Group items tagged

A content analysis of 100 academic blogs that looks at reasons academics give for blogging and the connection it may have to community of practice.

I really enjoyed reading this article as it provided further insight into the "why" teachers and higher ed professionals should engage in blogging. Three main ideas really jumped out to me and solidified the validity of blogging: "blogs are a way to expand and disseminate knowledge, make contact with potential collaborators, and have scholarly discussions on a global scale". By engaging in these blogs we enter into a CoP that promotes these virtues by nature as all those involved in the CoP have similar motivations and goals. The communities then function as an opportunity to collaborate on materials, subject matter, and other issues pertinent to the educators. One aspect that is noted is that blogs provide a specific function, thus different blogs will contain different topics, subject matter, and ideas that can be shared online.

When I used to blog, I realized it was a passive-aggressive way for me to complain about my District. So, I stopped. However, I have found other academic blogs useful. One of my classmates in the EdD program blogs daily, and she is a great source of information. Blogs are also good starting points for research. Reading them often broadens my perspective which in turn helps me in my search for sources.

A blog on blogging in the classroom! A great collection of blogging resources and examples of student and teacher blogs.

In this article faculty and graduate students at the University of Plymouth wrote about the growing use of blogging in higher education classrooms. The authors see connectivism as the theory that helps to legitimize the use of blogging in the teaching and learning environment. They acknowledge that Web 2.0 tools such as blogs give students the ability to easily make connections with their peers and others outside the classroom walls. One of the most interesting aspects of the article was that the authors advocated for the use of course blogs rather than individual blogs for the simple fact that it promotes a single platform for students to share and connect. The authors gathered much of the information for this article from a case study that they did with university students. They asked several students to complete a survey. Instead of a survey, the staff involved in the project were interviewed. Through this case study, the authors were able to produce both qualitative and quantitative data on the use of blogs. Overall, the results showed that blogs are an acceptable medium for using the connectivist model and that by and large, most students achieved the learning goals while completing the assignment.

Kelly, This is a very interesting article especially since I have had to use blogs for many courses and have considered having my own students use them as well. I definitely understand having a single platform, but I wonder if that takes away from the individuality students gain from getting to create their own.

Tiffany, I too am torn on the use of a single platform in the classroom. I love that it would be easier to manage one account rather than individual student accounts. I have over 100 Spanish 3 students (which doesn't include my Sociology and Spanish 2 classes). It could be a nightmare to monitor appropriate blog use of all of those students. At the same time, I agree that students lose the ability to create a personal site, and could be less engaged on the single platform.

This article discusses a way to incorporate blogging as way to enhance student writing. Four classes take turn blogging once a week, and on the other three weeks, the other three classes comment. It's a great way to keep blogging fresh and hold students accountable for writing.

This project has students examining statistics using blogs. For this project, the teacher gave her class data from a survey given to students from the year prior. The classes goal was to tell a story of the prior years class using statistics. Students had to find tools online to create visual representations of their data. They used their class blog as a hub for exchanging good resources and ideas. When they finished creating their visuals and summarizing the data, they finalized their work in a personal blog entry. Then students shared their blog posts and were given time to read and comment on other students interpretations. This a great project because it gives students an opportunity to write about math which doesn't happen as often as it should. It also gives students insight into all the different ways a set of data can be perceived. I like extending this idea of blogging to being a hub where students finalize and reflect on all of their projects during the year. As an English teacher, I value writing. I really value and chance I can to incorporate writing into my math class.

The Half an Hour blog is a blog site by Stephen Downes where he explores various topics in education. His take and theories on education and learning can be somewhat complex, but he does a great job of breaking them down in to smaller chunks for the reader. This is true in his post on connectivism and learning theory, where he explains how connections are formed in a network.

The author of this blogspot begins by defining exactly what is meant by a 'learning theory'. They then go on to discuss what learning is and how connectivism relates to learning. The learning theory of connectivism goes beyond simply looking up facts on Google. Learners are now connected (through nodes) and learning is not linear, but instead, "the ongoing development of a richer and richer neural tapestry." This article is an interesting look at learning theory and connectivism.

This blog deals with the shift in classrooms from memorizing to using resources. It discusses what connectivism is and how learning is formed through it. It also shows how it is different from other learning theories,

A biology teacher created a blog for her classes, Extreme Biology. Students were given the freedom to post and began to include research related stories. They commented on each other and drew attention from other bloggers and communities. The blog now includes wikis, tweets, and other social networking tools.

Science students use blogs to reflect and share their research. They commented on each others' blogs and provided feedback. The students found this to be a valuable experience.

This adds some perspective on Siemen's core principles of connectivism and includes a nice TED talk on the power of visualization; there is little research on ways connectivism is implemented in the classroom and how it actually affects learners; requires a rethinking of education and the roles of teachers, students, and technology

This is a great explanation of how online learning and connectivism are connected and how this is a relatively new idea and that online educators can try out a lot of the ideas. It helped me understand the theory of connectivism a little more and how it can be used in online learning.

I like the ideas for applying connectivism principles in the classroom. The author explains the teacher's responsibility in helping students make connections that will allow them to learn now and in the future.

This is an insightful blog post--it provides a four-step process to blogging in the classroom.

Provides an example of a teacher using blogs, before blogs were commonly used as a classroom tool. The teacher had the students take their blogs and morph them in to online portfolios. The teacher published an eBook talking about the successes.

This website organizes groups of four students to work collaboratively to create a blog. Each student is in charge of writing to the blog for one week, others make comments during their "off" weeks. The cycle continues for 4 months.

While this article does delve somewhat into the nuts-and-bolts of beginning a blog (and how to use a blog to connect with other learners in your community of practice), the real emphasis is on collaboration within communities of practice through sharing your knowledge with interested colleagues. Well-written!

This article gives good background and the "first steps" for any middle school teacher who wants his students to start blogging.

easy to set-up blogging site for all students in classroom...teacher can retain ultimate control over blogs. no ads and only receive comments from within classroom group.

TESOL blog has a paragraph on digital story telling and has a helpful hint with a link to Language Experience Approach where it is recommended to write stories about the student's personal or shared experiences. It is recommended in the blog to use this personal approach to writing with digital storytelling.

Lots of resources for teaching and the price is right. It won best blog and resource sharing site in 2009 from Edublog.

Blog with tons of great tech information for teachers.

I have a lot of technology blogs that I read through my Digg reader in order to stay up to date with emerging technologies and trends. One of the main blogs that I find great tips and resources from is Free Technology for Teachers. I have found that they are not as applicable for me now that I am working solely in higher ed, but I still enjoy reading the majority of the posts. Not sure why my post is timestamped 01 Feb 10, sorry!

This webpage breaks down what a PLN is among teachers and also has some great videos. It provides some helpful resources that encourages teachers to join a PLN or create one. The simple break down of a PLN is helpful when someone is just starting out, or conducting research on a PLN.

This blog entry provides a basic definition for a Personal Learning Network(PLN) and links to supporting videos to conceptualize a PLN. This blog is appealing since it addresses PLNs from a teacher perspective. It further addresses how PLNs help educators stay connected.There is a nice visual of ways to create and grow a PLN.

This blog explains way more than simply the definition of a PLN, which makes it a great resource. This is a site that I plan to reference in the future in our 543 class as we proceed with our PLNs. I'm really glad I found this one.

This is a classroom teacher's blog that she and students contribute to throughout the year.  This is an example of making the work students do more authentic by giving them a real audience in the world.