USING BLOGS EFFECTIVELY

Wendy GrojeanCollege of EducationIDEAS Room Coordinatorwgrojean@unomaha.edu

“Replace a paper and pencil with a laptop and online discussion and you may find that even the most reserved students are strong writing contributors. It is not the student. It is the tool. Find the right technological tool and writing now becomes fun, rather than a chore” (Rosen, 2010).

WHAT IS A BLOG?

• A 21st Century journal• A tool for online communication and discu

ssion• Topics are time-sensitive• Can be teacher led or teacher facilitated• Can be public or protected

GOALS OF BLOGS

-Add depth to in-class discussion-Give voice to quiet students-Engage students throughout reading and writing process-Communication-Others?

STUDIES SHOW:

• Blogs (and social media) increase student participation and engagement

BLOGS & PEDAGOGY

Tools are not effective without good pedagogy.Eight Tips for Facilitating Effective Online Discussion Forums

EXAMPLES OF EXPECTATIONS

1. The Do’s and Don’t of Online Communication –Collaborize Classroom2. The Core Rules of Netiquette-Albion.com3. Netiquette Guidelines-Paradigm Publishing

4. How can you get students involved in setting expectations?

GOOD QUESTIONING

-Eliminates plagiarism-Facilitates good discussion-Leads to Higher-Order thinking and

analysis

“We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species.”

~Desmond Morris

QUESTIONING RESOURCES

• McKenzie “Questioning Tool Kit” Jamie Mckenzie questioning research article: "Q

uestioning as Technology”

Teach your students to become good question writers. Model good questioning, then have them lead discussions.

IMPORTANCE OF QUESTIONING

“North American Schools are spending billions bringing networked computers into schools while neglecting the most important technology of all-the ability of students to make meaning by applying sharply honed questioning skills” (McKenzie, 2002).

BE PREPARED FOR THE QUESTION STUDENTS WILL ASK:

• “Will we be graded on this?”

• Have assessment tools in place:-Rubrics-Participation Points

RUBRIC RESOURCES

Sample Rubric –University of PittsburghTips and Rubrics-Middle Tennessee State UniversityRubric example-University of Wisconsin-Stout

GET TO KNOW YOUR TOOLS…

EdublogsTumblrBlogger

TOOL CONSIDERATIONS

-Cost?-Ad free?-Public and private settings?-Do participants need email addresses?-Can you moderate posts?-Can you embed videos, pictures?

REFERENCESChristopher, M., Thomas, J., & Tallent-Runnels, M. (2004, Spring). Raising the bar: Encouraging high level thinking in online discussion forums. Roeper Review, 26(3), 166-171. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database. Discussion board tips and pedagogy [Information Sheet]. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2011, from Middle Tennessee State University website:

http://frank.mtsu.edu/ ~webctsup/ faculty/ manual/ WebCT_DiscussionBoard_Tips-Pedagogy.pdfFrey, B. (n.d.). Rubric for asynchronous discussion participation [Rubric]. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from http://www.udel.edu/ janet/ MARC2006/ ric.htmlIm, Y., & Lee, O. (2003-2004, Winter). Pedagogical implications of online discussion for preservice teacher training. Journal of Research Technology in Education, 36(2), 155-170. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database. McKenzie, J. (1997, November/ December). A questioning tookit. From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal, 7(3). Retrieved from http://fno.org/ nov97/ toolkit.htmlMcKenzie, J. (2003, April). Questioning as technology. From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal. Retrieved from http://questioning.org/ qtech.html

REFERENCES (CONT’D)Nielsen, L. E. (2010). Discussion rubric for online class [Rubric]. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from University of Wisconsin-Stout website: www2.uwstout.edu/ content/ profdev/ rubrics/ discussionrubric.htmlOwens, R. (2009, July 23). Eight tips for facilitating effective online discussion forums. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/ articles/ asynchronous-learning-and-trends/ eight-tips-for-facilitating-effective-online-discussion-forums/Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy [Guide]. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2011, from Wayne County Schools website:

http://www.waynecountyschools.org/ 147210622111220523/ lib/ 147210622111220523/ Revised_Blooms_Info.pdfRosen, L. D., Ph.D. (2010). Rewired. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Ross, S. (2011). The core rules of netiquette [Guidelines]. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from Albion website: http://www.albion.com/ netiquette/ corerules.html

REFERENCES (CONT’D)

Rutkosky, N., & Seguin, D. (n.d.). Following netiquette guidelines [Guidelines]. Retrieved September 7, 2011, from Paradigm Publishing website: http://www.emcp.com/ college_resource_centers/ listonline.php? GroupID=6168Tucker, C. (n.d.). The do’s and don’ts of online student communication [Guidelines]. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from Collaborize Classroom website: www.wecollaborize.com/ pdf/ student- communication-online.pdf