Using Blogs in Latin American Studies Seminars

Abstract

Although there is extensive research on applying blogs to higher education, there is little available to assess its application to teaching the Latin American Studies seminar in particular. This article makes a preliminary assessment of the value of a blog in helping to meet two challenges posed by the Latin American Studies seminar. These challenges are exposing students to different cultures and accommodating the broad range of student interests and subject matter. Evidence for this assessment is centered on a classroom (i.e. not online) course led by the author in which a blog was used as a shared site for students to upload assignments and to discuss guest speakers and other assigned experiences. This evidence includes focus groups, interviews, and personal experience, as well as secondary literature. This article concludes that the blog in this case is well suited to answer the particular challenges of a Latin American Studies seminar because it enhances the interactivity and active learning implied by the term "seminar".