Comments on: Why I blog with students http://anne.teachesme.com/2006/03/17/why-i-blog-with-students/ Comments, reflections and occasional brainstorms Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:22:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.4-bleeding By: Emma http://anne.teachesme.com/2006/03/17/why-i-blog-with-students/#comment-454 Emma Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:50:07 +0000 http://anne.teachesme.com/2006/03/17/why-i-blog-with-students/#comment-454 LOL! I forgot to answer your question "why". One of the aspects of the particular unit that they take in the semester we get them to blog is "Community building". They are already used to using discussion boards & chat sessions (it's a distance learning course), and so we wanted to introduce new things. Keeping a blog seemed the best way of getting them to start learning about them. LOL! I forgot to answer your question “why”. One of the aspects of the particular unit that they take in the semester we get them to blog is “Community building”. They are already used to using discussion boards & chat sessions (it’s a distance learning course), and so we wanted to introduce new things. Keeping a blog seemed the best way of getting them to start learning about them.

]]> By: Emma http://anne.teachesme.com/2006/03/17/why-i-blog-with-students/#comment-453 Emma Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:46:36 +0000 http://anne.teachesme.com/2006/03/17/why-i-blog-with-students/#comment-453 I've used Blogs now with two groups of MSc students on an MSc in elearning Technologies. (http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/coursetypes/postgraduate/MScE-LearningTechnologies/) To give a bit of background - they'd used a private discussion board (student + tutor only) as a learning journal in WebCT in their first year. For the first semester of the second year, they were encouraged to keep a blog; this time to be a learning journal that the rest of the group could read as well. The first time that we used it, the students were positive, over half continued in the second semester, when they had the option of blog or private discussion board. In the second year the students were much less positive. They've more or less all gone back to private discussion boards. A couple of them pointed out that they didn't like the fact that no-one commented on their blog (other than me), but they were also reluctant to comment on their peers - it seemed as if no-one was willing to make the first move, despite encouragement. We're starting a new MSc next year, and I'm keen to have them using blogs from the start - will have to see what impact that has on them. By the way, like the new interface! I’ve used Blogs now with two groups of MSc students on an MSc in elearning Technologies. (http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/coursetypes/postgraduate/MScE-LearningTechnologies/)
To give a bit of background - they’d used a private discussion board (student + tutor only) as a learning journal in WebCT in their first year. For the first semester of the second year, they were encouraged to keep a blog; this time to be a learning journal that the rest of the group could read as well. The first time that we used it, the students were positive, over half continued in the second semester, when they had the option of blog or private discussion board.
In the second year the students were much less positive. They’ve more or less all gone back to
private discussion boards.
A couple of them pointed out that they didn’t like the fact that no-one commented on their blog (other than me), but they were also reluctant to comment on their peers - it seemed as if no-one was willing to make the first move, despite encouragement.
We’re starting a new MSc next year, and I’m keen to have them using blogs from the start - will have to see what impact that has on them.

By the way, like the new interface!

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