The document discusses using a blogs planet for education. It describes how students create individual blogs that are added to a central planet. Students are required to write a minimum number of blog posts on course topics and read/vote on other students' posts. Evaluation is based on both writing quality and reading engagement. The methodology was tested across many subjects with generally high student acceptance. Software was later developed to make the planet functionality easier for professors to use and include analytics for evaluation.

1. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Influence of Libre Software in Education
The blogs planet case
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a
{grex,jgb}@gsyc.urjc.es
GSyC/LibreSoft, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid, Spain)
April 14th 2010
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

2. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
(cc) 2010 Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez-Barahona
u a
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Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

3. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Blogs in education and in libre software
Lots of lecturers are using blogs for their subjects
Simple and inexpensive
Informal way of adding information related to the subject by
the students
A way of involving students (and to know their interests)
It can be time consuming! (You, as a lecturer, have to read
everything!)
Blogs are also widely used by the libre software community
What can we learn from the libre software community?
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

4. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
A planet (of blogs)
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

5. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Methodology
1 Students create their own blog
2 Students have to add the feed of their blog to the planet
3 Students have to write a minimum number of entries
4 Topics have to be related to the subject
5 Students have to read and vote other students’ entries
6 Evaluation comes from: writing (in their blog) and reading
(others’ blogs)
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

6. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Adding the blog to the planet
Required: Name, e-mail address and blog feed
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

7. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
An academic planet (of blogs)
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

8. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Voting other students’ entries
E-mail address is required to acknowledge the voter
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

9. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Teaching experience
Problems:
Creating of the blog (was a problem, not anymore!)
Identification of the feed (by the students)
Cheating!
It was difficult for other professors to use our software
Solutions: FAVS : favs.homelinux.org
Software that includes the aforementioned functionality,
including identification of the feed
This software includes statistical data and analysis to ease
(quantitative) evaluation
Has functionality to identify cheating.
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

10. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Summary/conclusions/teaching experience
Completely on-line and asynchronous activity
Can be used for evaluation
Use of hetero-evaluation
Experienced on over a dozen subjects (b-learning and
completely on-line)
High acceptance by students
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case

11. Introduction
Methodology
Teaching experience
Influence of Libre Software in Education
The blogs planet case
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a
{grex,jgb}@gsyc.urjc.es
GSyC/LibreSoft, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid, Spain)
April 14th 2010
Gregorio Robles, Jes´s M. Gonz´lez Barahona
u a Influence of Libre Software in Education The blogs planet case