Last semester, Hillary Miller tried a course blog for the first time, using Baruch College’s implementation of Wordpress MultiUser, Blogs@Baruch.
(by flickr user liewcf)
Reflecting on the experience at Cac.ophony, the group blog of Fellows in Baruch’s Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, Miller marvels at the relative ease of blogs vs. Blackboard, and offers new bloggers some useful insights:
- Don’t forget about the blog!
- Don’t expect that your students know everything!
- Don’t assume that a blog naturally replaces a traditionally-delivered assignment!
Of course, Miller has specific, thoughtful examples to support these various propositions. So, if you’re thinking about blogging for the first time in class, read the whole thing.
Miller’s post ends on a quite different note, however, and speaks to something I hope to address here in more detail over the coming weeks: What about adjunct faculty?
But I can’t help feeling a little protective of the adjunct in this discussion– don’t adjuncts “do it themselves” enough? Can the full potential of Instructional Technology really be unleashed with the real limitations of the adjunct labor force operating in higher education? . . . how will Jane Q. Adjunct learn about the potential of a course blog, after tearing her hair out over Blackboard for months and missing the departmental meeting that announced a later workshop about blogs, all time she’s not paid for? How will Jane Q. Adjunct get excited about the potential of these tools, and why will she motivate to prioritize the time required to integrate them thoughtfully and productively in her course?
Excellent questions all! (For example, at many campuses, adjuncts don’t have reliable computer access on campus, which arguably cramps one’s techno-pedagogical style . . . ) So–how ’bout it? Advice for the first-time course-blogger? Thoughts on how to diffuse these approaches to relatively vulnerable faculty?
(Thanks to Mikhail for the tip!)
9 Comments
I am an adjunct, and spend dozens of hours preparing lessons, adjusting the technology, setting up course blogs and wikis, etc., all on my adjunct’s pay, and all on my own computer at home. I have to schedule time to test out anything I choose to use technologically in the classroom, make appointments around faculty schedules and classes, and I don’t have the resources available to me that the other full-time faculty have. It will be interesting to see what advice you have for folks like me, who are committed to participatory learning and teaching, and yet feel the pinch of time and access constraints. Thanks for thinking of us!
In this vein, the CWRL at UT-Austin recently published a guide with tips for instructors using blogs in their classes. Some of the information is specific to UT courses, but most of the information is generalizable to blogging in any course.
Sheesh. I could have just linked to that guide instead of writing my own post!
As a full-time assistant prof of mathematics AND an adjunct (who not so long ago transitioned from being a grad student TA), I make heavy use of class blogs. I’ve been doing this for the last few years, actually. I have found the success of them varies a lot depending on the population of students. I find it very helpful to disseminate information via a blog so that I don’t have to repeat info for those who are absent, absent minded or otherwise unaware of classroom events. Some students are motivated to go to the blog and find the answers to their questions before asking. Others ask, only to be redirected to the blog. The question I hate the most is, “where do I find the blog?” half way through the term. Clearly those students have missed out on ALL the assignments and other resources posted there. Just this last year, I started handing out “business cards” to each student in lieu of a paper syllabus. On the postcard sized, self printed card, I clearly post the web address, my email, links to other useful parts of my website, and other important class info. This seems to have changed the question from, “where do I find the blog?” to “can I get another one of those cards?” I guess that’s progress…
Biggest advantage of blogs: blogs are public!! This means there is no crazy login, password, weird interface or whatever to deal with when accessing them. This makes them perfectly suited for viewing on a variety of browsers and phones that students and I use to view content. What’s so secretive about what homework problems I assigned anyway? Why hide them away?
I keep blog archives for each course and these serve as a digital record of my last time teaching a course. It guides me as I teach the course again and thereby minimizing my need to rethink through every aspect of a class. I post those publicly as well. I have no idea if students ever reference them, but I certainly do!
A bit more on the adjunct side of things… One of the reasons I started a blog was for the transient aspects of my adjunct position. I didn’t want to be bothered by learning a new system at each new place. I didn’t want to have to figure out the “Blackboard” equivalent at new places over and over again. All I needed to figure out was how to post the single link to my blog, and then move on to a familiar format. Also, as an adjunct, I wanted to minimize my outside of classroom student interaction (should I be embarrassed to say this? irresponsible? no to both!), so posting things on the blog was a “one stop shop” for me and then I was done.
I expect my blog use to evolve to adapt to the many communication needs of my students and myself…
One more thing to note…
I host my own blog (and website!) at my own (tax deductible?) expense. This rids me of the need to deal with the IT department of whatever institution I’m working for. Hence my blog is my constant platform, no matter where my position takes me… And it’s as flexible as I make it…
Thanks for linking to the post, it’s great to see that it’s starting (/continuing) the conversation about course blogs, especially from an adjunct perspective. Interesting too to read in the comments that course blogs can facilitate further independence from the university on the part of the instructor in certain cases, rather than a tighter tethering…
Also, I agree that it’s a great tool for archival purposes, and holds much potential there. Building on past course blogs is somehow much more manageable and dynamic for this than the filing approach of blackboard!
I am going to be a first time adjunct this fall. My plan is to create a wordpress.com weblog for both sections of my course in order to keep digital copies of the syllabus, course schedule, handouts, etc. I would like to be completely paper free, but I am not sure how much access my students have to computer labs/Internet at home quite yet so I will wade my toe in gently this first semester.
Using WordPress as a content management system for yourself and your class is an excellent way to maintain control over your content and to build up an archive of your own work (depending on the organization of your sites). I recommend it quite a bit to people who do not necessarily have the skill or desire to create a standalone web site for themselves (not implying that’s you); WordPress templates and the administrative interface is top-notch for most things. Good luck!
Thank you, Julie. I’ve been using WordPress on my own domain and other projects for a number of years. In recent years I have also used wordpress.com for projects so I am very comfortable using them. For now, as much as I’d like to try something new for content management I think I will have plenty of other concerns in my first semester so I will stick with what I already know.
4 Trackbacks
[...] a previous Prof. Hacker post, Jason Jones linked to Hillary Miller’s “Lessons from a First-Time Course [...]
[...] Post of the week this time is Julie’s overview of introducing and integrating blogging into the classroom, which has also sparked helpful responses elsewhere by Mark Sample and Nate Kogan. And if you’re thinking of blogging, or using any technology in class, then you’ll want to think about what role you’ll take up as a result, and learn from the experiences of other first-timers. [...]
[...] on teaching with blogs by Hillary Miller, which has gotten a fair share of attention, including a couple of plugs on Prof. Hacker, a new, high-volume, high-profile blog on teaching and technology. [...]
[...] to enliven and re-engage their teaching. (Read some selections from this on-going conversation here, here, here, and here.) Seeing the pedagogical potential of blogs in action sealed the deal: I was [...]