Cindy recently relayed to me a post from the IT forum regarding blogging (and I assume other forms of online expression) and whether such activity should count for anything among those of us who are college academics. This got me thinking. I have blogged since 2003 and authored content for pubic consumption before that. Sometimes I did the latter because of funding I had secured (I was lucky enough to be in on a Technology Challenge grant many years ago), but mostly I wrote and still write as a hobby. Perhaps I should now argue for compensation. I also serve as a department-level administrator and I deal with contracts and expectations on a daily basis. I have listened to many arguments related to what faculty members would like to receive credit for doing. My point? I can imagine myself dealing with this topic from several perspectives.
First, here are some of the links referenced on the listserv and on linked blogs:
Hastac
Virtual School Meanderings
My reaction as blogger:
If I were to attempt to make a case for my online content as part of me job, I think I would argue that it would be part of my service or perhaps part of my teaching (as professional development). I think some of the things I have read (listed above and comments to those posts) reach the same conclusion, but then note that this does not really count for much. I work (except for my administrative responsibilities) in what is pretty much a 60, 30, 10 model (teaching, research, service). Most of the evaluation for teaching relates to what I do with students and very little to my own efforts at professional development. I don’t know that I even bother to list professional development activities (what I read, time spent at conferences, etc.) when I list my annual activities. The 10% for service also gets broken down and variability from one faculty member to another is some fraction of 10% amounts to very little difference in the annual merit evaluation and certainly little toward major decisions (tenure, promotion).
I do not regard my activity as research and I have reviewed very little online that I feel should qualify. I am an educational researcher by profession and my research activity is assumed to be based on data that I collect. I publish formal papers based on these data and my analysis. Writing in reaction to what I read elsewhere is just my opinion and not research. My opinion may be worth something because of my personal experiences, but offering such opinions would be public scholarship as teaching or service and not research.
My reaction as administrator:
When we hire individuals we make a good faith effort to explain the type of program we are and the type of activities we expect of those we hire. Certainly, this is what we expect of individuals in evaluating them for tenure. If individuals decide they would like to spend time in creative ways after tenure, we encourage such behavior (I think the faculty handbook says 20% of effort) but what one does with this 20% does not guarantee anything when it comes to merit. I guess my point is that it is possible that offering “information” to the public in the form of blogs or other unmoderated content could be of value if an institution say offering such information to be part of the institutional mission. I think you ask this question before accepting a contract and not argue about expectations later.
If a blogger (or writer) can make some money I think we accept this as part of the 20% allowed for such activities.
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