File this as “needs further investigation.”
There’s been a blog post on Moodle version 2.0 that’s been sitting in my RSS reader for quite some time now that I’ve only just gotten around to reading and I’m really glad I did, because one portion of it in particular has made me cautiously optimistic.
In “Did You Know Moodle 2.0 Will…” Hans de Zwart writes:
“Not only will Moodle have a proper RSS feed for your internal blog, it will also allow you to import an external blog (based on a feed URL and on …

I’m doing a whole lot of reading and research into the topic of classroom blogging at the moment, and have run into a recurring theme of compulsory student posting that I want to muse a bit about.
The basic idea behind compulsory posting is that, rather than leaving topics or frequency of posting exclusively to the individual to decide, students are – at minimum – assigned a topic/question and deadline which they must cover in their blogs.
In my mind, the question of whether or not to mandate blogging ultimately boils down …

One of the issues with use of blogs in the classroom, which I’m still trying to resolve, is how best to orientate the course structure, organise the resulting student blog feeds, develop a portal to all the distributed discussions that are taking place, and establish a sense of cohort cohesion while affording individuals as much freedom as possible. Because, for all of their inherent value to the individual, blogs are a tricky medium to implement in a large group or cohort of students.
Existing Models
Having said this, there are …

In reading a recent post on the Tomorrow’s Professor blog regarding “Learning Through Structured Reflection,” I’ve been once again reminded of my passionate belief in the importance of leaving space and opportunity for contemplation and critical thinking in the learning process. Likewise the article has also reaffirmed my belief that the student blog should be as core a part of a curriculum as the text book.
The article argues:
“Making experiences into objects of reflection means simultaneously heightening their impact while attempting to understand them in connection with any number of …

Thanks to a colleague of mine, I have just caught wind of a new blog called Tomorrow’s Professor, which is worth highlighting for a few very important reasons.
According to the header, Tomorrow’s Professor is:
“A partnership between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University to create a forum for comments and discussion about articles from the Tomorrow’s Professor Mailing List and about general issues concerning higher education”
This blog is significant for a few key reasons.
First, it is a collaborative effort between two recognised and highly respected institutions covering emerging issues …