foster an increased awareness of private and public writing. Blogging blends both the freeing aspect of short pieces that can be written in a relatively low-stakes environment with the sense of claiming one’s own voice and learning how to develop analysis and articulate ideas to a larger public. Guided by clear expectations of what is required in a class blog, students can see their writing develop over the course of the term. This handout describes strategies for using blogs as a writing tool in the classroom. Table of Contents General Considerations Empowering Students Possible Uses For Instructors Possible Uses For Students In Practice: Choosing A Platform A Word About WordPress Private, Classroom-Only, or Public Class Blogs and Individual Student Blogs Tech Support Resources General Considerations Although at first it may seem somewhat daunting when considering the perceived technical skills involved, using blogs in the classroom can be very rewarding. The learning curve is not as steep as you may imagine, and many resources for instructors (see Tech Support section below) exist on campus. Also, some students when learning to navigate the platform initially may resist blogging. But most students change their minds as they begin to blog.
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Using Blogs in the Classroom Overview Bloggingcanimprovestudents’writingskillsandbuildtheirconfidenceaswriters.Byblogging,studentscantakeownershipoftheirwriting,becomebetterobserversofothers’writing,anddevelopamoreimmediateandpowerfulunderstandingofaudience.Blogsencourageexperimentingandrisk-taking,seriousnessandplay,andtheyfosteranincreasedawarenessofprivateandpublicwriting.Bloggingblendsboththefreeingaspectofshortpiecesthatcanbewritteninarelativelylow-stakesenvironmentwiththesenseofclaimingone’sownvoiceandlearninghowtodevelopanalysisandarticulateideastoalargerpublic.Guidedbyclearexpectationsofwhatisrequiredinaclassblog,studentscanseetheirwritingdevelopoverthecourseoftheterm.Thishandoutdescribesstrategiesforusingblogsasawritingtoolintheclassroom.
TableofContents GeneralConsiderationsEmpoweringStudentsPossibleUsesForInstructorsPossibleUsesForStudentsInPractice:ChoosingAPlatformAWordAboutWordPressPrivate,Classroom-Only,orPublicClassBlogsandIndividualStudentBlogsTechSupportResources
General Considerations Althoughatfirstitmayseemsomewhatdauntingwhenconsideringtheperceivedtechnicalskillsinvolved,usingblogsintheclassroomcanbeveryrewarding.Thelearningcurveisnotassteepasyoumayimagine,andmanyresourcesforinstructors(seeTechSupportsectionbelow)existoncampus.Also,somestudentswhenlearningtonavigatetheplatforminitiallymayresistblogging.Butmoststudentschangetheirmindsastheybegintoblog.
Empowering Students StudentsareusedtowritingandcommunicatinginthedigitallandscapewhetheritbeTwitter,FaceBook,Tumblr,oremail.Whilereadingtheirfellowstudents’blogsandcomments,andrespondingonlinewiththeirowncomments,studentsrecognizethevalueofclarityandwhatmakesforstrongandengagingposts.Studentshavetheopportunitytopracticewritingandanalyticalskillsintheirownblogsthatwilltransferintoessaysandotherwritingendeavors.Studentsareabletoseetheirownwritingassomething“real”withapracticalapplication.Creatingablogcanbeabridgeforstudentsbetweenthefamiliardigitalworldandwhatisbeingaskedoftheminacademicessays,projectsandotheruniversity-basedassignments.Bloggingcanbeseenasagatewayexperienceforstudentswhowilllikelybeusingdigitaltechnologiesandmediaintheirfutureendeavorsregardlessoftheirdiscipline.
