This is part 2 of 3 in a series where I talk to two college teachers about their use of social media in the classroom.
In part 1, they discussed why blogs are important in classrooms and the advantages of using blogs as a learning vehicle. Today’s discussion is around the relevancy of “Blackboard,” which is an online teaching center that many colleges use and how the teachers are actually using social networks, blogs and wiki’s for their class.
I know many schools use “Blackboard” for homework assignments, the class schedule, etc. Do you think blogs will take away Blackboard’s relevancy?
Corinne: I don’t think classroom management systems such as Blackboard will ever go away altogether. Yes, some of the functions performed by these systems (i.e. posting homework assignments, distributing class announcements, etc.) could easily be performed by blogs, but I think the key distinguishing factor is a privacy issue.
Universities are required by law to abide by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy of student education records. Since Blackboard is a closed-wall system, it is easy to ensure that student records stay private. Your question points to a powerful tension between the desire to take advantage of all the collaborative learning opportunities that the social web can provide on the one hand, and the necessity to protect students’ privacy on the other hand.
I think what will be interesting to watch in this regard is Blackboard’s Beyond Initiative, which is trying to walk that fine privacy line with projects such as Blackboard Sync (a Facebook application that synchronizes students’ Blackboard and Facebook accounts) and Scholar (a social bookmarking application).
Tammy: Blackboard has a lot more going on than what today’s blog currently offers (assessments, drop boxes, grade books, etc). I wouldn’t be surprised in Blackboard eventually takes on some weblog characteristics, but I don’t see it being replaced.
How are you using wiki’s, blog’s and social networks for your class?
Corinne: I am using blogs and wikis in a number of different classes although my Social Media for PR class is the only class in which students are required to keep an individual blog. That’s because the class focuses on social media and allows me to cover important issues such as blogging etiquette and reputation management in detail before unleashing my students onto the blogosphere.
In my Intro to Public Relations and my Presentational Speaking classes I have used a course blog instead and required students to contribute to it throughout the semester. For instance, my Presentational Speaking students had to locate a speech they liked on a video sharing site, upload it to the course blog, and critique it using concepts learned in class. This semester, the students in my PR for Nonprofits class will be developing a PR campaign for a nonprofit client using a wiki as a collaboration tool. Each student team will create its own wiki and grant its client and me access to the wiki.
That way, the client and I can see the project evolve and provide feedback throughout. Another advantage of using wikis for this teamwork intensive project is that wikis log the history of a project and display each member’s individual contributions – a great way to encourage equal participation rates on behalf of all team members!
Tammy: For academic classes, I’ve primarily used blogs as a way for students to create individual research projects. In one class, for example, students are asked to analyze a poem using alternative media. Weblogs are one way they can chose to do this.
To be continued…..
The next and final post will be where I ask both teachers about their definition of personal branding and why it’s so important for college students.
