Assessing Student Blog Projects

When considering the assessment and evaluation of student blogs first think about what the overall outcomes of the assignment are. Is it for learning new technological tools, promoting discussion, or is it for applying concepts? Or, all of the above?

In my case, I wanted students to apply what they knew about psychological theory to their own experiences. To accommodate their learning preferences, students were invited to work individually, as a pair, or in a group. They were then asked to sign-up for a course reading that they would summarize and support with additional research. They were to integrate issues, questions, alternative perspectives, opinions, applications, and experiences for how the theory applied to their reality. I emphasized that they needed to personalize their blog to help illustrate the application of the concepts. So, I needed criteria that would reflect these outcomes.

Here is a list of sample criteria that I used for the assignment:

Content

- Explains the main, supporting concepts and ideas in the readings

- Includes additional research to extend or contradict the content of the readings

- Examples and application to real-life scenarios support the key ideas

Voice and Perspective

- Unique voice of the writer(s) is evident

- Compelling and engaging use of ideas

- Questions related to the readings help the reader consider other perspectives

- Perspectives, issues, and opinions are relevant and extend the discussion

Conventions and Organization

- Text is organized in a logical manner that is easy to understand

- Ideas are expressed clearly

- Correct spelling and grammar

- Uses APA referencing

Blog Design

- Overall design reflects the theme and content of the readings

- Background colors and fonts are pleasing to the eye

- Links and video clips are accessible

- Images help illustrate the topic

- A variety of widgets were used to promote interactivity 

A site that I have been recently been introduced to is Meg's Blogology. She has some points  for creating assessments for student blog projects. Kathy Schrock's site has always been a favorite of mine. She has a host of material on assessment and using technology in the classroom.

What are your thoughts about assessing blogs?

Ten Steps to Setting Up a Blog

After reviewing several blog hosts, the host that I decided to use with my students was Google Blogger. I thought that Blogger would be the best as it is relatively easy to use and free. I wanted a program that would not intimidate students who were not as familiar with using web-based tools yet had enough complexity for more advanced techies. That way, they could focus more on the content of the blog rather than trying to figure out complex digital tools.

If you want to set-up your own blog, you can do so in ten easy steps:
1. Decide what your blog will be about
2. Choose a host (e.g., Blogger, Word Press, TypePad)
3.Create an account (make sure to review the terms of agreement and privacy policies)
4.Name your blog
5.Choose a template
6.Choose your widgets (e.g., poll, text, links, RSS feeds)
7.Type a blog entry, spell check, preview it, and publish
8.View your blog
9.Post often
10.Add photos, video, audio as you go along

You may also want to consider creating a blog as a test space to explore the options for postings and widgets. I did that first and it helped me become comfortable with the Blogger tools. After, I was more prepared when demonstrating how to set-up a blog with students.

In the end, start small as you can always add widgets later. As you blog, you will be introduced to other tools and it will become easier to expand on your existing blog.

Good luck blogging!

Getting Started with Students

Once you’ve committed yourself to creating blogs with students, where do you begin? For me this was the hardest step of all. I had a few nagging questions that needed to be explored. First, I had only recently learned to blog myself. How would I demonstrate how to do it when I barely knew how to do it myself? Second, I was unsure about how I would assess the students.  Would blogging be an appropriate assessment task for the course?  Third, at times motivating college students isn’t easy. Could blogging even capture their interest to want to learn psychological theory?  

In the end, I figured that my students probably knew more about using technology than I did considering the amount of time they are on their laptops, cell phones and engaged with social media. I found out that many of them even had their own blogs at one time. So, I decided that this activity would be a true collaborative one where we shared ideas and learned from each other as a group. I would design the blogging activity so that students maximized their textbook and other resources in applying the outcomes through the blogs they create. Instead of myself as “sage on the stage” I would use a more learner centered approach.  Applying the best practices of assessment would ensure that the assignment was well structured and the criteria clearly outlined for the students.  Aligning the goals of the assignment with the learning outcomes was essential.

