Blah Humbug? Blogging in Higher Education

Blah!
Remember when people used lament that the Internet was full of nothing but pornography, so why use it? And look where we are today? Well, the Internet is still full of porn, yet people have embraced the Internet for the variety of messages it can convey and the purposes it can fulfill.

Blogs!
Blogs are the latest Internet craze and I've become aware that there are some in academe who may be saying "Blah Humbug" to blogging.

We do hear about blogs everywhere; on TV, on the web, in the newspaper (you're reading one right now, in case you didn't know.) But do you really know what a blog is? If so, are you aware of the variety of ways in which blogs are being used today? Students may be citing blogs in their papers, but how can you tell, and are blogs legitimate information resources? Are blogs just a passing online pop-culture craze and do they have any legitimate applications in higher education?

A Workshop on Blogging in Higher Education
I'll be giving a workshop on blogging tomorrow. Entitled "The Blah, Blah, Blah About BLOGS: Practical Applications of Blogging for Higher Education" the workshop will focus on interesting and practical applications of blogging technology in the higher education setting. Some blogging basics will be discussed, but the focus of my one-hour workshop will be on how those of us in higher education can understand and effectively use this technology as an information gathering and dissemination tool.

If you're interested, I'd love to have you attend. Details can be found here.

A Free Online Conference on the Use of Social Software in Higher Education
HigherEd BlogCon 2006, a fully web-based event focused on how new online communications technologies and social tools (like blogging) are changing Higher Education, has started. This free online conference will run the entire month of April. Tracks include:

• Teaching - April 3-7, 2006
• Library & Information Resources - April 10-14, 2006
• Admissions, Alumni Relations, and Communications & Marketing - April 17-21, 2006
• Websites & Web Development - April 24-28, 2006

Except as noted on the website, presentations are offered free of charge. I encourage you to check this innovate new conference out for yourself.