Possible Uses for Instructors Youmayusebloggingfor:
• communicatingannouncementsandassignmentsinaformatthatstudentsmayperceivetobemore“friendly”thanCTools
• sharinginstructor-generatedexercisesorprompts
• communitybuilding
• creatingapublicplacewherestudentworkcanbe“published”
Possible Uses for Students Studentsmayusebloggingfor:
• respondingtoreadings
• maintainingawriter’snotebookorjournal
• postingpersonal,reflective,exploratory,oropenentries(campusobservations,“whereI’mfrom,”picturesfromhome,orfavoritebookorpieceofwriting)
• sharingstudent-generatedresearchorlinkstoclass-relatedarticles
• exploringvisualrhetoric
• practicingwriting
o developingvoiceo workingontitles,concisenesso consideringtoneo brainstorming,drafting,facilitatingpeerreview
• creatingashowcaseforfinalprojects
• craftinganon-lineimageorpresence
In Practice Choosing A Platform Severaluser-friendlybloggingplatformsarecommonlyusedinclassrooms.Nooneplatformisbettersuitedtoaspecificdiscipline.Mostlythechoicedependsonyourcomfortlevelandpersonalpreferencewhentryingouteachplatform.Forexample,Tumblr(tumblr.com)workswellforsharingimages,quotesorbriefchunksoftext,orconsolidatingandlinkingtoothersites.Google’sBlogger(blogger.com)isoneoftheflagshipbloggingplatforms;itisintuitiveandeasytostartup,andallowsforflexibilitywithcolorpalettesandmultiplefonts.BloggerandWordPressarebothsupportedattheUniversitybyInstructionalSupportServices(ISS)(http://www.lsa.umich.edu/iss),theLanguageResourceCenter(LRC)(http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lrc/)andMLibrary’sKnowledgeNavigationCenter(KNC)(http://www.lib.umich.edu/knowledge-navigation-center). A Word About WordPress WordPress(wordpress.com)isanall-purposeplatformwithmultiplefreedesigntemplates(“themes”)andhighcapacityfortext,images,andvideo.Facultyandstudentsappreciatetheextensivehow-tosupportfeaturesandvideotutorialsavailableontheWordPresssite.Ifyouareconsideringwhatplatformtouseinyourclassroom,theISSLearningTechnologies&ConsultingGroup(ISS-LTC)offersthisadvice:“WordPressisthemostcommonlyusedcontentmanagementsystem(CMS)intheworld,sothere'safairlygoodchancethatstudentswilluseitagainlaterintheirlives,forbloggingorjusthostingawebsiteofanysort.BothBloggerandWordPressallowfortext,imagesandvideo;forinstructors,abetterdistinctionmightbethatWordPressallowsforsortingpostsbyauthor,whichBloggerdoesn't(currently).”BoththeISS-LTCandtheKNCareabletoprovidesupporttofacultyasyoupreparetoteachbloggingandothernewmedia;bothalsoareavailabletoworkwithstudentsinaninstructor’sclassroom,workshoporcomputerlabsettings.Formoreinformation,pleaseseetheTechSupportsectionbelow.Foradditionalsupport,accessthefollowingdocuments:Supplement1:“UsingWordPress”(LaurenAtkins,InstructionalTechnologyConsultant)andSupplement2:“BloggingBasics”(CharlotteBoulay,creatorofSweetland’s“RhetoricofBlogging”course). Private, Classroom-Only, or Public YoumayfinditusefultotalkwithaconsultantatISS-LearningTechnologies&ConsultingGroup(ISS-LTC)aboutwhatmightbestfityourclassroomneedswhendecidingaboutwhethertomakeclassroomblogsprivate,classroom-onlyorpublic(andtowhatextentpublic—forexample,searchablebysearchenginesornot).PleaseseeTechSupportsectionbelowformoreinformation.Aclassblogorindividualstudentblogscouldbecompletelyprivateandclassroom-based,withtheonlyusersandviewersbeingyouastheinstructorandyourenrolledstudents.Aclassblogalsomaybecompletelypublicandaccessibletoanyoneonline.Thebenefitofmakingasite
publicisthatitcreatesabroadersenseofaudienceandofparticipatingnotonlyintheuniversitycommunitybutperhapsaglobalcommunityaswell.However,ifthesiteispublic,beawareofcopyrightissueswhenpostingarticlesorclassreadings;CToolsisamoresecurelocationforsharingcopyrightedmaterial.Generating and Facilitating Effective Blog Conversations Astrongblogdiscussionreliesonclearexpectationsaboutthepurposeoftheblogandthenatureofstudentparticipationonit,judiciousinstructorparticipation,asenseofinterpersonalcommunity,andstrongblogassignments/prompts.Whatfollowsisalittleadviceabouteachofthesecomponents:
Clearexpectations:Studentsthrivemostinblogconversationswhentheyunderstandfromthebeginningwhatthepurposeoftheblogis(i.e.whatthey’remeanttoachieve/learnfromtheirparticipationintheconversationsthere)andwhatyourexpectationsforstrongpostsandusefulcommentsare.
