James’ Blog

Blackboard help wanted

My blackboard questions were buried in my earlier post and may not catch anyone’s eye, so I’ll try again.  I believe that the Blackboard software has blog-like and wiki-like capabilities but have personally never explored them.  If any of you have experience with the discussion board or electric blackboard in Blackboard, I would appreciate a comment.

Reflections on day two

Basically a lecture presentation of the information in the first handout (working paper #5).  I had read this.  I wish that we could have experienced a chat activity, or peer editing session.  The workshop should provide us with the hands-on opportunities to explore these technologies, not hear about them.  (I am sure that such widely-read learning theorists also know the research on the relative inefficiency of the lecture method as compared with experiential problem-solving.)

 So.  I have questions about Blackboard.  This is a technology already in place in my institution.  I believe it has certain capabilities that are blog-like or wiki-like, but have personally never attempted to understand or explore them.  I believe some of the participants in this workshop know more about Blackboard than I do and hope that some of them might read this and comment.

Getting started

Well, you need to have something to say.  And, of course, it has to be something that you also are willing for other people–potentially lots of other people–to read.   A pretty scary medium, actually.  What are the affective barriers to blogging?  How many blog-tied students will stare at the screen for long minutes before venturing a word all the while wishing they had signed up for a different course?  The agony of the required blog entry.

Entering the blogosphere

With this post I enter the blogosphere.  Blog on!