{"id":8777,"date":"2012-02-24t08:00:51","date_gmt":"2012-02-24t14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/?p=8777"},"modified":"2012-06-08t10:57:20","modified_gmt":"2012-06-08t16:57:20","slug":"selecting-the-right-technology-tool-wikis-discussion-boards-journals-and-blogs-essays-on-teaching-excellence-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/2012\/02\/selecting-the-right-technology-tool-wikis-discussion-boards-journals-and-blogs-essays-on-teaching-excellence-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"selecting the right technology tool: wikis, discussion boards, journals, and blogs (essays on teaching excellence) part two"},"content":{"rendered":"
selecting the right technology tool: wikis, discussion boards, journals, and blogs<\/strong> in this essay, eggleston discusses how daunting many faculty find selecting the right technology tool can be. to help with this task, she compares common\u00a0electronic tools and uses bloom\u2019s cognitive domain taxonomy (1956) and\u00a0chickering and ehrmann\u2019s seven principles of good teaching (1996) to\u00a0connect these tools with skill development teaching goals and effective\u00a0teaching practices.\u00a0you can read the\u00a0entire article <\/a> or browse cft\u00a0resources\u00a0on academic integrity including our\u00a0teaching guide on technology and learning<\/a> which features information on blogs <\/a>and wikis<\/a>.<\/p>\n in this blog post, we’ll expand on eggleston’s essay and offer you an overview of blogs. earlier this week, we discussed using wikis in your courses.<\/p>\n blogs are part of what randall bass and heidi elmendorf, of georgetown university, call \u201csocial pedagogies.\u201d they define these as \u201cdesign approaches for teaching and learning that engage students with what we might call an \u2018authentic audience\u2019 (other than the teacher), where the representation of knowledge<\/em> for an audience is absolutely central to the construction of knowledge<\/em> in a course.\u201d you can learn more about social pedagogies in the chronical ariticle, \u201ca social network can be a learning network\u201d<\/a> by derek bruff.<\/p>\n in \u201c7 things you should know about blogs<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0educause<\/a> describes blogs as:<\/p>\n an online collection of personal commentary and links. blogs can be viewed as online journals to which others can respond that are as simple to use as e-mail. the simplicity of creating and maintaining blogs means they can rapidly lead to open discussions. faculty are using blogs to express their opinions, promote dialogue in their disciplines, and support teaching and learning; students increasingly use blogs for personal expression and as course requirements.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n essentially, a blog is a personal journal published on the web consisting of discrete entries (\u201cposts\u201d) typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first. blogs are usually written by one individual (though occasionally by a small group) and are often themed on a single subject. \u00a0many blogs provide commentary and some function as diaries; both types typically combine words, images and links to other online information. an important part of a post is the ability for readers to leave a comment.<\/p>\n blogging can be incorporated into the classroom in many different ways. here are some of the most common:<\/p>\n curious about how instructors are using blogs in their courses? here are some examples:<\/p>\n wikis are often compared to blogs because, in many ways, they’re similar: they’re easy to edit, are used to collaborate, and each is easy to set up. so how do you choose? we suggest that you consider what you’re hoping to achieve by using a technology in your course. for instance, are you wanting your students to write collaboratively or do you want submissions by a single author? for the former use a wiki, and the latter a blog. is it important to you to have material in chronological order, or is most important that the content be generated?<\/p>\n as with wikis, the possibilities for using blogs to engage students both inside and outside of the classroom are immense.\u00a0 don\u2019t hesitate to\u00a0contact the cft<\/a> if you are part of the vanderbilt instructional community and would like to talk to one of our consultants about incorporating blogs into your teaching.<\/p>\n vanderbilt has a well-supported blogging service that uses wordpress as its platform. it\u2019s easy to set up your site. visit the vanderbilt university web communications website<\/a> and click on the start a new project<\/a> button. you\u2019ll be asked to log on using your vunet id\/passoword credentials to access new site request form.<\/p>\n university web communications also offers monthly training sessions<\/a> to help you learn how to use wordpress.<\/p>\n ——————<\/p>\n essays on teaching excellence\u00a0is a series of eight short and succinct scholarly essays published by the pod network on an annual basis, free of charge. the essays present innovative viewpoints on college and university instruction. written in concise and non-technical language, and supported by research, the essays seek to assist instructors in reflecting upon and refining their practice of teaching to achieve the results they seek \u2013 students learning to the best of their abilities. you can view the archive of these essays on the pod website<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\ntami j. eggleston, mckendree university<\/em>
\nthe pod network teaching excellence essay series<\/em>, 2010-11<\/p>\nwhat is a blog?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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when to use a blog<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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should i use a wiki or a blog?<\/h4>\n
ready to get started?<\/h4>\n