Module 1: Blogs

Note: Module 1: Blogs is the only numbered module, because, if you choose to use a blog for your learning reflections, this module sets you up to complete the activities in all the other modules. The modules may be completed in any order, although it is recommended that if you begin with Module 1: Blogs then you follow it with Embedding Video and Subscribing to a Feed as #2 and #3.

Goals

1. Understand the term blog.
2. Learn how to create a blog, and then post to your blog and tag your blog entry.
3. Complete Assignment s 1-2 (below).
4. Begin to use your blog in an ongoing manner to post your Blue 2.0 assignments.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe how a blog could be used in an instructional setting.
2. Create a brief assignment for students incorporating either blogs or feeds.
3. Provide critical feedback addressing potentials and/or limitations to instructional uses of blogs.

Blogs

The word blog is an abbreviation of Web log. It could be an online journal, a “column” (such as you would find in a newspaper or magazine), or a series of posts tied together only by a loosely identified topic. Here are what blogs have in common: their entries are usually listed in reverse chronological order; they can contain not only text but pictures, video, audio, and links to other websites and blogs; and they are available for syndication, meaning you can subscribe and have entries delivered to you. (See “Part III: Feeds,” below.) In the verb form, to blog, or blogging, just means contributing to a blog. If you’re interested, see Wikipedia’s more in-depth article with a definition and the history of blogging. If you prefer, here’s another source at Encyclopaedia Britannica. There’s even a blog about blogging.

Right now you are reading the Blue 2.0 blog: http://connectedcampus.wordpress.com/

Assignment #1 – Create and Post to Your Own Blog

(Estimated time to complete: approximately 30-60 minutes)

Set up your own blog. You have several choices for blog hosts that offer free blog hosting. This blog is hosted on WordPress. Others include Blogger, LiveJournal and Xanga. That’s just a sampling; there are many more. Because it’s an easy blog service to work with, these instructions will be for Blogger. Those of you who are experienced bloggers may use any blog service you like.

1. If you already have a blog and want to use it for Blue 2.0 assignments, then skip to #6; if you are new to blogs and blogging (or wish to set up a new blog), proceed to #2.
2. Click on this link to blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start (this will open in a new window, on top of what you’re now viewing).
3. If you have a Google Account, sign in with that at the top right of the page, and then click on SIGN IN; if you do not have a Google Account, use the CREATE YOUR BLOG NOW button (in the shape of an arrow). Google will walk you through setting up your account, naming your blog, and selecting your template. Be sure to record your blog name and password! It is recommended that you bookmark your blog.
4. ***If you are working through these assignments as part of a group, be sure to email your blog URL (the “address,” like http://ukdeansupdate.blogspot.com/) to your instructor or coordinator.*** (This is how they will track your progress, so this step is important!) If you’re working on your own, just be sure to bookmark/favorite your blog so that you can get back to it.
5. Write a brief blog entry (“post”) introducing yourself. Two to three sentences will do.
6. Tag your blog entry. A tag is metadata (descriptive information). Need help? You can click here for instructions. (A tag, unlike a Category – which is blog-specific – will in most blog hosts take you to a list of blog entries from many blogs that are tagged in the same way.)
7. Finally, be sure to explore your blog, including your “Dashboard” and/or “Customize” sections and each of their sub-tabs. Discover how to edit posts, add new ones, or insert elements in the sidebars of your blogs. (Hint: In Blogger, the sidebar elements are called Gadgets; in WordPress and many other blogs, they are called Widgets.)

Here are just a few samples of blogs authored by those working in higher education:
• Dean’s Update (University of Kentucky Libraries)
• The Rural Blog (University of Kentucky Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues)
• President’s Perspective (University of Kentucky President’s blog)
• Beerken’s Blog (Higher Education, Science & Innovation)
• Jerz’s Literacy Weblog (Humanities, Cyberculture, Writing, Journalism)
• Educational Technology Services (ETS) Blog (Penn State)
• Digital Ethnography (@ Kansas State University)
• Science News (Georgia State University)
• technology180 (University of Kentucky, TASC Instructional Technology)

Assignment #2 - Reflections (Applications to Instructional Settings)

(Estimated time to complete: approximately 60 minutes)

1. In the blog you have created for this module (or in your wiki, notes or other reflections tool), describe how a blog could be used in one or more of your courses.
2. Create a brief assignment for students in your discipline incorporating either blogs or feeds. Discuss it in your blog. (This can be combined with #1.)
3. If you are working through Blue 2.0 in a group, provide critical feedback to one or more other participants on their blogs offering a suggestion for how their instructional blog use or assignment might be expanded or a potential issue that you see with their proposed application. You can also comment on a comment, so if someone raises a potential problem, feel free to offer a solution.