A Class Blogs

1
A Class Blogs

• How to connect students to each other and beyond

2
Principles behind using blogs

• Connectivism-having students create learning
  networks
• Cognitive theories of writing-writing as thinking
• Writing as a craft-practice, practice, practice
• Creating a wider audience for student writing
• Feedback

3
Connectivism

• The integration of cognition and emotions in
  meaning-making is important.
• Learning is a process of connecting specialized
  nodes or information sources.
• The capacity to know more is more critical that
  what is currently known.
• Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of
  opinions.
• Learning happens in many different ways.
• Learning is a knowledge creation process...not
  only knowledge consumption.

4
Read. Think. Blog. Repeat

• Blogging is as much about reading and reflecting
  as writing
• We require students to read and comment on other
  blogsboth at WOI and elsewhere
• Comments often become a topic of discussion in
  class
• Then we send them back to blog again

5
Practice

• Students blog at least twice/week
• 30 pieces of writing
• 4-5 more developed pieces
• Portfolio which collects, revises and reflects on
  writing

6
Dont write for the teacher

• Public blogging provides a much wider audience
• We encourage creating connections/links to our
  blog
• Making students aware of how their writing is
  viewed

7
Feedback

• We use comments to guide and reflect on the
  arguments
• Others commentprofessors, parents, other
  students
• Commenting anonymouslythe freedom to remove
  yourself from the professor role
• Example We got a comment from one of the authors
  of a paper we read

8
Some observations

• Idea/topic formationvery difficult from some
  students
• Conversations are created students learn to hone
  their arguments. Example conversation about Bill
  Bennetts comments.
• Blogging vs. English Paper
• Theyre blogging over fall break with no specific
  assignment to do so.

9
Outside the writing classroom

• Blogging a particular topic
• Inviting experts in to comment
• Using a blog to generate in-class discussion
• Ex Social Psychology Blog