Blogging soldiers

Blogging has come a long way since its first inception. Faculty who may be looking for first-person accounts, may be interested in directing their students' attention to soldier blogs.

Military blogs or "milblogs" serve as a first-hand account of current wartime history, written by those who are living it. Soldier blogs can be found at: milblogging.com.

Blogging about War

The Internet with its instant connectivity has changed many areas of our lives certainly affecting the media and how news is reported. The capabilities of blogging has expanded how news is reported and allowing average citizens to share their own experiences with family, classroom instructors, friends, and the world-at-large.

In a story reported by Brenda Schory in Sunday's Northwest Herald, Schory writes of Navy Lt. Carl Goforth and his blog, Desert Flier, click here.

Goforth shares his experiences in Iraq as a trauma nurse. As Schory stated, "his posts pull no punches."

Classroom instructors could use this blog in discussions regarding:

• Political Science - the current political situation in Iraq
  
• Nursing - perspectives in a battle zone
  
• Communication Arts - journaling, communication discussions

Lt. Carl Goforth, we thank you for your efforts, and those of your comrades as well.

Photo courtesy of Lt. Goforth's blog.

New Use for a Blog

As an avid reader, I'm always interested in book discussion groups; I've led a couple, participated in a few, and eagerly await the latest Oprah pick.

In a recent article in School Library Journal, December 2006, Eric Langhorst, an innovative history instructor shared his unique class experience using the book Guerrilla Season by Pat Hughes.

What was innovative about this assignment?

The instructor and his students used a blog to journal amongst themselves while discussing the book.

Guerrilla Season is set during the Civil War in northwest Missouri and offers a detailed picture of the onset of the Civil War in this region of the United States.

Students were asked to submit entries to the blog using their own name or a pseudonym. Parents were asked to participate and the author, Pat Hughes, even joined in the discussions. As the project earned press, a history professor in Louisiana and dozens of European visitors also took part in the discussion. Langhorst also approved all comments prior to posting on the blog.

According to Langhorst, the most rewarding aspect of the blog was the input from others outside of the classroom particularly the author.

I think this project could work

Videoblogging

Videoblogging: it's play time
by Jay Dedman and Joshua Paul
c2006

from the back cover:

A few of the things you'll learn to do

Choose your video's style and message
Create great-looking videos inexpensively
Edit like an expert
Host your video online, for free
Secrets of distribution and syndication
Subscribe to other videoblogs
Showcase your art
Tagging, tracking, and making money
Get involved in the community

War blog

The Blog of War by Matthew Currier Burden

From the backcover:
Burden founded www.blackfive.net, a popular military blog on the web. “His blog began as an homage to a friend killed on duty in Iraq and quickly became a source of information aboiut what was really happening in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

This work includes selections from his blog – stories of soldiers in combat, reflections on helping local victims of terror and war, accounts of med-evac units and hospitals and how loved ones cope with a spouse who is 8,000 miles away.

Science Blog

from the web page:
Science Blog was started in August 2002 by Ben Sullivan and is published by a team of science editors, writers and enthusiasts.

It includes public news releases from labs and researchers, original stories and interviews, and reader blogs.

Science Blog encompasses subjects ranging from Computers & Electronics to Bioscience & Medicine.