Volume 56, Number 4 TechTrends • July/August 2012 19 A Community of Voices: Educational Blog Management Strategies and Tools By Mitchell Bartholomew, Travis Jones, Michael Glassman, Te Ohio State University Abstract Web 2.0 ofers a new type of interactive tech- nology that may change the focus and approach of formal education in ways we are just begin- ning to comprehend. Te new and unique quali- ties of Web 2.0 can be compounded in tradition- al educational settings by the fact that students ofen times have far more experience with and understanding the new technology than the teachers who are developing curriculums and setting educational goals. At the same time, Web 2.0 has become so pervasive in such a short time that it makes little sense to ignore it in edu- cational settings. Tis current article suggests blogging may be the most “education friendly” of the new interactive tools. Blog posts ofer students the opportunity to develop their own voice in the classroom, while commentary serves as an important reinforcement for self-refection and continued participation. Te difculty for teachers is in understanding how to integrate, use and maintain course blogs so that they are a strong and positive educational force in the classroom. At the core of using blogs is the development of blog management strategies. Based on the authors’ use of blogs in under- graduate courses, the current paper outlines an approach to blog management. Keywords: Blogs, Web 2.0, community, class- room technology o meet the technological and social de- mands of the 21st century, higher education needs to embrace a new generation of In- ternet tools, which promote a collective learning experience for students. Community blogs and the process of blogging serve as a critical step toward such advancements. At its most ba- sic level, blogging ofers students a vehicle for self-refection and a public voice in their own educative processes (Lin et. al. 2006, Glassman & Kang 2011). Tese represent two important aspects of education that are ofen missing in college courses, especially those with many stu- dents. Blogging afords students the valuable opportunity to create and recreate their own educational experience. As part of a collective learning environment, community blogs en- courage students to extend themselves into the information universe in search of new ideas that may alter the trajectory of the course. Developing Communities through Blogs Web 2.0 communities ofer the possibil- ity for new avenues of thought by promoting the search of information that either supports novel ideas or sends them in new directions. Course blogging may also diminish the passive learning that is ofen inherent to traditional educational models, empowering students to become participatory innovators in their own education. At its best, a course blog will foster democratic education (Dewey 1916, Glass- man & Kang 2011b) where students merge into a non-hierarchical problem solving community based on mutual respect and com- mon refection. However, the integration of blogging into a collaborative course structure may also in- troduce a number of challenges that can easily disrupt the educative processes (Hiler, 2003). Community blogs face difculties similar to that of many new technologies — involving a T