A very nice post today over in Tuttle SVC commenting about weblogs representing the future of the web.
I’ve never heard of anyone who used weblog software very long and decided they’d rather go back to keeping a homepage with FrontPage.
Its true – I’ve found blogging quite effective in reducing Dreamweaver and FrontPage dependence. But, more seriously:
The web is only going to grow. Its use is only going to grow in schools. And weblogs and content management systems will be seen as the best way to use the web. It might take a while, but it is inevitable. The only thing to fear are really shitty future implementations built on WebCT, BlackBoard and the like.
Well said. Here’s how WebCT describes why you should use their new version:
WebCT Vista 3.0 adds new capabilities that help educators impact learning outcomes and efficiently deliver the highest quality educational experiences to their students.
Uh … yeah, I can sure feel the love. I don’t necessarily feel that weblogs are the future of the web, but I think that they point to a more personal trend in what we will find.
Great post Rob, and I would have to strongly agree with the first point re: the ‘stickyness’ of blogging or content management systems. Of the many people I have worked with with a CMS system or blog engine (faculty, staff, teachers, students), most if not all seem to see the tremendous advantage of using such simple tools, and tend to stick with the process much longer than they did from (say) a Front Page workshop. The impact, for the user, becomes so much more immediate.
As for systems like WebCT and Blackboard, I am really seeing to much emphasis on these tools in higher ed, and I am trying my best to move away from them as an individual instructor. I just think there are much more exciting, more useful and less restrictive (and often free) tools out there. It will be interesting to see what happens in the institution … as WebCT has been an easy ‘hook’ for many instructors that have used little if any technology in their instruction.
Great point, Alec, about the value of simple tools. A blog is a simple tool, much easier than even the WYSIWYG web page editors. I would also say that WebCT is unnecessarily complicated – a programmer’s idea of what online learning should be, as Len Proctor once described it. In my experience it places limits on what I want to do instead of taking me where I want to go.