Comments on: Student Blogging as Transparency and Education

By: Cyndi English

Cyndi English — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:28:18 +0000

I would love to see my students consistently visiting and contributing to blogs. I teach English in Italy, and learning methods which include any kind of technology are always very interesting and motivating to my students, but a fair number unfortunately lack good internet access and/or dedication to maintaining their contributions and commenting on others. I have had some success with one large aggregator blog that ties into all classes and projects. That way, the most enthusiastic students have a platform on which to share their views and comment on others, while being exposed many different writing styles and themes (some more advanced, some less). Blogging and commenting are such good ways to exercise fluency in foreign language learning- hopefully we will see more educational technology and more accessibility in Italy’s near future.

By: Timothy Burke

Timothy Burke — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:11:26 +0000

I think it’s a good incentive, yes, and I’m all for adopting it. I think lately the administration has been doing a good job as an institution with digital dissemination of information, I agree.

By: hwc

hwc — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:30:19 +0000

MIT is paying their student bloggers. If I recall, up to four hours a week at the prevailing work study wage, just like working in the library or giving admissions tours. The pay makes the positions competitive so they are able to select from a surplus of applicants.

Swarthmore might want to consider the same approach. The Swarthmore student blogs have done a fairly good job of conveying a range of experiences and have had some terrific writers, but the lack of consistency has been an issue. With 20 applicants for, say, four first-year blogger positions each year, the College could presumably pick four good writers and pay them enough to cover a dinner at the Indian restaurant in Media and a beverage or two for the fridge each week. Seems like a reasonable deal for all.

Overall though, Swarthmore has done a good job staying in the leading wave of on-line presence, student blogging, etc. President Chopp’s blog of her alumni Q&A events is a solid addition. When you look around at what else is out there in on-line presentation from peer schools, it’s very spotty and often downright embarrassing.

By: jpnudell

jpnudell — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:41:35 +0000

I saw this article and clipped it from the paper, though in some ways the blogs that they were referencing seemed almost self-generated by the students and then picked up on by the university. Of course you strike on the crux of the issue in that assigned blogging doesn’t quite fulfill some of the basic criteria, and an open system will ultimately mean that some, if not most students won’t write.

Now I am sure that there are ways to encourage people to write more, and that it is encouraged, but there will still be holdouts. Easing the access of blogs would be one big way (for example, in addition to webspace and an email, each student is automatically presented with a blog–whether or not they choose to partake).

I would also like to see some sort of interconnected nature for future blogs, especially between universities, though I admit that I don’t have a good way to do this.

From my own personal experience, I have hosted a blog off and on for almost three years now, and I use it as a way to talk about things (history in particular) that I wouldn’t otherwise get to talk about, while at the same time working on my writing. This began when I was in undergrad and now continues while I am in graduate school. Further, as the only person in my department as a graduate student working in Ancient History, I find myself wondering if there are ways to network with other people in the field beyond just conferences; blogs are one of the thoughts that come to mind.