Why is Blogging Important?

• Can be utilized as a course management system.
• A timely resource of information and cost effective way to communicate with students and faculty.
• Free programs, user friendly, and relatively low tech.
• An easy way to get outside experts involved with class discussions.
• An ongoing documentation of thought, growth, and knowledge.
• Encourages collaboration.

Insights

"I think blogging is a basic form of 'Rip, Mix, and Learn' (RML). Just like I'm doing now, I'm ripping an idea from Alan and others, mixing it up with my own experience and reality, and writing about it as a way to clarify and learn. And really, it is the writing part that forces me to organize these thoughts and give some form to them. It's when the learning coalesces..." (From Will Richardson, Weblogg-Ed).

Around Ohio

• The University of Akron composed a page for faculty and staff with many teaching links about blogs.
• Blogs and Wikis in an Integrated Curriculum: An archived TeachU webinar and resources presented by Lisa Meloncon from the University of Cincinnati

Around the Nation

• Educause takes a comprehensive look at blogging: 7 Things You Should Know About Blogs and 7 Things You Should Know About Video Blogs.
• Introduction to Blogs and Blogging by Michael Stach is a great resource for instructors, tech coordinators, and administrators.
• Information Today, Inc. column on Blogging, The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators written by Will Richardson (Flemington, N.J.).
• From North Dakota State University, Remediation, Genre, and Motivation: Key Concepts for Teaching with Weblogs.
• Phil Long, senior strategist for the Academic Computing Enterprise at MIT writes the article, Blogs: A Disruptive Technology Coming of Age? It opens up with, "To blog or not to blog, that is increasingly the question...."
• Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere' touches on the pedagogy behind blogs (University of Florida).
• A grading rubric for weblogs, simple criteria for earning a A-C when blogging (Weblogs in Higher Education).
• Video Blogs by Law professors and students about the field of law (Fordham University).
• The Pew Internet and American Life Project issued a report: Bloggers – A portrait of the Internet’s new storytellers.

Examples

• Dr. Delemeester's Economics class at Marietta College (Marietta, Ohio).
• Journals about college life from the students at Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio).
• Instructional Technology Resources and Musings by Laura Little at Marietta College (Marietta, Ohio).
• This online, edited collection explores discursive, visual, social, and other communicative features of weblogs (University of Minnesota).
• Learning Circuits, where eLearning gurus share observations.
• Harvard's Weblog Digest hosted by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.
• Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, Glen Reynolds' blog gets over 100,000 hits a day.
• You can search the Globe of Blogs by title, topic, or location.

Free and Low Cost Tools

• Edublog provides space and free blogs for educators and researchers.
• Get a Blog Products Comparison Chart.

Macintosh Solutions

iWeb in the Classroom, Solutions for creating class webpages and weblogs.

PC/Windows Solutions

Microsoft Mobile Developer Weblogs.