Even if one doesn’t buy into the idea that blogging=street cred, a good number of folks are thinking about moving away from using a full-blown CMS such as Blackboard, Moodle, or Angel and using blogs to manage their courses instead.
For those who are considering that route, what are some of the tools that come in handy, especially if you’re teaching multiple courses? We’ve written about a number of these tools already here at ProfHacker; consider this a “round-up” post of sorts.
A blogging platform. There are a lot of options out there, both free and paid. Among the most common are Blogger, WordPress (which can be hosted at WordPress.com or on your own domain), WordPress MU, and TypePad. If you’re looking at running WordPress on your own domain, you’ll need to decide whether to choose standard WordPress or WordPress MU.
A hosting service. Though there are good free blogging options out there, paying to host your blog on your own domain gives you a lot more control. (For example, WordPress.com, for security reasons, doesn’t allow users to install their own plugins, which can be rather limiting, depending on what you’re trying to do.) If you think that setting up your own domain might be for you, you’ll want to check out Julie’s thoughts about web hosting.
A blogging client. If you manage multiple blogs that often get the same information posted to them (for instance, I often post things, such as departmental announcements or announcements of campus events, that are the same for all classes), a blogging client can save you a good deal of time and effort. Both desktop and mobile clients are available.
An RSS reader. Jason’s written before about the wonders of RSS. One of the best ways to keep up with multiple news feeds is to use an RSS reader, or “feed reader.” It can really help to streamline your reading. I use Google Reader myself, but there are plenty of other options, both for the desktop and for the web browser.
Here’s my setup:
- Hosting: 1and1 (1and1 doesn’t support one-click install for software such as WordPress, so if you’re not comfortable installing manually, you might want to consider a different host).
- Blogging platform: In the process of moving from WordPress to WordPress MU.
- Blogging clients: Ecto, wpToGo (Android).
- RSS reader: Google Reader.
What other tools and/or setups are people using for managing their course blogs? Are there any blogging practices readers find particularly helpful? Let us know in the comments!
The image in this post is by Flickr user Gideon Burton and is CC-licensed.
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8 Responses to Tools for managing multiple class blogs
Laura - December 23, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I used WordPress for my class in the spring. We made it a group blog with all the students contributing to the site. I had a password-protected page where we posted readings and papers were posted as pages rather than posts. It worked out pretty well. This spring, I’m teaching a course with only 5 students. I’m still going to use WordPress, hosted on my own server (I use Blue Host), but I think I will have them have their own blogs (probably through Edublogs, which caters to K-12 teachers) and just pull them in via an RSS widget onto a course blog. I’m teaching future teachers and I want them to get use to managing their own space. I don’t use a blogging tool, but use the Zemanta plugin for Firefox, which makes it easy to add relevant links and pictures while typing in a standard blogging text box. There’s also the ScribeFire plugin for Firefox that’s okay, but not great, for blogging.
Derek Bruff - January 4, 2010 at 11:13 pm
I run WordPress blogs on my university’s blog server for my courses. I used to use Blackboard, but I find that WordPress makes it easier and faster to post new material and provides greater flexibility thanks to all the freely available plugins.
For instance, this fall I wanted my students to respond to pre-class reading questions, but I didn’t want them to see each others’ responses. (The questions weren’t designed to promote discussion, just aid in understanding key concepts in the reading.) I posted my questions on the blog, then used the Semi-Private Comments plugin so that only I could see my students’ responses. Worked like a charm!
Mark Sample - December 31, 2009 at 10:28 am
The question of a rubric for blog evaluation has come up before on Profhacker. I always point out my own rubric, which I’ve written about and which you may find useful.
Julie Meloni - December 31, 2009 at 11:44 am
I’ll second the use of Mark’s rubric — I’ve modified it slightly for my own purposes, basically turning it into a 0-3 with that fourth point for contributing to the conversation within comments (which is always spelled out as part of the assignment).
Todd Finley - December 26, 2009 at 7:33 am
Any tips on expedient ways to grade/respond to blog or forum posts? I use a Hillocks-based rubric, but I’m on the lookout for a better method.
William Patrick Wend - December 24, 2009 at 10:46 am
I used WordPress for my courses this semester, but was told by my department to try Blackboard (heard nothing good about it from either students or other faculty) so I will next semester. Also thinking, as a backup, of also trying out Drupal for the first time this spring on my own domain.
Barbara - December 24, 2009 at 9:00 am
We use Edublogs Campus (which uses WordPress MU) – they’ve added a “class blog” feature that allows the instructor to create student accounts and to aggregate the student posts on a class page. The Edublogs people have been really great to work with. (By the way, I don’t work for them!)
Todd Finley - December 31, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Mark,
I’m always impressed when someone creates tools that are practical and pedagogically sound. The blog rubric on your site, Sample Reality, is very helpful.
Here is a rubric I created for online response to readings:
http://drop.io/tieredresponse
It includes over sixty different types of reflective formats–some old, some new. I hope someone finds it useful!
tbf