One of my biggest concerns was that Google never forgets. Could I be setting students up to say things online that could come back to haunt them later–for instance, when employers search their names prior to the interview? Statements that seemed smart at age 20 might seem sophomoric, ill-conceived or just poorly written ten years on (speaking of which, I am relieved that the grammatical typo in the first sentence of my previous post will be attributed for all time to “jfg”).

Some people will likely scoff at this, thinking no doubt that the content of the average undergrad’s Facebook account is more damning than anything they might blog about as a class assignment. An often overlooked part of this new civil discourse that oneman mentions, however, is consciousness and control of your own online presence. In fact, not having one’s words as an 18-to-22-year-old online for that student’s future colleagues and employers to see might prove to be an “edge” of sorts. On the other hand, I think of my students as adults who can ultimately make decisions about their own presentation of self in everyday life (online).

In the case of class blogging, this issue is rather easy to address, of course, with some basic privacy measures. For example, I asked students to sign posts with the first two letters of the first and last names.

None of this is to say that requiring students to blog is a bad idea. I’m just trying to elaborate on some of the anxieties I felt when I first started using blogs as a teaching tool.

And thanks for this post, by the way. I knew something was wrong with classroom management systems, but I don’t think I’ve ever discussed it with anyone.

Ironically, I wrote this post just before sitting down to put together my summer Distance Ed course on Blackboard (I hadn’t realized that Bb bought WebCT/WebCampus, since all the material on our uni site still refer to WebCampus and I’ve not used the online stuff for a few years). Fortunately, I know HTML and CSS and basic principles of online information organization and presentation — I shudder to think of what I’d be limited to if I were a “stock” educator. I actually won’t be “edupunking” this course, since it’s the first time I’m teaching a full course online and I have to get a feel for what would work.

I want to respond to one comment made by jfg above: “I don’t think I’m comfortable forcing students commit their words and thoughts to such a public space.” I grappled with this before deciding to create a blogging assignment. There are privacy issues, practical issues (teaching basic web skills, for example — not really in my mandate), and even psychological issues (the written version of stage fright, for example). However, I also believe that we’re preparing students for life in our society, and even — though it’s a little elitist — trying to give them an “edge”. More and more of our civil discourse takes place online — maybe even more and more of our society altogether takes place online. I required my students to voice themselves publicly for the same reason I used to require in-class presentations — they teach skills that students need to have to be effective citizens (and workers, of course — I guess I have to pay homage to reality here, though I like to kid myself that I’m teaching them skills they can use to build more fulfilling and maybe socially-conscious careers). That’s uncomfortable for many of them — but so is reading about the Sambia, or about women’s lifetime earning prospects compared to men’s, and so is writing papers and coming to class and…

I do a lot in my classrooms to dissolve some of the power relations that shape instruction, but in the end, I also have a responsibility to push my students beyond what they’re comfortable with, to compel them when necessary. I think that the lessons learned by posting publicly are worth the cost of some student discomfort, and outweigh most of the other considerations. Plus, I have to say, I saw an immediate improvement in student writing the first session I required blogging in — I think there’s something about writing for the whole world to see that focuses students a bit more on grammar and style than writing for just ol’ Professor D does.

As Oneman notes, the tools provided by Blackboard and WebCT are difficult to use, buried behind paywalls and passwords and toxic to anything resembling organic conversation. So I decided to take the conversation outside.

I registered for a free blog. Personally, I find Blogger the easiest free blog to use and the most instantly customizable (though the more serious tech types prefer WordPress). I decided that this blog would be used primarily to a) elaborate on class discussions b) tie class topics to current news stories and c) make class announcements. This last ensured that students would at least glance at the blog once in awhile.

