The effective use of blogs in economics education

The effective use of blogs in economics education Developments in Economics Education (DEE) Conference Paul Ayres and Bhagesh Sachania http://del. icio .us/ cfbloke / dee

Aims of this session
In the next hour, we hope that you will
have answered the following questions:
What are the possibilities for using blogs in economics teaching?
How can they be harnessed to disseminate research?
What are the opportunities and risks of blogging?

How will we do this
Experiential learning approach
Small group work
Examining best practice
Discussions and brainstorms
… facilitated by us,
but with active input from you

Who are we to tell you this …
Paul Ayres, Economics Editor, Intute: Social Sciences, paul . ayres @ bristol .ac. uk
Experienced blogger and podcaster at: http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/blog/
Collaborated on the Economics in Action blog, part of the Why Study Economics initiative http://whystudyeconomics.ac.uk/blog/
Written and presented about these issues to a number of Social Science organisations

Who are we to tell you this …
Bhagesh Sachania, Information Officer, Economics Network, b.m. sachania @ bristol .ac. uk
Has run a series of workshops on the effective use of educational technology at economics departments round the UK
Authors of the “Guide to Using Blogs in Economics” available from: http://www. economicsnetwork .ac. uk /showcase/ ayres _ blogs . htm

About you
A quick show of hands:
How many of you know what a blog is?
How many of you read blogs about economics?
How many of you have commented on a blog written by someone else?
How many of you have written a blog post already?

What is a blog?
“ Blog (short for Weblog): a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.”
( Merriam-Webster’s Words of the Year 2004)
Try “Writing and managing content” section 3 of
the Guide to Using Blogs in Economics

Characteristics of blogs
Quick and easy web publishing
Offer instant communication
Regularly updated
Require little technical knowledge
A social / networking activity
Link to other online resources

Rise of the bloggers
Over 70 million blogs online
120,000 new blogs every day
1.5 million blog posts a day
87% of UK online adults have heard about blogs
40% of US online adults read blogs for political news
Sources: technorati.com, Harris Poll, Nielsen/NetRatings

Activity 1: Learning from other people and their blogs
Tell your colleagues about your favourite economics blog and why you like it
If you can’t think of one go to: http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/economics/
Search for blog* to bring up a list of blogs and blogging related sites
We will collate the suggestions and come up with an economics blog reading list

Activity 2: How might you use a blog for economics education?
Potential teaching and learning uses of blogs:
Replacing standard class web pages
Professor-written blogs which cover interesting developments that relate to the theme of the course
Organization of in-class discussion
Organization of intensive seminars where students have to provide weekly summaries of the readings
Requiring students to write their own blogs as part of their grade
Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber blog

Potential research uses of blogs:
Writing up as you go along
Floating new or embryonic ideas
Dissemination of research results
Take advantage of the “invisible college” of fellow economists
Engaging with the public to raise the level of debate on economic issues
Sidestepping the mainstream media for publicity

In your groups, come up with a 30 word statement on how you could use a blog in your economics education
What are the characteristics of a blog that would make it appropriate over another form of technology / teaching?
Try “Uses in Economics” section 5 of the Guide to using Blogs in Economics
Try Scott Leslie’s matrix of blog uses: http://www. edtechpost .ca/gems/matrix2.gif

Activity 3: What issues are associated with blogging?
“… blogs are great as they let anyone say anything they want about any subject”
… blogs present many opportunities

“… blogs are rubbish as they let anyone say anything they want about any subject”
… blogs also have their risks

In your groups, examine your 30 word statements about your use of a blog in economics education
Come up with a list of potential risk factors and opportunities of using a blog in this fashion
Try section 4 “Risks” of the Guide to Using Blogs in Economics

Some questions you may wish to consider:
Will your blog be publicly available?
Will you allow comments?
Does your institution know you are blogging?
Are your ideas “safe” or could they be stolen?
Who is in “control” of a student written class blog?
What resources do you have available – time, computing, subject expertise?

Finally … a note of caution
“ The roof of the classroom has been
blown off and the walls have been
set on the circumference of the
globe."
Ben Darrow talking about the educational potential of radio in … 1932

What’s next?
Read the “Guide to Using Blogs in Economics” online at the Economics Network website
Look at related websites from: http://del.icio.us/cfbloke/econblog
Look out for the Economics Network technology workshop in Bristol next year
Read 100s of economics blogs at the Economics Roundtable http://www. rtable .net/
Find more economics blogs via Intute: Social Sciences and suggest some new ones

http://escelearn.wordpress.com	4720
http://www.intute.ac.uk	58
http://alissweb2.wordpress.com	53
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	24
http://learnecon.blogspot.com	19
http://www.stephenkinsella.net	11
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk	5
http://learnecon.blogspot.fr	5
http://www.thecommentarybox.co.uk	2
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	2
url_unknown	2
http://www.slideshare.net	2
http://wildfire.gigya.com	1
http://prlog.ru	1

The effective use of blogs in economics education

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