So, it's time to discuss the blog's place in the world of distance education.
Advantages: You can embed pictures, videos and links into the message content, which is great for posting your class assignments. It's easy to reply to a post and see all of the other replies to that post at once, which is a plus for teachers and students. And it can be set to private, so that only group/class members can post comments.
Disadvantages: Only the blog administrator can post an original comment, so it can be difficult to start a new discussion thread.
It seems like a blog is better suited for a teacher than a student, since one person is making original posts and controlling blog membership. A blog would be very useful for providing assignments, making announcements or posting lectures.
5 comments:
The first time I saw a blog was when I was working at a community college in San Antonio earlier this year. I was looking through the college website when I noticed that there was a professor of the university that was doing a study or sabbatical in Africa. Each day the professor would submit a post about his experiences and observations of what he saw. Because he chose to use a blog his information was made available to students, staff, faculty and the general public. Another advantage of using a blog is that you can have viewers provide feedback on your post and it can serve as a place for discussions. I think a disadvantage is that because it is available for everyone to view there is the chance that viewers may post negative comments or feedback.
I think a blog is very beneficial in educational settings but it can also be used for anyone that wants to express their ideas and concerns. I think it is a great way for people to share their common interest and hobbies.
I have a friend who's been living in India for the last 6 months, and he posts to a blog a few times a week. It's an excellent asynchronous way to keep up with someone's activities, adventures, and reflections. Especially in a place like India or Africa where the time difference is about 12 hours ahead, so scheduling a time to IM or talk on the phone is nearly impossible. A blog is a nice blend of the written aspect of an email and the visual component of a photo album website.
Great points in regards to the use of blogs in education. I particularly liked your comment regarding negative and positive feedback. What if the blog is about the U.S. being beautiful because it is a melting pot and one of the comments discusses and promotes racism. Who should be held accountable then-the initiator of the blog or the person who left the comment? Could get ugly for the institution.
Due to the potential for bad press, I'd say a higher education institution has to enforce security measures for their blog and keep a blog administrator on staff. It is possible to limit comments to registered/invited users and to delete comments in case they are offensive. However, it's also in the interest of a public university to promote 1st amendment rights, so perhaps curbing free speech, good or bad, is less desirable than allowing misguided comments to be posted. Once you place content on the internet is essentially enters the public domain and is exposed to both praise and attach.
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