WolfBlogs: Examples of How Blogs Can Be Used
The following are some of the many possible applications for blogs in an academic environment. If you have additional suggestions, ideas, or examples to share, please let us know.
- Encourage discussion with and among your students by creating a course blog, then encouraging students to post and/or comment on others' posts. University course blogs are becoming increasingly common, for example:
- A blog requiring students to post weekly essays on any topic relevant to the course. The course home page provides more background information. Princeton University, 2006.
- A blog used to encourage students to reflect on news articles they selected and read. University of Minnesota, 2005.
- Create assignments that allow your students to use their own blogs (personal blogs hosted by WolfBlogs or any commercial site) to complete them. Encourage students without their own blog to create one, or provide an alternative mechanism for completing the assignment. Example: This Georgia Tech blog conveys announcements, tips, course materials, etc., and links to the students' own blogs (see menu at right).
- WolfBlogs allow you to publish new ideas and research findings instantly, to reach an almost infinitely wide audience, and to receive feedback (comments) on what you've posted. Example: Sivacracy.net, authored by NYU assistant professor Siva Vaidhyanathan and colleagues in several other cities.
- Use WolfBlogs to track areas of research interest. There can be advantages to managing links by adding them to a blog, instead of just bookmarking web pages in your browser: 1) blog posts can be annotated by you; 2) blog posts can be searched electronically; and 3) your blog can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, whereas bookmarks are only available on the computer where you created them.
- Note: To keep track of websites that are updated very frequently (such as news sites and other blogs), you may find it more helpful to use a "feed reader" or "news aggregator". These tools retrieve content for you, saving you the time and effort needed to check websites for updates on a regular basis.
- Use WolfBlogs to keep in touch with current and former students, or with colleagues around the world.
- Use WolfBlogs to create a departmental newsletter, or a faculty group blog to share news about particular projects or activities.
For assistance with setting up a blog for instructional purposes, please contact Kim Duckett, Librarian for Distance Learning and Educational Technology Services, 513-3653, or the Learning Technology Service. For technical support, please contact the NC State Help Desk
- Use WolfBlogs to share your opinions on courses, current events, or anything else.
- While the student-run WolfWeb message boards let you read and discuss many campus topics, WolfBlogs lets you create a space of your own for your organization, group of friends, special event, or any subject that interests you. And you can customize and design your blog to look any way you want.
- Create a blog for each one of your courses, or for specific research assignments, and organize your thoughts by sorting the posts into categories.
- Use WolfBlogs to keep your friends and family up-to-date about your life.
- Use WolfBlogs to keep track of important websites used in your courses. There can be advantages to managing links by adding them to a blog, instead of just bookmarking web pages in your browser: 1) blog posts can be annotated by you; 2) blog posts can be searched electronically; and 3) your blog can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, whereas bookmarks are only available on the computer where you created them.
- Note: To keep track of websites that are updated very frequently (such as news sites and other blogs), you may find it more helpful to use a "feed reader" or "news aggregator". These retrieve content for you, saving you the time and effort needed to check websites for updates on a regular basis.
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