Blogging an Introduction

With the growth of Web logs, more commonly known as Blogs, their use and potential has changed. Blogs provide another means of online communication, along with email, instant message discussion boards and traditional websites, that are easy to use and learn. While not originally designed for education, their application in the academic universe is already being tested.

Blogs are a written journal on a subject by an individual. That topic could be the blogger, like a journal -- commonly refered to as a "personal blog" -- or a topic. Political blogs became a hot topic during the 2004 Presidential election and their influence continues to grow in the mainstream media.

Developing blogs for academic use, not unlike a lot of new technology, is growing through trial and error. While blogs might be a popular tools for personal and journalistic communication online, the tool itself has features and functionality that lends itself for use in education.

Getting Started with your Creighton Blog

To create your own Creighton blog, open your web browser and go to http://blogs.creighton.edu/NetID. Your blog will automatically be created the first time you visit. Once there, log into your blog through the "Login" link toward the bottom right hand side of the page. You will be prompted for your NetID and your Blue password. You can view and update your blog using any computer that is connected to the internet through a web browser.More about: A h3 level heading inside a featurebox div

Along with removing the walls of the physical classroom, blogs meet a growing need in academia. More and more a university must reach students where they live, beyond campus, out to the larger communty. Online curriculum is growing in popularity and blogs fill a hole in the curriculum as a tool that delivers course content and discourse directly to the student no matter where they live.

Blogging Topics

Blogging Benefits
Among other benefits, using a Blog can keep your students informed and up-to-date with a minimal amount of technical knowledge on your part.
Blogging Flexibility
There are several ways to incorporate a blog into your course design that will make connecting to your students easier.
Best Practice
Every class is different, however, there are some basics about using blogs in your course design that will save you aggrivation in the future.

Additional Resources

An Introduction to Blogging from Wordpress.org

Blogging defined on Wikipedia

Blogging Glossary

Remediation, Genre, and Motivation: Key Concepts for Teaching with Weblogs
by Kevin Brooks, Cindy Nichols, and Sybil Priebe, North Dakota State University