• It’sagoodideatotalkwithyourstudentsaboutwhatyouwanttoachieveontheblog.
• Providingclearguidelines(whetheryoucreatethemyourselforincollaborationwithyourstudents)aboutwhatmakesanexcellentpostorcommentgoesalongwaytowardgeneratingusefulconversations.
• Rubricshavethebenefitoflayingoutyourexpectationsaswellashelpingstudentsassesstheirownwork,especiallyifyou’regradingtheblog.
StrongBlogAssignments/Prompts:Decidehowyouwantthestudentstousetheblog,andthendesigntheassignment,and/orindividualprompts,accordingly.Yourpromptsshouldaddressmattersofbothcontentandtiming:
• Content-Doyouwantthemtobeusingtheblogtochronicletheirlearninginthecourse,likehandwrittenlearningjournalshavedoneinthepast?Doyouwantthemtobeloggingtheirresearch?Sharingresourceswiththeclassorapeergroup?Postingconversationquestions?Conductingclosereadingsonsmallportionsofthetexts?Somethingelse?Beexplicit.Evenifyouwanttogivethemplentyofleewaytodeterminewhattosay,youneedtobeclearaboutwhatthey’reaimingtoaccomplish.Forexample,ifyouwantthemtousetheblogtoreflectoncoursereadings,it’sprobablynotenoughtosaythat.It’smorehelpfultogivethemsomeguidanceonhowtoreflect.Doyouwanttheirgut-levelreactions?Doyouwantthemtoanalyzetherhetoric?Doyouwantthemtomakeconnectionsbetweenthereadingandtheirlivedexperience?
• Timing–Dotheyneedtopostweekly?Bi-weekly?Someotherinterval?Ordotheyjustneedtopostacertainnumberoftimes?Dotheyneedtocommentonpeers’posts?Ifso,howmany,andhowoften?Ifyouarehavingthemcommentoneachothers’posts,itcanbehelpfultostaggerwhentheypostversuswhentheycomment.Thatwaytheycanfocusontakingoneroleatatime.Thismethodalsohasthebenefitofpacingforyouasareader.Onewaytofacilitatethisisthroughbloggroups,whicharediscussedbelow.
InstructorParticipation:Agoodbalancebetweenfacilitatingandcontrollingtheblogcanmotivateyourstudentstoparticipatemostproductively.Researchshowsthatinstructorprominenceorhighactivitycanstiflestudentparticipation.
• Letyourstudentsknowaheadoftimewhatyourlevelofvisibilityontheblogwillbe(andwhy!)aswellashowmuchdirectingyou’lldowhileyou’rethere.
• Ifyoucheckinregularlyandrespondinpositiveways(“cheerleading”strongpostsandfollowingupwithquestionsthatencourageeverdeeperthought),yourstudentswillbemorelikelytoengagewithpurpose.
• Stepinenoughthatstudentsknowthatyou’refollowingandvaluingtheirwork,butnotsomuchthattheyrelyonyouforkeepingtheconversationgoing.
InterpersonalCommunity:Asenseofsharedpurposeandmutualcarecanmeanthedifferencebetweenalackluster,superficialconversationandadynamicinteractivespace.
• Havingstudentsaddresseachotherbynameintheirpostsandcommentscaninstillasenseofresponsibilitytoandfamiliaritywitheachother.
• Invitethemtoeachcultivatetheirownvoicesontheblog,leaningintotheirindividualityandpersonalitywhileengagingwiththematerial.
