Project SET
Modules
Academic Blogging: Strategies for Using Weblogs to Promote Active Learning and Professional Development
launch moduleDarren Hughes
Doctoral Candidate, English, UT KnoxvilleThe Weblog (blog) was born in the late-1990s as a type of Internet diary, a sequentially organized collection of personal anecdotes, observations, and links to other sites of interest. In the years since-- and aided particularly by free, user-friendly utilities such as Blogger, Diaryland, and Live Journal-- blogging has transformed the Internet and, in the process, has changed the way we gather, filter, and disseminate information on local, national, and global levels. This module will provide a brief overview of blogging, describing its origins and evolution, and it will also offer a practical "how-to": upon completion of the module, users will have created and posted to their own blog. More importantly, however, the module will recommend proven strategies for the implementation of blogs within academia. Blogs facilitate communication between teacher and pupil, between pupil and course content, and between pupil and peer, demanding students become active participants in and contributors to the learning process. Blogging can also serve as a means of professional development, offering faculty a venue for documenting research processes and for participating in professional conversations external to the local university.