Once I had resolved my initial issues, I created a list of steps that I followed to help me plan and implement this assignment with the students. Watch for my next blog that outlines these steps…:)

Case Study in Using Blogs with College Students

This past year I have had the opportunity to teach applied theories of psychology to students at a college in Ottawa, Canada. My goal was to introduce a learning space for students that would extend their technological skills and motivate them to apply psychological theory to their own experiences. Blogging seemed like the perfect opportunity to nurture a learning community and promote psychological discourses for the purpose of deep learning.

Students in the course Applied Theories of Psychology II (PSY1774) were asked to create and present a blog that explores issues related to the prescribed course readings. They were encouraged to provide 3 to 4 significant posts of research, commentary, and probing questions, on how the reading related to their personal experience.

Students personalized their blogs by including a variety of graphics, web links, videos, polls, and audio links that represented their research findings. Blogging allowed students to both share their research findings and apply their critical thinking skills. It was important for me to emphasize that critical thinking and exploration of issues were integral components of this assignment. I chose to use Google’s Blogger tool for its user friendly interface.

Generally, the students thought the assignment was fun, engaging, creative, and helped them learn about psychological theories in an innovative way. “It was a great way to explore psychology through real-life examples,” says student Karina. “Not only were the blogs useful for studying,” says student Zak, “but now more that 100 people know how to make a blog online.”

I'd love to hear about your experiences about blogging with students!

Why Blog?

My first experience with blogging originated within a course related to my Master of Arts in Education at the University of Ottawa. Creating and presenting a blog on course readings was one of the course requirements.  At first, I was hesitant as to how creating a blog could support any of the learning outcomes for the course. I was unfamiliar with the goals of blogging and knew very little about how it could promote discourse. However, I rolled up my sleeves determined to figure it all out. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I not only learned about the course content, but how blogging could be used as learning spaces for students.

So, why do we blog in the field of education, anyway? Martin Weller (2007) offers a few reasons for why we should blog in education:

- Blogs are an excellent way to engage with subject matter

- They are a viable medium to exchange information, knowledge, views and perspectives

- Blogging can help you stay informed about current theory and research

- Blogs can expose you to other technologies in a meaningful context

- Blogging fosters a high degree of personal reflection and critical analysis of one’s professional praxis

Perhaps the most important reason why we should blog in education is to promote deep learning in students. Blogging can encourage collaboration, reflection and sharing of links. Contextualizing learning through blogging enriches learning. At times blogging is also more successful at promoting interaction with students than in some face to face settings. In general, use of blogs as learning spaces has been successful in both promoting discourse and deep learning in higher education. Research has been conducted that explores use of blogs in promoting deep learning. Check out research conducted by Williams and Jacob (2004).

Update
I want to emphasize that blogging can begin at all levels of experience. Many of our students are already familiar with online communities such as Facebook and others have their own blogs or websites. Essentially, anyone who has access to a computer and can write an e-mail can be a successful blogger. The software is so easy to use and accessible that anyone can be a blogger.

What do you think?

What is Blogging?

By definition, blogging or “web logging” is a type of online publishing that occurs on the World Wide Web. Blogs have become attractive to the Net Generation because of their interactive nature and potential for reaching a mass audience. Since they are relatively easy to set-up many people now use blogs a type of expressive personal website.

Essentially, a blog is like an online journal, but one that fosters online discussion. Blogs can be about any topic or interest ranging from news, sports, travel, education, advertising, arts, or leisure.  Blogs are generally maintained by one person who posts comments, opinions, or research (called blog posts) in a chronological order. The blog is set-up in such a way that those who read the blog posts can respond by adding their own postings fostering a type of online community.

Blogs can also be very personal and an expression of the blogger’s passion. Anyone remember the film Julie and Julia (2009)? The movie centers on Julie Powell, an unemployed writer, who blogs about her experiences cooking her way through Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Powell’s blog, The Julie/Julia Project soon was a popular hit with bloggers. I recall watching the movie and thinking how powerful blogging could be.

Check out these sites for more about blogs and blogging:  
- Written by Rebecca Blood, Rebecca’s Pocket provides an overview the history and theory of blogs.   
- Weblogs at Harvard Law lists some of the unique features of blogs and their purpose. 
- Darren Rowse has some great links for getting started as a blogger. Check out his blog Problogger.

Update
What are some of your favorite blogs? Post a comment with links to your blogs below.