LSE Learning technology and Innovation guide to blogging

1. Using Social Media
Blogging
Using Social Media: Blogging
What is a blog?
Blogs (web logs) can be considered as online shared journals.
They are a chronological collection of personal commentary and links.
They also allow for more personal
views, this is why many institutions
and companies own both a
website and a blog.
The chronological ordering of
posts make it a nice medium to
provide updates and inform
readers of the latest news.
Blog or website?
The difference between a
blog and a website is that
websites are static and
only allow for one-way
communication whereas
blogs are updated regularly
and encourage
discussion between
bloggers.
Why blog?
Blogs encourage reflection and
discussion and thus allow for
personal and collaborative use and
a deeper understanding of a given
subject or topic. It is easy to see
their potential in enriching
students’ educational experience.
Because blogs are easy to use
and…

2. Using Blogs in Teaching and Learning
Using Social Media: Blogging
Want to be an expert in blogging?
LTI runs training sessions on blogs and writing for blogs. .
Go on the training system to find out more
“Blogs offer students, faculty, staff, and others a high level of autonomy while creating a
new opportunity for interaction with peers. Blogs provide a forum for discussion that goes
beyond coursework to include culture, politics, and other areas of personal exploration.
Students often learn as much from each other as from instructors or textbooks, and blogs
offer another mechanism for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and acquisition.”
Educause
Ways to use blogs in class (adapted from educatorstechnology.com)
❶ Provide further assignments for students to work on
❷ Get students to do their writing assignments in the form of reflective blog posts.
Encourage them to post comments on each others postings
❸ Use blogs for classroom projects where students can include videos, clips,
audio, text and images
❹ Teachers can create a specific section just for website links and references to
other interesting content online.
❺ Challenge your students to write, record and post tutorials about certain
concepts of things you teach them
❻ Use a section in your blog for course news
❼ Post weekly challenges that require your students to think creatively and
critically.
❽ Ask students to post their answers on the blog then discuss the solutions in
class. This will tremendously improve their problem-solving skills.
More information: blogs.lse/ac/uk/lti
lti.support@lse.ac.uk