Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Blogs as Reflective Learning Journals

Blogs have long been utilized by businesses, experts, politicians, and organizations to provide information, updates and opinions on a variety of topics. Creating and maintaining a blog has become increasingly easy with the use of Blogger (as used here) and Wordpress


Reflective journals have traditionally been a valuable teaching tool for students to think about the content and learning that has taken place and how it can be applied. These journals were often paper-based. However, with tools like Blogger and Wordpress, Learning Journals can easily be maintained online and shared as required. 


I currently teach an online Masters' level course for a Graduate School of Management in the Midwest. My students are required to write a weekly blog post as a Reflective Learning Journal. I have found this strategy has been invaluable for feedback and input from my students. The favorite part of my week is reading my students' journals! For more guidance regarding the use of blogs as reflective learning journals, review this article: Application of Blogs to Support Reflective Learning Journals.

Finally - and personally - if you have a 'passion' or a cause, a blog can provide a wonderful opportunity to 'get the word out'. Soon after the birth of my great-nephew and the discovery that he was a Downs Syndrome baby, my niece started maintaining a blog as a means of reflection and education for others about this condition. An Unexpected Journey chronicles their family experience.



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

New Mac OS update : Mountain Lion

Get a quick look at the new Mac OS update coming later this summer. http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Zotero at the Library

I recently attended a wonderful workshop on Zotero at the Claremont Colleges Library. As a web-based citation manager, Zotero is a critical tool for faculty and students at CGU. The presenter, Char Booth, was engaging, knowledgeable and articulate. Approximately 12 attended, many of whom were CGU graduate students. This was my first time attending a library event - but certainly not my last! This was a lunch time event with food! How great is that? 


The library provides support and training on both RefWorks and Zotero along with many other opportunities for faculty and students who are actively engaged in research. Review their calendar of offerings and find one that 'suits your fancy". As a Claremont Consortium collaborative resource, the library is one of the 'jewels in the crown' available with excellent staff and workshop opportunities. To receive up-to-date information and news from the library, you might consider 'following' them on Facebook, Twitter, or through their RSS feed. Visit their homepage and click on the appropriate icon in the right column next to "News". Happy researching!