• BlogGroups-Manyinstructorsassignsmallgroupsofstudents(3-4inasmallerclass,amaximumof10inalargerclass)tobloggroupswhopostandcommentforeachotherforasetperiodoftime—sometimesallsemester,sometimesforthelengthofaunit,etc.,dependingonyourcoursestructureandpreference.Thishasthebenefitofhelpingstudentsgettoknoweachother’swaysofthinking,writingstyle,andlearningprocessesinmoredetail.Italsohelpstoreducethepotentialstressforyouofrespondingtotheentireclass’spostseverytime,whileensuringthatallstudentsalwaysreceivesomecommentsontheirposts.
Class Blog and Individual Student Blogs Therearemanywaystouseblogsintheclassroom.Someinstructorschoosetocreateaclassblogthatallenrolledstudentscancontributetobyaddingcommentsorbymakingindividualposts.HereisascreenshotofaclassblogfromWRITING200–winter2013.
Aclassblogcan:
• uniteallclassannouncements,assignments,andexercisesinonespaceorhubwiththeinstructorastheoperatorofthesite
• provideaworkspaceforstudentstosharethoughts,drafts,orprojectsinarelativelylow-stakesenvironment
• provideavenueforquieterstudentsto“speak”andcontributeideas
Belowisanexampleofastudentcontributor“post”fromWRITING200respondingtotheinstructor’sprompt.
Someinstructorscreateaclassblogandaskthateachstudentalsocreateanindividualblog.HereisanexampleofaclassblogwithindividualstudentblogsfromEnglish225–winter2013.
Aninstructor’sclassblogcan:
• serveasafocalpointforwritingexercises,modelsandprompts
• communicateusefulclassroominformation,announcements,onlinelinksandreadings
• includelinkstoalltheindividualstudentblogsinacomprehensivelistsothatstudentscaneasilyfindeachother’ssitesforreading,commentingorpeer-reviewing
***
HereisanexampleofastudentblogfromEnglish223:
Astudentblogcan:
• provideaworkspaceforassignments,brainstorming,process-orientedactivitiesandquestionsofdesignandvisualrhetoric
• helpstudentsdevelopasenseofaudience,voiceandownership
• serveasanarchiveofthewritingprocessbystoringdraftsandworksinprogress
• displayandpublishfinalpolishedprojectsandnewmediaprojects
Forfurtherreadingontheusesofbloggingandonhowindividualwriterscancontributetotheblogosphereinoriginalways,consultSupplement3:AndrewSullivan’sWhyIBlogandSupplement4:RebeccaBlood’schapter“FindingYourVoice.”Setting Up Individual Student Blogs Itmaybehelpfulforyoutocreateacourseblogbeforeclassbegins;youthencanuseyoursiteasamodelaswellasforotherpedagogicalpurposes.Herearethreepossibleoptionsforsetup:
• before classmeets, sendmaterial (Supplement 1: “UsingWordPress”) to the classand ask that students set up their accounts and sites before the first class session[Formore information, consultSupplement5:Getting StudentsReady toBlog.]
