“My views are just one perspective. Their voices are just as valid to be heard as mine. By the end of the term my voice is seen less and less,” said Scott Huette.

The voices Huette refers to are his students who are required to blog regularly in his “Art & Human Values” class. Huette and other professors around the university are using social media to enhance the education process. Instead of a strict one-way communication model where the professor speaks and the students listen, certain social media tools allow the class to become much more of a give and take between student and professor and even between students and their peers.

Huette’s class is online and he uses social media as a platform for community discussion and recognition. The first week of the term, students enrolled in his class are instructed to set up a blog on a topic of their choice. Throughout the term, students post weekly assignments to their blog, addressing all aspects of social issues, from food and culture to differing human values.

“I believe that students get more out of this class by clarifying and bouncing ideas off one another. All perspectives are valid,” said Huette, an instructor in the arts and administration program and AAA office of professional outreach and development for students.

There is an initial learning curve regarding the technical aspects of using a blog to share content, but Huette views this as part of the course content. It is a small hurdle to overcome in order for students to share their course work to a large public audience.

Blogs have proven their legitimacy in Huette’s online class, but he emphasizes the importance of maintaining structure so not to lose focus on the course material.

Read Article (Inside Oregon)