Case Study: Blogs as a Resource, Communication, and Assignment Center

Who: Dr. Kevin Brady

Where: University of New Mexico, Department of Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology

What: Using blogs for student communication, coursework submission, and course website.

Why: Use blog platforms as a way to teach students (from experience) concepts of Web 2.0 software while utilizing features for course management.

How:

Course Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the set of applications that are being called Web 2.0 and to begin considering how they could be used for education and training. The course begins by examining the concept of Web 2.0 -- what it is, and how does it work. Then the course looks at some examples of how Web 2.0 applications are currently being used in educational and training programs and how our ideas about learning fit with the design of Web 2.0 applications. Finally, students create instructional and educational designs that incorporate elements of Web 2.0.

Course Goals:

• Develop an understanding of what “Web 2.0 means” in terms of applications and web sites.

• Use a number of Web 2.0 applications, creating accounts and interacting with the applications
.
• Incorporate Web 2.0 applications and sites into a design for education or training.

• Implement a working example of an instructional design that incorporates Web 2.0 applications.

Dr. Brady operates a course blog as the main point of contact for students in his online graduate class. This blog is updated several times a week with articles, links, assignments, and writing topics for the course. Each student taking the course is required to start and maintain a personal blog for this course. The blog serves as a record of each of the student’s work and a way to maintain contact with all classmates in the course.

View Dr. Brady’s course blog to learn more about his course. The blog contains links to the each student’s personal blog can also be found on the sidebar of the course blog.

Please note that this course is still currently in progress during the Spring 2010 Semester.