1. BLOGS: PROS Why blogs work in online and F2F courses

2. Collaboration Blogs allow students to work together on projects (shared authorship). They also allow students to share their work with one another online, which is particularly valuable for a course which does not meet F2F. apps2.pallisersd.ab.ca

3. Mixed Media Blogs allow students to enhance assignments by including links and visuals in their blog posts. This adds a dimension to written work and addresses different learning styles. It also allows students to participate in multimedia projects in online courses. http://e-portfolioeng102-laquilina.wikispaces.com/Politicizing+Religion-Essay3

4. Audience Blogs are public. Anyone can read them. This gives students an expanded audience, and an increased awareness of audience. chemistryland.com

5. Ownership A blog is a personal space. The student can access it forever. In online courses, blogs provide a unique forum for “getting to know” your students. http://writlegends.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-09-03T21%3A50%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

6. Creativity Citation Students can provide links to sources on a blog, which is a valuable tool for both the instructor, and the for the student learning to navigate the vast amount of information on the web. Blogs allow students flexibility and creativity in responding to assignment prompts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_1NUegMMTY&feature=player_embedded

7. BLOGS: CONS These are some of the challenges of using blogs in online or F2F courses

8. Resistance! Student might fear learning the new technology at first. They are comfortable with Blackboard. This is new and scary. Although many of my students resist blogging at first, many of them cite it as one of the most valuable aspects of the class at the end. themachoresponse.blogspot.com

9. Privacy Some students might be concerned about having their work available to the public. I never make evaluative comments on blogs, but I do require students to make them public for the course of the class. 300allpctips.blogspot.com

10. Copyright Like in this PowerPoint, when using images, students need to be aware of copyright concerns and citations.

11. ONLINE v. F2F F2F Blogs seem to work better for focused projects. Use them for collaboration? Group Work? Presentations? ONLINE Blogs replace some in-class elements. Allow students to get to know each other.