I was looking for an article that had to do with blogs, but ran across this article and while it isn't on blogs - our topic for the week, it might help answer a question that has come up in discussion. The where-when-why to use blogs in the classroom question. This post talks about building expectations for a classroom as a group, teacher and student together. Why not do this with blogs? We have all said that they have value in the classroom - maybe the students can help us figure out where they would get the most value from them in their work/assignments.
She contrasts that with a syllabus that "perform[s] as a living, negotiated document." (p. 41) It begins with these four questions:
What topics or areas are of greatest interest to us as a class?
How can we adapt the classroom space to be conducive to cultivating enhanced communication?
How can we best connect our readings and discussions to our everyday lives?