Weblogs for building learner communities Joseph Tomei, KGU, [email_address] Rick Lavin, FESSPUK, [email_address] Saturday, Nov. 4th (2:25-2:50 pm) @ JALT2006 (AIM J)

Joseph Tomei, KGU, [email_address]

Rick Lavin, FESSPUK, [email_address]

Saturday, Nov. 4th (2:25-2:50 pm) @ JALT2006 (AIM J)

Why don’t writing classes work?

How can we make writing classes more like speaking classes? Community Speaking classes Writing classes CMC Community

Communities are built on identity Identity faces clothes accessories body language gestures Community Speaking classes Writing classes CMC Oral Communication ???

Which one tells us more?

A weblog is… a webpage with a series of writings organized by date

a webpage with

a series of writings organized by date

A weblog is… accessible and incrementally updateable from any Internet-connected computer

accessible and incrementally updateable from any Internet-connected computer

A weblog is…

A weblog can be… supplemented with pictures comments links

supplemented with

pictures

comments

links

blog as an extension of personality

Writing as experience

Writing as exercise Juppun wa juubun 十分は 十分

Self identity and self evaluation

Self identity and self evaluation

blogs and shared experience

avatars

Roll your own template

Self-expression through customization Avatars Templates Sub-templates Micro-changes

Avatars

Templates

Sub-templates

Micro-changes

Expressing identity through blogging customization through avatars, templates photos quick mastery of the basics typing logging in 十分は十分 loosely defined personalized topics

customization through avatars, templates

photos

quick mastery of the basics

typing

logging in

十分は十分

loosely defined personalized topics

underlying personality

Moving towards community A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living. Rudolf Steiner

A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.

Rudolf Steiner

Online communities An online community consists of people who interact socially as they strive to satisfy their own needs or perform special roles ; a shared purpose that provides a reason for the community; policies that guide people’s interactions ; and computer systems to support and mediate social interaction and facilitate a sense of togetherness. Jennifer Preece, 2000 Online Communities: Designing usability, supporting sociability.

An online community consists of people who interact socially as they strive to satisfy their own needs or perform special roles ; a shared purpose that provides a reason for the community; policies that guide people’s interactions ; and computer systems to support and mediate social interaction and facilitate a sense of togetherness.

Roll your own web: blogrings, shared topics

Book reviews

Niche topics

Blog tag to encourage inter-blog linking I went to the shops and bought some apples. I went to the shops and bought some apples, and a book.

blogs and shared experience

Base score is number of words. Community-enhancing behaviour brings a large bonus .

Make it easy to find other students’ blogs!

Updated content: RSS/webfeeds Webfeed of a single site Webfeeds combined

Single class webfeed

Existing class feeds

Developing community personalization interblog connections linking commenting blogrolls or blog rings shared topics regularly updated content an ‘agora’

personalization

interblog connections

linking

commenting

blogrolls or blog rings

shared topics

regularly updated content

an ‘agora’

WinK (Weblogging in Kumamoto)

Books

WinK Hits!

Assistant editors/writers

What could it be?

Two models

Connections link to the individual post comments trackback links

link to the individual post

comments

trackback links

The blogging community

That’s all from us, folks! www.rikiwiki.net/jalt2006 [email_address] [email_address] Kumamoto Gakuen University Prefectural University of Kumamoto