Blogging Issues
August 16th, 2008 | by Matthew Smith |I had intended to blog more about the philosophy I’m studying which has been very thought provoking and all that but I have the problem that part of the assessment for this course is that I must hand in 500 word reflections on some of the set readings which is what I had intended to put in the blog. I feel that I cant blog these thoughts before I hand them in to be assessed. What do you think? Is there a problem with publishing stuff that you intend to submit for assessment?
3 Responses to “Blogging Issues”
By Catriona on Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
I don’t know where your course is, Matt, but the general rule at my workplace is that you may not submit for assessment anything that has already been submitted for assessment, in part or in whole, at that university or any other.
Essentially, you don’t get two bites of the cherry; you can’t submit the same work for assessment more than once. But since this blog isn’t being assessed, the material doesn’t fall under that category.
One potential problem I could see is that if random sentences from your assessment are Googled—which is often done in a search for plagiarism—it will lead straight to this blog. But since you don’t blog anonymously, you won’t find yourself having to explain away a suspicion of plagiarism.
I can’t isolate my problem with your blogging what you’re planning to hand in for assessment. But, since I’m trained up in the idea that assessment should be entirely fresh material, I’m not entirely comfortable with it.
I would, if I were you, wait to post it until after it’s been submitted. Then you can not only post them, but you’ll have a readymade dialogue, assuming that the marker is one to give comprehensive feedback. You’ll be able to engage critically with your own reflections.
(But this is just one opinion.)
By Matthew Smith on Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
Thanks Catriona. I think you’ve expanded on what I was tending towards. I can think of reasons why I shouldn’t blog assessable stuff but I can’t think of any reasons why I should.
By Andrew on Aug 18, 2008 | Reply
I have blogged about topics relevant to current assessment before, but never in a finalised state. Any blogs I post before submitting the piece are just wrestling matches with ideas.
But I have no problem with putting the conclusion of an essay up on a blog. It’s about the right length, and if written well in the essay, needs little or no editing.