Teaching Considerations

Blogs vs. Blackboard or MyDU Classroom Management Systems

• Allows access to students after they have graduated
• Less “clunky” interface – makes uploading media simpler
• Available to a wider audience
• Room for more personalization
• It is something different

Privacy Issues

Work posted to a blog can be viewed by anyone that has access to the Internet.  If the blog is indexed by major search engines (an option that you control), anyone who subscribes to the blog through an aggregator (a.k.a RSS feed, more on this later) can view the blog content.  This is something to be aware of and could be an issue if you wish to use a blog like a Blackboard page.

There are several privacy options:

1. Private Pages – in which the content is not be viewable to anyone except other contributors

2. Password Protected Posts or Pages – only those who had the password could access the material. This would be akin to the protections on a Blackboard page and would comply with the Fair Use guidelines for copyright compliance.

If you wish to use a blog like a Blackboard page with readings attached as PDFs you will need to restrict access to copyrighted material (assume that everything you want to use is copyrighted.

Copyright

To comply with Fair Use guidelines for Copyright copyrighted material must be password protected and accessible only to students enrolled in your class. If the material used is from a legally obtained copy purchased at market value, either by you or the institution (i.e. the library), you do not have to apply for copyright clearance. Otherwise you must apply for copyright clearance each and every time you use the material in a course (i.e. each semester).

World Wide Web Searchable

When creating your blog you can choose to have the content indexed by search engines like Google, Ask or Technorati. If your objective is to share your course information with the academic community then make the site available. If you would like your blog to be available only to your students and the community you inform, them don’t include it in search engines.

Work in Progress vs. Final Version

When considering contributive technologies like blogs and wikis, remember the nature of these tools differ from traditional assignments. A paper copy of a research paper, literature review, or annotated bibliography is the final version once it reaches your hand. With blogs and wikis, the final version is simply the last version that appears online. A blog or wiki can be edited countless times after it has been posted. Collaborative assignments, group projects, brainstorming, classroom exercises or activities: these are the assignments that work best in wikis or blogs. Keep that in mind when creating and grading assignments.

Assignment Prep Time

The amount of prep time is comparable to that of any other assignment. Planning, writing and revising the assignment are always essential components to creating a good assignment. When using social or contributive technologies there may also be a learning curve for using the tool for the first time.

 Now you get to play with blogs.  Go to WordPress.com and create an account.