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Peter Black, Queensland University of [email protected]
http://freedomtodiffer.typepad.com/
To Blog or Not to Blog:The role of blogs in legal academia
Commentary or news
On food
On politics
On music
Personal diaries
Academic blogs
Blogs by academics
Blogs by academics
Blogs about law by lawyers
Blogs about law by law students
Outline
The expanding blogosphere
Blogs and legal scholarship Advantages of blogging Disadvantages of blogging
Blogs in teaching and learning law
The expanding blogosphere Blogs have exerted considerable
influence in the US. Monica Lewinksy. 2004 Presidential election.
In the US, 5.7% of assistant professors blog and 3% of tenured professors blog.
Blogs have been cited in law reviews and in judicial opinions.
Blogs and legal scholarship Reasons why the internet may be
important to legal scholarship:1. The internet age demands instant
responses.2. Open source revolution.3. Google and full-text searching.4. Disintermediation (declining influence of
scholarly intermediaries).5. Lifting the cone of silence.6. Globalisation of the dissemination of legal
scholarship.7. eBayisation of legal scholarship
(changing the marketplace of ideas).
(See Lawrence B Solum’s Legal Theory Blog)
Advantages of blogging
1. Tool for disseminating scholarship.
2. Means of engaging in a more robust and diverse scholarly debate.
3. Means of reconnecting legal scholarship to teaching and service.
4. Raises academic profile.
Advantages of blogging
5. Means of reaching practitioners.
6. Capacity to influence courts.
7. Immediate feedback.
8. Keep up to date with scholarly trends.
Disadvantages of blogging1. Poor platform for serious
scholarship.
2. Time spent blogging.
3. Magnifies your personality.
4. Inviting controversy.
5. Making mistakes.
Blogs in teaching and learning law Academic blogging can aid in the
teaching and learning of law.
Features of a blog as a learning aid: Links to news stories; Links to recently decided cases; Links to interesting/fun legal sites; Links to other blogs; Opinions/views of lecturer(s); Comments.
Blogs in teaching and learning law Blogs can be used to approach a
style of meta-learning.
Educational benefits of a blog:1. Contextualises the subject matter;2. Reinforces core content;3. Continues learning outside the
classroom;
Blogs in teaching and learning law Educational benefits of a blog
continued:4. Provides additional opportunity for
debate and discussion;5. Gives English as a second language
students an opportunity to participate in debate and discussion;
6. Opens discussion to a broader audience;
7. Serves as an archive of knowledge, creating an institutional history.
Blogs in teaching and learning law Are law students responsive to
learning through blogs?
Two surveys:1. Students in LWN117 Legal Regulation of
the Internet. 10 LL.M. students surveyed unit blog
2. Students in LWB141 Legal Institutions and Method.
58 first year students surveyed no unit blog
Survey of LWN117 Legal Regulation of the Internet
Q2: How often did you access the Legal Regulation of the Internet blog?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Twice a week Once a week Once afortnight
Once amonth
A few timesthroughoutsemester
Never
Survey of LWN117 Legal Regulation of the InternetQ3: The Legal Regulation of the Internet blog stimulated my
interest in the unit.
Q4: The Legal Regulation of the Internet blog helped my learning.
Q5: The Legal Regulation of the Internet blog encouraged me to think about recent developments in the field.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Q3 Q4 Q5
StronglyagreeAgree
Neutral
Disagree
Stronglydisagree
Survey of LWN117 Legal Regulation of the Internet
Q6: Overall, the inclusion of the Legal Regulation of the Internet blog in this unit was:
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Very Poor
Poor
Satisfactory
Good
Very Good
Survey of First Year Law StudentsQ1: Do you have a broadband internet connection at home?Q2: Do you download your law lectures and listen to them on your iPod or mp3 player?Q3: Do you download music or other media through a peer to peer file sharing program? Q4: Do you know what a blog is? (blog literacy)Q5: Do you own a blog or a MySpace page?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Broadband Download lectures Download music Blog literacy Own blog
YesNo
Survey of First Year Law Students
How regularly did you visit the LWB141 Legal Institutions and Method Online Learning and Teaching site?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Daily 3 or 4 timesa week
Twice aweek
Once aweek
Once afortnight
Once amonth
A few timesthroughoutsemester
Never
Survey of First Year Law Students
A LWB141 blog focusing in recent developments in the law and interesting legal links that also allows you to post comments would help my learning in this unit.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
Conclusion
Blogs can make a valuable contribution to legal scholarship.
Blogs can also aid student learning.
Blogs allow academics to use technology to engage with the law and with students.
Creative Commons License
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