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 Memohttp://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
Monica Lewinsky The Drudge Reporthttp://www.drudgereport.com/
Dan Rather Power Linehttp://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 degreessource: Rainie, Lee. “Memo: the state of blogging”. Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 2005.10 February 2005http://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-educatedand veteran Internet users source: Rainie, Lee. “Memo: the state of blogging”. Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 2005.10 February 2005http://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…
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
