Staff and student blogs

1. Using NUS Blogs:
Module and
Student blogs
N. Sivasothi
Department of Biological Sciences, NUS
http://tinyurl.com/siva-nusblogs

2. How I use blogs - a quick and useful tool for
communication (2003-present)

3. Content matters

4. Elusive links

5. Useful archive

6. Appearance helps

7. General readership

8. General readership

9. First natural history blog

10. First museum blog

11. First cycling blog (group)

12. News blog

13. Useful archive

14. How useful?

16. Active readers and searchers

17. Wider readership: twitter and facebook
Facebook

18. Science journals follow suit

19. Cats and content

20. Something to share
Point to interesting links from your reading.
Your take.
Personal touch.

21. Module blogs: pointers not discussions (2008)

22. Point to links
Text
http://blog.nus.edu.sg/lsm1303/

23. Local relevance

24. Local relevance

25. Pull or Push?

26. Pull or Push?

27. Audience?
Will it come out in the exams?
The more enthusiastic read
A way to support the very interested student
Archive link to good articles
Email still easier and has a better reach

28. Student blogs: writing and communication

29. Fun,
Search,
Read,
Write,
Communicate
Will blog for marks!

30. Structure, brevity, credibiliy

32. Someone has to mark!

33. Pros and Cons
• No lag time - just use • Mannual addition of class
their existing userid. userids (CIT or FTTA
helps).
• Focus on writing.
• You will have to setup
• Full name at bottom of guidelines.
each post - marking,
pride. • Someone has to mark.
• Posts were public - real
world judges.

34. Guidelines & Marking

35. Text

39. What about plagiarism?
• Export entire blog as a pdf
• Submit to turnitin
• Pre-empt: students can self-evaluate and
improve - they will learn from their results

41. Archive Posts, Field journals

42. • E.g. LSM1303student posts - export to file.
• Upload to archive (LSM1303-2009).
• Delete all posts; start afresh.

43. Field journals for 1st years?

44. Thank you!
N. Sivasothi
Department of Biological Sciences
National University of Singapore
http://tinyurl.com/siva-nusblogs