“Blogs, Wikis, and Open-Source, Oh My!: Assessing Uses of Digital Tools in Teaching and Learning”
ISSOTL Conference, October 25, 2009
Jeff McClurken & Jim Groom

Links for this talk, roughly in their order of discussion in the presentation

• http://UMWblogs.org – UMW’s home-grown WordPress Multi-User installation
• Home.umwdtlt.org – Home site for UMW Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies
• Starting place with links to all of McClurken’s students’ work: http://mcclurken.org/
  • Wiki for all courses — http://mcclurken.umwhistory.org/wiki/
  • Example research log methods posts from Historical Methods  course
    • Topic Discussion
    • Research Problems
  • Examples of Individual reading reaction journals — First-year Seminar
    • Reading reactions and related links by R. Welker
    • Student-located additional materials by T. Brann
  • Examples of Individual digital projects — US History in Film
    • Bonnie & Clyde
    • Wall Street
  • Class exhibit of history of technology projects (http://historyoftech.umwblogs.org/)
• Adventures in Digital history course (http://digitalhistory.umwblogs.org)
  • Digital History Course Syllabus
  • Digital toolbox included:
    • – UMWBlogs — [1]
      – Omeka — [2]
      – MIT’s Simile/Timeline — [3]
      – del.icio.us — [4]
      – YouTube — [5]
      – Windows Movie Maker
  • The Projects:
    • – Historical Markers Project (HMP) — [6]
      – James Farmer Project (JFP) — [7]
      – James Monroe Papers Project (JMPP) — [8] and [9]
      – Alumni Project (AP) — [10]
    • My own blog posts about the class: [11]
  • Student reflections on the process:
    • Read the students’ blogs (see blogroll on the left) to get a sense of their triumphs and struggles.
    • For HMP, be sure to check out Elle Weaver’s detailed semester account and Life is Divine Chaos’s discussion of (old school) image acquisitions and the Mud Pit’s wrangling with WordPress Multi-User at UMW (with a little joshing of the professor at the end…).
    • For JFP, look at the thorough blogging of Sona si latine loqueri, or the first mashup done by MaryH, or the excitement of fixing an error that others had made.
    • For JMPP, look at The Monroe Hall Doctrine’s numerous postings working on the structure and administrative tasks, and the feeling of anxiety and accomplishment in this late semester post from Digital History: Spring 2K8, and Lisa M’s use of the blog as a log of project updates.
    • For the AP, see the wry approach to group work taken by The Low Downs, the online version of stand-up seen in Cobbgoblin’s post on video in Simile Timelines, and Juliann’s post on the time-consuming nature of microfilm research and uploading digital video.
  • And their reflections at the end of the course:
    • Elle; Matt (official and unofficial); Kelly; A humorous take
  • [Note: this is just a selection of individual blogs for students from the class.]

• My thoughts about Digital Literacy for undergraduate students. (http://mcclurken.org/presentations/hastac/My%20thoughts%20about%20Digital%20Literacy)

• ProfHacker post on Students as Tech Mentors — http://www.profhacker.com/2009/08/17/deploying-students-as-tech-mentors/

• Jim Groom’s wide-ranging blog – http://bavatuesdays.com