1 Blogs, Wikis and Learning Together A 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

3 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

4 Lisa Cheney-Steen Co-Executive Director of Learning Technology, Colorado Community College System Rob Stephenson E-Learning Architect; Flounder-in-Chief, OpenCourse.org; Community Manager, Global Education and Learning 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 (Listserves) Threaded Discussion Groups Blogs Wikis Others (podcasts, vodcasts, &c.)

& 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 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: 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. – –

Goal – Community

How to Blog Use a free service or upgrade for a small monthly fee CNET has reviewed several services – Read Blogs – Creating Passionate Users, Kathy Sierra (Who rides horses)

Using Blogs in Education Thank you!

28 Next in this series… Wikis with Lisa Cheney-Steen and Rob Stephenson

29 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. To view a copy of this license, visit or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. NROCNetwork.org/Commons