It has been almost a semester since the NUS Module Blogs service was launched. IDEAS asks some of the pioneering edubloggers about their use of NUS Module Blogs.
Associate Professor Martin Henz
Department of Computer Science, School of Computing
Programming Languages CS3212 blog
How do you use your module blog?
Blogs in my view are ideal tools for communicating personal opinion to a target audience on a (semi-) regular basis, with the possibility of engaging the audience in a dialog.
In my module blog, I am focusing on the personal aspect of teaching the module. I make it clear that no examinable information will ever appear on the blog, which takes the pressure out of the discussion.
The blog allows me to make personal comments on the level of student engagement, performance, as well to reflect on my own role in the teaching and learning process.
How do you and your students benefit from it?
By reading my module blog, the students realize that there is a human being at the other end, who had good and bad days, feels strongly about this, is annoyed by that, stumbles upon some interesting web site etc.
They respond by opening up and engage in the discussion as human beings, too, who are studying hard to learn, get a degree, find a job etc.
The discussion that unfolds, improves the personal rapport with students especially in a large class, and makes the module a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved (in particular, myself).
Associate Professor Victor Tan
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science
Mathematics I MA1505 blog
How do you use your module blog?
I post on the blog after every lecture, twice a week. (My posts are named after the lecture numbering.) I put a web link to the lecture slides of the day in the posting for students to download. I also make additional remarks related to topics I have discussed during the lecture. Sometimes, when I run out of time to cover or elaborate on certain topics, I will ask students to go to the blog where I will continue the discussion. I also put some links to other relevant webpages on the topics I discussed during lecture.
How do you and your students benefit from it?
The view statistics of the blog doesn't seem to reflect the real readership. There are also not many comments from the students for each posting.
Nevertheless, I know that there are many students who visited my blog to download the lecture slides. On the other hand, with the module blog, I do not need to rush through lecture to cover all the topics. I may leave out some parts and discuss it in the blog instead. Students usually ask questions at the end of the lecture. Sometimes a good question is asked, which I think it's worth sharing with the rest of the class. I can post it in the blog for the benefit of other students. If I make a mistake during lecture, I can also rectify it immediately in the blog entry of the day.
Assistant Professor Wong Wei Kang
Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Behavioral Economics EC4394 blog
How do you use your module blog?
I generally use the module blog to post links to short and current articles that are relevant for my course in Behavioral Economics, a relatively new field that tries to incorporate the findings of psychology into economics. These articles could be from the newspaper, other professors' blogs, magazines, etc.
How do you and your students benefit from it?
For me, the blog serves as an archive of resources that both my students and I can draw on. The materials tend to be more current than the materials in the syllabus. By posting current materials featured in the news, I hope to show my students that what I am teaching in the course is really relevant and applicable. Moreover, because the materials posted on the blog tend to be less technical and more accessible for the layman, I am also using the blog as a channel of public education to introduce the campus community to this relatively new field of Behavioral Economics.