Students still use WebCTboard to check grades, so I decided to put my blog where they would see it even if they weren’t inclined to bookmark it or the feed in their browsers. I used an RSS renderer to create Javascript code that could be used to display a feed of my blog on WebCT. Importantly, clicking one of the links would **take them off WebCT** and into the wild and lawless expanses of the Internet. (Here’s a “tutorial”:http://www.sitegeist.com/stories/2003/04/16/howToGetANewsFeedIntoYourWebctCourse.html, but unfortunately the link to the RSS renderer is dead.)

Once I had spirited them away from the house of WebCT, I still had the challenge of getting students to speak to me and one another in substantive ways. Here I might have pursued a different communication structure, but because I was new to this blogging out of class thing and rather nervous about what might happen, I maintained strict authorial control over the blog, but strongly encouraged them to comment frequently.

Fearing a high BS-to-quality content ratio, I did not require these comments of my students. Rather, I offered grade fluidity in the form of participation grades. Students who demonstrated participation in the course had their final letter grade bumped up. Blog commenting is a form of participation that appeals to those quiet thoughtful students who don’t always speak up in class, so it became popular with that crowd.

I made some effort to incorporate the blog into classroom routine. When students asked questions that I couldn’t answer on the spot, I’d reply using the blog. then I’d pull up WebCT on my laptop, turn on the projector, and briefly discuss the post at the beginning of the next class. About one-third to one-half of the students were regular readers by the midterm, and nearly as many contributed regularly. Some students would even email posts to their parents and friends.

I’d like to radicalize my use of blogs a little the next time I teach by making it more participatory, less “me talk, you respond.” I thought of making every student maintain a blog, but I don’t think I’m comfortable forcing students commit their words and thoughts to such a public space. I think instead I will grant any student who requests it administrative access, so they can co-author the blog with me. Giving up authority is a little scary and will likely result in headaches and messes. I disabled comments to one class blog after a student posted something along the lines of “LOL, Xians are stupid.” In retrospect, that was probably like dousing the garden with kerosene and setting it on fire when all it needed was a little regular weeding.

(Sorry for the length of this. I should probably get a blog or something.)

I agree with you that very few of the supposedly “born digital” students are actually literate in new technologies beyond facebook. I too feel your frustration with Blackboard etc. Here at WSU we used to use WebCT–which was crude and very ugly, but I used it for one year. Then we were bought up by Blackboard and the system is ALWAYS down…I don’t know what this system is built in, but it is awful, just purely from a logistical standpoint, not to mention the other great points you make.

This year I turned to blogs. I created blogs on wordpress.com using their many, many free templates and tweaking them only ever-so-slightly. I only use blackboard to post grades, b/c it protects students IDs. I use the class blog to post slides for lectures and discussion questions, assign homework and post and updates to class discussions. I haven’t yet made commenting mandatory, but plan on it for future classes.

Instead I assigned students a final project of making their own blog. The class was Social Justice so instead of a final research project on a social justice issue of their choosing I had them start a blog the second week of class (I dedicated one full class period to showing them the how-to of wordpress and only had a few students who needed extra help). So instead of final papers (usually written in the last two weeks of the semester) they had to blog at least once a week on their topic + have pages on their blogs for more indepth info on their topic and they had to have links to stories, occasional video clips and images.

For their last post I required them to create their own video making a visual argument about their topic. Many grumbled, but I suggested to them that part of being literate is being media literate which includes knowing some basics. The videos range in quality but they also had to turn in detailed storyboards so I knew *what* their intent was even if the video didn’t quite capture their meaning. Many of the videos are quite good.

I got back my student evals and almost all students remarked that while they were apprehensive about creating a blog at first they learned a lot and enjoyed the process.

The class blog is here (http://ces440.wordpress.com/) and you can check out the student blogs listed in the blogroll.

Here’s the post: http://arynna.umwblogs.org/2008/06/01/edupinions/

As you say, it’s sometimes tough to reach students. Are we trying to use tools like blogs, mashups, and wikis to ‘hook’ students, or are we using them to supplement and expand learning that (hopefully) is already going on in the classroom?

-Serena