Blogging November 7, 2006 Milne Library Room 104
Blogging November 7, 2006 Milne Library Room 104 Instructor: Kate Pitcher pitcher@geneseo.edu What do these three people have in common? Trent Lott Talking Points Memo http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ Monica Lewinsky The Drudge Report http://www.drudgereport.com/ Dan Rather Power Line http://www.powerlineblog.com/ Learning Outcomes Define a weblog (“blog”). Distinguish blogs from non-blog websites. Describe several key characteristics of blogs. Use specialized search engines or directories to locate blogs in a subject area. Post comments to another person’s blog. Create and post to a blog. Blogging: An Introduction What Who How Why What is a blog… A “weblog” or (blog for short) is usually defined as… • • • A web page with dated entries, generally starting with the most current posts at the top and oldest at the bottom Collection of links and commentary An online journal What makes up a blog? Some common components: Dated entries/posts Permalinks Blogroll (links to other blogs) Syndicated content Comments Archives A Short History… Originated as “lists of links” Became personal journals Justin Hall’s “Links from the Underground” may be the first weblog (1994) In 1997, Dave Winer created www.scripting.com to share technology issues with friends and colleagues Jorn Barger coined the term weblog in 1997 with his site, http://www.robotwisdom.com A Short History… “The act of creating a website to solely direct users to other websites” was unusual at the time In 1999 the first batch of automated tools to create and update weblogs were released Pitas and Blogger were released in 1999 Growth took off! First conference devoted to blogging was held in Austin, Texas in 2000 Who are these bloggers? Did you know… 57% of blog creators are male 48% are under 30 years old 82% have been online 6 years or more 39% have college or graduate degrees source: Rainie, Lee. “Memo: the state of blogging”. Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 2005. 10 February 2005 http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp Who reads blogs? 27% of Internet users read blogs as of November 2004 -- that’s 32 million people! greater-than-average growth of readers among women, minorities, and those between the ages of 30-49 tend to be young, male, well-educated and veteran Internet users source: Rainie, Lee. “Memo: the state of blogging”. Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 2005. 10 February 2005 http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp The Pew Internet & American Life Project 27% 7% Source: Rainie, Lee. “The state of blogging”. The Pew Internet & American Life Project. <http://www.pewinternet.org/index.asp>. 2 June 2005. Why the growth? culture of sharing on the Internet ease of use Why read a Blog? Currency Relevancy Focus Free flow and exchange of ideas Connections Trends Marketing Siemens, George. “The Art of Blogging”. elearnspace.org 1 December 2002. 5 February 2004 http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/blogging_part_1.htm. How does one syndicate a blog to readers? Using RSS technology! Really Simple Syndication How RSS Feeds work… Blog Today’s post Archived posts RSS Feed Feeds into an aggregator or Newsreader Subscribers Subscribers Subscribers Subscribers Why use RSS Feeds? Content is easily disseminated via headlines Users go to one source -- their newsreader or aggregator -- to read all their RSS feeds Current awareness service potential How does one create a blog? Free software Most websites will host your blog on their server Few HTML editing skills required Easily updated Creating a weblog… Blogger www.blogger.com Movable Type www.movabletype.org LiveJournal www.livejournal.com Radio Userland http://radio.userland.com Pitas www.pitas.com Slash www.slashcode.com WordPress http://wordpress.com Blog tools… Blogger free ease of use web site will host your blog (no need to put blog on your own server) no prior knowledge of HTML or CSS tutorials available Blog tools… LiveJournal joining the site is free will host your blog on their server Blog tools… WordPress free customize the look of your blog host your blog on their server no need to learn HTML Tips for a successful blog… know your purpose and focus simplicity update regularly links syndicated content publicity Why should we care about blogs? Information dissemination Abandonment by youth of traditional media outlets Grassroots journalism or “citizen journalists” Interactive capabilities Use as critical thinking tools in classroom “Disruptive technology” (Hiler, 2002) Blogs in the classroom Why? When? How? Blog post… Student responds to post… Blogs as critical thinking tools… Interpersonal communication Social interaction Facilitates active learning Engagement with material Reflection and analysis Fosters teaching and learning Opportunities for feedback Critical Thinking… “Shortly after I began producing Rebecca's Pocket I noticed two side effects I had not expected. First, I discovered my own interests. I thought I knew what I was interested in, but after linking stories for a few months I could see that I was much more interested in science, archaeology, and issues of injustice than I had realized. More importantly, I began to value more highly my own point of view. In composing my link text every day I carefully considered my own opinions and ideas, and I began to feel that my perspective was unique and important” -- Rebecca Blood, author of The Weblog Handbook Benefits of student blogging… Subject-matter experts Ownership of their learning Participation and interaction with classmates Provides opportunities for diverse perspectives Ferdig, Richard E. and Kaye D. Trammell. “Content delivery in the ‘blogosphere’.” T H E Journal. February 2004: 12-16. Infotrac Onefile. Gale Group Databases. 23 September 2004 <http://web3.infotrac.galegroup.com/>. Teaching Blogs How do we do it? Webquests Hands-on activities Active learning Ingredients… Assignments Learning outcomes Design of activities Guided practice in class Assessment
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