^{Academic Outreach and Innovation | Learning Innovations} _{Student Engagement Strategies}

Blogs/Vlogs

Type	Delivery Time	Grading Effort	Content Delivery	Discussion	Content Check	Summary	Feedback
Individual or Group	30	Medium	✔	✔	✔	✔	Peer/ Instructor

For time estimates, this is a suggested time and can be variable depending on your class.

What?

Short for “web log” or “video log” a blog/vlog is an online journal for someone to share and seek knowledge and views. It is typically more relaxed than a traditional academic paper and can be used by instructors to help deliver content and foster a discussion or by students as an assignment or assessment.

When?

Reach wider audience
Promote literacy across content areas
Provide a low-stakes writing opportunity

How?

Instructor Notes: First, choose the type of blog post your students will write: reflection, how-to, journal, news, marketing, debate, review, reference, etc.

Suggested Tech Tool: Find a public blog that is related to your field and have students post there. You can also ask to be a guest blogger and a popular blog. It is good practice to have students submit their blog post internally to the class for feedback and editing before posting publicly.

Suggested Group Size: 1 to 3

Online

Student Instructions: After reading the prompt, write the first draft of your blog post and post to the class discussion board. Respond to at least two of your classmates providing meaningful feedback.

After editing your blog post based on class feedback, post your blog. Submit the URL via the assignment drop box in Blackboard.

Face-to-face

Students will still post online, but a face-to-face class can provide easier opportunities for collaboration for group posts and feedback before posting online.

Student Instructions: After reading the prompt, write the first draft of your blog post and bring to class. In your group, you will read and provide meaningful feedback for two of your groupmates’ drafts. Discuss as necessary.

After editing your blog post based on group feedback, post your blog. Submit the URL via the assignment drop box in Blackboard.

Tips

Provide clear rules and expectations before you start
Discuss plagiarism beforehand
If used in partners or a group, it is suggested to Jigsaw the activity where group members write a piece of a story or question instead of working together to write the same post

Why?

WSU Learning Goal	Meets?
Critical and Creative Thinking	✔
Quantitative Reasoning	?
Scientific Literacy	?
Information Literacy	✔
Diversity	?
Communication	✔
Depth, Breadth, and Integration of Learning	✔

Visit WSU Learning Goals to learn more.

Learn More

Blogging can help develop students’ writing, reading comprehension, critical thinking, digital citizenship, and communication skills.