Reviving my blog

In the last few years I have noticed that blogging in academia has become more of an accepted and encouraged activity rather than something happening on the fringes. When I was recently asked to work with a colleague in the Department of Education at the University of Bath to develop a community website for sharing research outputs and practice I must admit to being a little skeptical about being able to realise the ‘community’ dimension of the website.  However as a proposal turned into a design brief it became apparent that a real shared purpose to promote and celebrate research activity collectively was developing among my academic colleagues.

When the Education Research @ Bath group blog was launched a shared ownership and let’s call it ‘identity’ had also emerged. While I may not feel confident in calling this a thriving community just yet,  it is certainly building and is something which the Department should look to with pride.

 

Reflecting on how this came about a number of factors seemed to be important. Timing for one. There was a shared and pressing need to raise the profile of research in the department. In addition involving a number of stakeholders and potential contributors in determining the look and feel of the platform and the content of the static pages helped to create ownership. The functionality was molded to accommodate contributors’ comments and suggestions and changes were made as modes of use developed. The platform was not an imposition but rather a responsive medium that enabled the contributors to make it work for them rather than vice versa.

This is what has inspired me to revive my own blog!