Blogger is a free service offered by Google that I've found to be invaluable in my classes. Blogger is a Web platform that allows you (and your students) to do Web publishing without knowing any HTML. You can post daily or weekly announcements or you can use it as part of your class itself. Every semester, I use Blogger in several different ways in my classes.
- As the course announcement tool. It's extremely convenient for me to post announcements using Blogger, and students don't need to log into Blackboard Vista to read them. Even better, students can subscribe to your class announcement RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, and automatically be notified whenever you post a new announcement.
- As a "poor-man's" discussion forum. You can make your blog private, so only students in your class can read and post comments. In some way, I've found it to be a much more effective discussion board than those found in the different Learning Management Systems.
- As a student publishing venue. Each semester I have my students create their own blog and keep track of their progress in the class. I have a single page that has links to each student's blog, so I can quickly read all of them. Students who want privacy can publish their blog privately, so only you can read it. Others may find that they like sharing their thoughts with the world.
Let me spend a few minutes showing you how you can set up your blog. Just click the links in the menu on the right.
Blogger is a free service offered by Google that I've found to be invaluable in my classes. Blogger is a Web platform that allows you (and your students) to do Web publishing without knowing any HTML. You can post daily or weekly announcements or you can use it as part of your class itself. Every semester, I use Blogger in several different ways in my classes.