ClioWeb » weblogs http://clioweb.org Just another WordPress site Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:45:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Teaching with Blogs http://clioweb.org/2008/02/06/teaching-with-blogs/ http://clioweb.org/2008/02/06/teaching-with-blogs/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:06:07 +0000 clioweb http://clioweb.org/blog/2008/02/teaching-with-blogs/ 6 February 2008 ·

Last Friday, Mills Kelly gave a wonderful presentation on his use of weblogs in his history courses in a forum organized by the Center for Teaching Excellence at GMU. If you ever get a chance to listen to Mills talk about teaching, drop whatever you're doing and go listen. Though they in no way do justice to Mills's presentation, here are a few notes I took.

Continue reading…]]> Last Friday, Mills Kelly gave a wonderful presentation on his use of weblogs in his history courses in a forum organized by the Center for Teaching Excellence at GMU. If you ever get a chance to listen to Mills talk about teaching, drop whatever you’re doing and go listen. Though they in no way do justice to Mills’s presentation, here are a few notes I took:

  • Mills uses blogs instead of course management systems because its something he can set up, modify, and control. He doesn’t have to rely on university tech support, or work through the university. Was dissatisfied with systems like Blackboard and WebCT because the interfaces are clunky, have lots of features he didn’t need/use.
  • After switching to blogs, Mills was surprised that students actually wrote more on blogs than on forums in WebCT. Students told him this was because blogging appealed to them more; it was something they may actually use or do outside of class.
  • Forums = Socratic model. Blogs = Conversational model. With forums, Mills would ask a question, and students would respond. With blogs, students took more initiative to respond on their own, ask their own questions, approach the topic in their own way.
  • Mills uses blogs to get students prepared prior to class, for the work they’ll do in class. So, once class starts he can drop straight into conversation by pointing out posts from students. Breaks the ice, and gets conversation in class going much easier.
  • What doesn’t work: 1) Students don’t really take off with blogs as much as he’d like, to make it “their” space to explore and do whatever they want with. Wants more spontaneous participation. 2) Students don’t like to critique other students’ work. They’re reluctant to criticize other students.
  • Add a link to your own blog to the course website. Students will read it, because some students are interested in what professors think or are working on. Gives students access to the professor that’s different than in the classroom, and shows them that professors are thinking about topics outside the classroom.
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