3 Reasons College Lecturers Should Have a Blog

This is a guest post by James Jorner.

Someone very close to me is a college lecturer. Work piles up during the term and can get unbearable when exam time comes along. Many students are hard workers but an equal number of students forget that they’re just one of the hundreds the lecturer has to deal with. So they expect that a lot of time is spent on them – even after they neglect to come to lectures. They seem to think that a series of personal emails, phone calls at home, and one tutorial session in the tutor’s office at the end of term (when she/he has exam papers and other student to see) will take the place of a year’s worth of lessons. This is where a blog comes in handy for a college lecturer.

A blog can be a meeting place for students to help each other

A lecturer obviously already knows the information he/she is trying to impart, and most times they’ve learned this information in a different era from the students they teach. Sometimes when students don’t understand a particular principle it’s best explained by a fellow student who lives in the same times and has more or less the same sort of experiences. A blog can be a place where buddy tutoring can be advantageous to students. The principle is set out in the form of a blog post and students are directed to it. Students who understand and those who don’t can all leave comments or their own ideas in the comment section, giving the rest of the readers different view points on the same subject matter. This will enable deeper and wider understanding across the board.

A college lecturer can display links and further reading on any given matter on his blog

After (or before) each seminar a college lecturer can post the gist of his lesson on his blog. He/she can then add links to further work they’ve published, or additional, pertinent essays or explanations from colleagues. Students will ask questions during lessons, and those who’re not there may also have similar issues. These questions and answers (with links) can be edited into the blog post. Because a blog is so easy to edit, additional information can be added indefinitely.

A blog gives a college lecturer an optional way of dealing with queries

With his/her time severely limited while marking exam papers and theses etc, a blog can give back a college lecturer some of his/her time. If the gist of the lesson is on the blog, the questions have been dealt with, the links are in place and the FAQs are all handled. A college lecturer can direct erring students to exact posts without having to go over the information again and again, weeks after the students were meant to have studied the information. A blog would enable the tutor to outline all reading materials and link to all online presentations which add more information to the query at hand.

A free Blogger blog will be just the ticket for this kind of use. They’re easy and quick to create, and need no specialist knowledge whatsoever. The editing of blog posts is child’s play and even uploading images and links is a doddle. Are you a college lecturer? Do you already have a blog? What other advantages of having a blog, could you outline to your fellow college lecturers?

About the Author

James is a freelance writer who specializes on offering blogging tips. He also writes for www.opendooloan.co.uk, you can follow this link to visit their website.

3 Reasons College Lecturers Should Have a Blog