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- A web page whose content can be created & edited by the blog host (without any knowledge of html or web design); anyone who has been given access can post comments on the blog following the blog entry. Usually blog entries appear in reverse chronological order (i.e. last posted items first). Example:
- Technology requirements:
- Examples of types of free blogs:
- Examples of Educational blogs:
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- For blog owner to share documents (text and/or image based and multimedia)
- For others to provide comments on the blog or ask questions of the blog owner or of each other (however, the comments and questions cannot be threaded as they can be in a discussion forum).
- Examples of educational uses: students share work samples for review and comment by peers and others in their discipline, for podcasting of audio files (by teacher and/or students).
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- Although not as easy to create or edit as a wiki, blogs are relatively easy to create with no understanding of html or web page design. Contributing comments in response to someone else's blog is easier than posting a comment/edit on a wiki (format and location is preset).
- Because of the ease of creating and using a blog, and the numerous free blogs available, students (and faculty) can create their own for viewing by any users and without the constraints of the university system. Students are using these as work portfolios.
- Any type of digital file can be uploaded to and shared from a blog (but limitations on this vary depending on blog host).
- Some blogs can be subscribed to with RSS feed, thus enabling students to keep up with updates to blogs created by instructors (RSS feed availability depends on blog host).
- Blogs can be used as an easy way to podcast/vodcast (not all blogs are set up to enable pod or vodcasting)
- Students & faculty can use blogs to post content that they would like to be seen and commented on by others.
- Although the design of blogs makes this use clumsy (since responses cannot be threaded), blogs can be used as a substitute for online forums.
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- Since comments posted in a blog cannot be threaded (as they are by design in a discussion forum and as they can be if desired by users in a wiki), it is difficult to follow the evolution of comments within a blog.
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Issues & problems related blogs |
- Use of free, public blogs is not secure, so users are at the mercy of the blog host (server may go down, or blog host may close down the blog).
- If you choose not to limit access to your blog, or if it isn't possible to limit access, unsolicited inappropriate comments can be posted on your blog (thus blog owners should check their blogs regularly to delete unwanted comments).
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Emerging issues and tips related to blogs |
- If students are seeking input on drafts of their work from a limited number of people, it is better for them to share their work in Microsoft Word and use the "track changes" feature so that the suggestions and changes are embedded in the relevant portions of the document rather than listed as comments at the end.
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