Blogs, Wikis

and RSS Feeds

Uses in Higher Education
 What are they?
• Blogs
– Web + log = blog!
– Earliest “blogs” originated in mid 1990s
– Online journal or diary, commentaries,
musings, some pics and video
– Influence in politics and media
– Technorati.com tracks over 69 million blogs!
 Creating a Blog
• Creating Blogs
– Blogger – http://blogger.com/ (Google)
– LiveJournal – http://livejournal.com
– WordPress – http://wordpress.org
 Blogs in Higher Education
• Uses in higher education?
• Marketing/Promotional/Social
– Ball State University Student Blogs:
http://www.bsu.edu/reallife/0607bloggers/
– Student Blogs at Centenary College:
http://www.centenary.edu/blogs
– UThink: University of Minnesota:
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/
 Blogs in Higher Education
• Academic:
– Bgblogging: Barbara Ganley, Middlebury
College: http://mt.middlebury.edu/middblogs/
ganley/bgblogging/
– Rein’s Religion Blog:
http://religious-studies.blogspot.com/ (Ursinus
College prof.)
– Diary of Samuel Pepys:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/
 Wikis
• Comes from the Hawaiian word meaning “fast”
• Allows users to edit, add and delete content
• Administrators can limit who does what
• Ideal for collaborative projects
• Pros and Cons for the classroom:
– http://www.rc.umd.edu/pedagogies/commons/innovations/r

• Most well-known: Wikipedia

– http://www.wikipedia.org/
 Wikis
• Wiki services
– PBwiki: http://pbwiki.org
– PmWiki: http://pmwiki.org
– Mediawiki: http://www.mediawiki.org
– Socialtext: http://www.socialtext.com
 Wikis in Higher Education
• Academic:
– The Romantic Audience Project: A Wiki Experiment
http://www.rc.umd.edu/pedagogies/commons/innovations/r

– Epoch Wiki http://epochewiki.pbwiki.com/

– English 194 Wiki: Univ. of California Santa Barbara:
http://liu.english.ucsb.edu/wiki1/index.php/English194over

– CS315 Wiki: University of Texas:

http://www-csl.csres.utexas.edu/users/jdiamond/wiki/index.

– CAS100B: Penn State U.: http://cas100b.pbwiki.com/

 RSS Feeds
• RSS = “really simple syndication” or “rich
site summary”
• Good way to keep track of news &
developments in your field
• Direct info from web sites and blogs to you
• Subscribe to RSS feeds via a RSS reader
– Bloglines: http://www.bloglines.com
 Sources
• Alexander, B. (2007). Using technology in
teaching and learning: Resources to help
you navigate a digital world. College &
Research Libraries News, 68, 96-101.
• Goldsborough, R. (2007). Keeping up with
really simply syndication (RSS). Teacher
Librarian, 34 (3), 51.