Designed as a digital alternative to on-campus tutorials, this task sees students complete weekly blogs via the course Blackboard site. The course coordinator nominates a question or key provocation from the weekly reading that must form the basis of the post, but students largely self-direct the discussion of their blog in a way they feel responds to the question or raises important points from the readings that are of interest to them. Depending on the discipline students may be required to emulate the tone of a particular platform; or alternatively write for a hypothetical platform. As part of promoting an interactive approach that replicates a similar leaning environment to conventional tutorials, students are encouraged to read and comment on each other's blogs as a means of generating collegiate discussion, consolidating understanding of the course material, and as a mechanism to improve analytical and written skills. The allocation of marks may vary according to course design - in POLS3208 students are awarded 2% of their overall grade (per entry), with intermittent feedback given via Blackboard. This technique is implemented especially well in foundational courses where students can discuss sometimes challenging theoretical or disciplinary perspectives in accessible language as a means to acquiring threshold knowledge.
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