4.6 Activity

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To return for a moment to where we started back on page 1, a blog is a tool, and as such it's only effective when rightly used. If you have decided to use blogging in one of your courses, I would suggest that you begin small. Here are some questions to help focus your decision-making:

  1. Which one aspect of your course would most benefit from the use of blogs? By "one aspect" I mean a single project, unit, or graded activity.

  2. How might a blog replace one element in an existing activity? For example, do you ever assign reading responses that could be blogged instead of being handed in? Is group work already an essential component of your course, and, if so, would a blog be an aid to your students' progress? An equally important question: Could a blog instead create an unnecessary hindrance?

  3. What other resources do you have at your disposal? A computer lab? Tech support? What is your plan of action if a technical glitch arises?

  4. How will you grade a blog? What are your criteria for a "good" post? State your policy clearly on the course syllabus and remind your students of it again in class. The Innovative Technology Center at the University of Tennessee recently published a newsletter devoted to online assessment that offers some great and practical advice.


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