IntroductionData reveal that most blogs are self-referential, and while an expressivist ambit has merit, this webtext argues in favor of utilizing the blog platform to assist students in projecting a disciplinary and professional identity online. The Arena of
Educational BloggingMany in academe have come to the realization that "educational blogging" offers a range of student-centered and active-learning opportunities, which can result in the cultivation of essential competencies and literacies among students. A Course Built on BloggingA taxonomy of educational blogging reveals an array of approaches, but the focus here is on a course wherein each student creates an individual blog that is thematically governed by his or her academic major and/or future profession. Educational Blogging as a Professionalizing ExperienceThis section provides evidence from students' blogs, as well as the observations of scholars, to demonstrate the impressive results that can arise when undergraduates post on current and consequential phenomena in their fields. Community, Costs, and Benefits in the BlogosphereThough there are challenges and risks to being heard in the blogosphere, the goal of nurturing students' scholarly and professional personae online yields the possibility of real visibility and valuable contacts. Conclusion References and Links

Educational Blogging:
A Forum for Developing Disciplinary and Professional Identity
Geoffrey C. Middlebrook
University of Southern California

Conclusion

It should come as no surprise that for our students, who ostensibly belong to what Diana Oblinger (2003) and others have called the "millennial" or "net gen" or "digital native" population, "technology is assumed to be a natural part of the environment" (p. 38). However what may be surprising, and I think positive, are the results from a recent ECAR Study of Undergraduates and Information Technology (Salaway, Caruso, & Nelson, 2007). This research found that students are discriminating and recognize "[t]echnology is an enabler of learning when professors use it effectively" (p. 13), while "[p]oor use of technology ([that is] under use, over use, inappropriate use, or over dependence […]) detracts from the learning experience" (p. 14). I hope that the preceding examples demonstrate my effort to use technology effectively as I bear in mind the CCCC Position Statement on Teaching, Learning, and Assessing Writing in Digital Environments (2004), which drawing from Arthur Chickering and Stephen Ehrmann (1996), identifies seven core principles for undergraduate education that can be applied to compositional blogs: encourage contacts between faculty and students; develop reciprocity and cooperation among students; use active learning techniques; give prompt feedback; emphasize time on task; communicate high expectations; and respect diverse talents and ways of learning

The well-regarded EDUCAUSE (2005) observed that by "carefully assessing their strengths and weaknesses, […we] are learning to set guidelines and expectations to maximize the benefits of blogs" (p. 2). With this webtext I have sought to recognize those strengths and weaknesses and argue that educational blogging is a lively form of online writing, which if used wisely can stimulate students' enthusiasm, and facilitate the possibility of authentic and transactional participation in what Henry Farrell (2005) calls the blogospheric "carnival of ideas," where "the established, the up-and-comers, and the amateurs rub shoulders on a more or less equal footing" (p. B14), and what Axel Bruns (2008) refers to as an "ad hoc meritocracy" (p. 25). If a component of our calling as compositionists is to create meaningful writing opportunities, then blogs should be perceived as a rich and flexible resource waiting to be wielded for the personal, intellectual, and vocational benefit of students. Based on the evidence, I have concluded that when blogs are utilized in the manner here described, these digitized collections of artifacts not only serve as a valuable pedagogical tool, they may also contribute to the establishment of a deeper and perhaps durable scholarly and professional identity in the students who produce them.