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Beyond (the) Blackboard: Blogging as a Course Management System in the Foreign Language Classroom

Beyond (the) Blackboard: Blogging as a Course Management System in the Foreign Language Classroom. Daniel R. Walker daniel.walker@colorado.edu University of Colorado at Boulder Conference of the South Central Association for Language Learning Technology 16 February 2008.

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Beyond (the) Blackboard: Blogging as a Course Management System in the Foreign Language Classroom

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  1. Beyond (the) Blackboard: Blogging as a Course Management System in the Foreign Language Classroom Daniel R. Walker daniel.walker@colorado.edu University of Colorado at Boulder Conference of the South Central Association for Language Learning Technology 16 February 2008

  2. Advantages of Traditional Course Management Systems • Organization • Standardization • Instructor familiarity • Student familiarity • Tools • Use of templates • Support

  3. Disadvantages of Traditional Course Management Systems • Interface • Forces one to think in modules • Hierarchical menu structure • Compatibility issues • Students often dislike them

  4. The Decision to Use Blogger • Cost • Compatibility • Ease of Use • Customization • Appearance • Relationship with Google “family” • Google Calendar • Google Reader • YouTube • FeedBurner

  5. Two Approaches to Using Blogs • Top-down blog • Information primarily goes from instructor to class • Internet & Society Course (Northwestern U) • Bottom-up blog • Information primarily goes from class to instructor • Info 204: Networks (Cornell U)

  6. U of Colorado: Spanish 2120 • Fourth-semester course • Eight-week summer class • Seventeen students • Hybrid approach • Fixed elements / right-hand side • Changing elements / left-hand side

  7. Fixed Elements: The Basics • Feedburner / RSS • Personal information • Email address • Office hours

  8. Fixed Elements: News • Authentic texts in the target language • Access to current events • Instructor controlled through Google Reader • Material used as content for extra-credit questions on quizzes

  9. Fixed Elements: Administration • Easy access • Administrative documents • Essential webpages • Use of PDF documents • Integration with Webfiles

  10. Changing Elements: Informational Posts • Offer more information about material seen in class—all in the target language • Offer students links in order to stimulate further exploration

  11. Changing Elements: News Posts

  12. Changing Elements: Course Schedule Posts

  13. Changing Elements: Hybrid Posts

  14. Changing Elements: Organization • Labels • Created by poster • Posts may have multiple labels • Allow students to easily locate posts • Archives • Organized automatically by Blogger • Arranged by date

  15. Blogmentarios: Writing, Brainstorming, and Discussion

  16. Student Reaction

  17. Links • Class Blog: Spanish 2120 (Summer 2007) • http://span2120.blogspot.com/ • Blog Project Overview (“Language and Technology”) • https://webfiles.colorado.edu/walkerdr/www • Blogs as Course Management Systems (Google Notebook) • http://www.google.com/notebook/public/07209419910697440508/BDRCcIwoQ762Vo-gi

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