• duringclasstime,teachthestudentshowtosetupthesite
• duringclasstimeoroutsideofclasstime,inviteISS-LTCorKNCtoholdaworkshopfor creatingablog
Tech Support Youwillfindabroadrangeofsupportexistsforfacultychoosingtoincludeblogsintheircourses.Someimportantuniversityresourcesareexplainedbelow.ISS-LearningTechnologies&ConsultingGroup(ISS-LTC)(lsa.umich.edu/iss)
• workswithfacultyindividuallyinplanning,learning,implementingorevaluatingabloggingplatformtoprepareforintegratingbloggingintoaclass
• offerspedagogicalsupportforcoursebloggingprojectsregardlessoftheplatformused
• holdsfacultyworkshopswithKNC
• visitsclassesforintroductiontoWordPressworkshops
• hostsopenWordPresslabsforstudentswithindividualquestionsKnowledgeNavigationCenter(KNC)(lib.umich.edu/knowledge-navigation-center)andFacultyExploratory(lib.umich.edu/faculty-exploratory)
• workswithfacultyindividuallyforspecificclassroomneeds
• consultsonPhotoshop,GarageBand,iMovie,InDesign,andmore
• hostsworkshopsforfacultyorstudentclassesattheKNCorMacLabinShapiro(UGLi)
• managesTechDeck(http://www.lib.umich.edu/techdeck)inShapiro(UGLi)providingtechsupportforstudents
Notes on Blogging in the Classroom Infacultymeetings,manyinstructorshavecommentedonhowamazedtheyareaboutthequalityofthewritingandanalyticalthinkingwhenstudentshavetheopportunitytousebloggingasamedium.Instructorswereabletoseehowstrengthscouldbeidentifiedintheinformalblogpostsorcommentsandthenwereabletohelpstudentstransferthesestrengthstootheracademicwriting.Hereareseveralinstructorcommentsthataddressthebenefitsofusingblogsandofferthoughtsabouthowtheirclassroombloggingcouldbeimprovedinthefuture.“It’softenveryuseful(nottomentionarealpleasure)toreadstudentwritinginadifferent,morepersonalvoice.It’seasytoseehowsomestudentsarestymiedbytheirperceivedexpectationofa“formal,”“academic”tone,wheninfacttheyhaveawell-developedandengagingvoiceintheblog.”“OnethingIlearnedaboutblogs:readingdiscussionblogsorclassblogsarebetterwithpromptsorquestionsprovidedbyme.Askingthemtojustwritesomethinginresponsetoreadingscausesthemtoomuchandtheywriteverylittle.”“OnethingIreallylovedaboutblogswastheopportunitytohavestudentsblogabouttheirwritingprocesswhileitwasgoingon.Ihadaseparateblogjustforbloggingaboutprocessandgavethemafewpromptstorespondto.Thisreallycreatedcommunitybetweenstudentsastheysharedtheirstrugglesinprogress.Ifounditwasimportanttohaveasetnumberofblogpostsrequired(4)andcleardeadlinesforcompletingthem.”“Ilovedthatstudentscouldincludemultimediaintheirprocessandreadingresponseposts.Ilikedwhenthey'dpostacartoonoranimageoftheirprocessalongwiththeirwriting.Ididn'trequireit,butmoststudentstooktheopportunitytoalwayspostimagesorsongsorothermedia.”
Resources: AndrewSullivan,“WhyIBlog,”TheAtlantic,November1,2008 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/why-i-blog/307060/
RebeccaBlood,“ChapterTwo:FindingYourVoice,”TheWeblogHandbook:PracticalAdviceonCreatingandMaintainingYourBlog,2002
RebeccaBlood,"WeblogEthics",TheWeblogHandbook:PracticalAdviceonCreatingandMaintainingYourBlog.Cambridge:PerseusPublishing,2002.114-121 http://www.rebeccablood.net/handbook/excerpts/weblog_ethics.html
RebeccaBlood,“Weblogs:AHistoryandPerspective,”September7,2000 http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
RebeccaBlood,“Rebecca’sPocket:TenTipsforABetterWeblog,” http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/ten_tips.html
CharlesLowe,PurdueUniversity,andTerraWilliams,ArizonaStateUniversity,“MovingtothePublic:WeblogsintheWritingClassroom,”IntoTheBlogosphere
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/moving_to_the_public_pf.html
RebeccaMead,“You’veGotBlog,”TheNewYorker,Vol76,Issue34,p102,November13,2000.
Blogging101–Anintroductiontoreadingandwritingaweblog:Blogs–anatomy,Blogs–whyread,whywrite.http://unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/readwrite.html
GuntherKress,Gainsandlosses:Newformsoftexts,knowledgeandlearning,ComputersandComposition22(2005)5-22
MeredithBadger,RoyalMelbourneInstituteofTechnology,VisualBlogs IntotheBlogosphere,http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/visual_blogs_pf.html Note:ManythankstothesourcesaboveandalsotoLaurenAtkins,CharlotteBoulay,TimothyHedges,ShelleyManis,SimoneSessolo,JamieJones,JenniferMetsker,AaronValdezandAnneGereforcontent,expertiseandimages.
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