Tool+1+-+Blogs

**BLOGS** (Weblogs)
As academics, we generally don't think about putting our thoughts and experiences 'out there' for all and sundry to read. Traditionally we prepare, present, and mark material we have provided for students based on curriculum and institutional objectives. In the age of the Millenials in the tertiary sector, if we want to engage our students, it is paramout we develop portals for access which encourage learning, improve course completion and, importantly, produce quality graduates with the necessary skills and expertise to enter the workforce.

In my (Deb) course at university many years ago, I applied for a course and was sent a huge package of books. A study guide, and 3 books of "readings", all very badly photocopied versions of very badly scanned artcicles, all of which seemed so unrelated to 'my' area of study, I only read them because I had to! I had absolutely no idea how many students were enrolled, where they came from or how they were faring? Was I alone? It wasn't until I went for my first exam on campus that I realised there were 200 of us locally, and I worked with 3 of them! What a surprise....should we share experiences? Network for assignments? Help each other?

Well I am sure each of us thought about it, and we did talk after the exam, but we never met again until graduation. Four weeks into // **this** // course (OK yes granted, several years on....) I have developed not only a collegiate partnership with a member of another faculty as my study partner, but a friend who I will liaise with for future assignments and ** lifelong learning ** opportunities.

The use of web logs, or '**blogs**' is now firmly entrenched as as a **Web 2.0** tool in the university sector (Chan She Ping, 2011). This has increased not only student **engagement** in the education process but interaction bewteen the academic, the student and also other colleagues within the campus. In line with the objective of **engaging** our students in their learning experience, the **blog** provides a clear purpose made up of the most basic elements including organisational labels and tags, usability tools, provision for instant feedback, notifications, ratings and links to other useful (or maybe not) sites (Schrecker, 2007).

//**In order to see the true potential of this format and fully engage the student population, several needs arise on the part of the academic when developing tools: **//
 * The //**Teacher**// needs to be engaged by the technology
 * A repository for resource materials in multimedia-capable platform needs to be available
 * Broad-based access to hypermedia is essential
 * **E-learning** facilities providing both guided and independent browsing of the resource materials should be available
 * There needs to be provision for powerful computer platforms to access both database facilities and on-line interactive learning (i.e. simulation)
 * There needs to be a continuous process of improvement which utilises new technologies as they arise (Lai, 2011).

//**Below are some examples of blogs which students may find useful in developing blogs of their own...to communicate ideas, share resources, provide insight or motivation or just have your say!**//

Official Google Australia Blog Second Life Blog  Google Official Blog Classroom Chronicles The Lowly Interpreter Resourcing the Curriculum

The following two blogs are very informative and provide a comprehensive discussion on the benefits of applying blogging and the use of mobile devices for what is termed 'nomadic learning' into the world of academia. Please take the time to visit them... <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> here's an excerpt... //<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">" Within the next 12 months, every Australian academic should be blogging on a regular basis, otherwise they should seriously consider their future in academia." //

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Online Opinion <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Mobl21]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//**What are the key features here?**//


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Headings and tabs on the page to attract your attention
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A ratings guide ....... up to five stars
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Website adverts on the right side of the page to attract your attention, these may be sponsors which pay for the page (pop ups)
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other featured blogs
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Links to social networking pages like Twitter and Facebook to maximise the exposure....one again facilitating the **e-learning** experience for the user
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An RSS feed to subscribe to all posts, keeping the user up to date and facilitating **engagement**
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Previous blogs to access which be arranged in order of blog, or by tag profile

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//**So how would an educator's blog look? Take a peek.....**//

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">