During the course you are expected to keep a learning diary in a blog format. You will write the blog in groups of two or three, and it will be hosted in the Aalto Blogs platform. (If you don't have a group yet, check the forum for forming blog groups, and when you do, enrol to the same blog group with the rest of your group.) Active blogging will earn you extra points towards the course grade. You should write a blog post of at least 200 words each week we have contact teaching (lecture, exercise session, or excursion). Full points will be awarded for posts that are written before the end of the week (Sunday 24:00).

What is a learning diary?

Learning diary is a tool of reflection. Your blog posts should be about what you have learned on the lectures, exercises, and excursions. However, instead of recapitulating the content, try giving it your voice:

  • Write your thoughts about the lectures, exercises and laboratory visits.
  • Present questions you would like to ask from the experts.
  • Make observations, and introduce new ideas that are based on what you learned.
  • Tell how what you learned is related to what you already know.
  • Discuss conflicts with what you already knew, and possible problems in the learning experience.
  • Ask the 'so what?' question: Why is this important, and can I apply it somehow?
Instructions for creating a blog

A blog can be created as follows:

  • One member of your group goes to blogs.aalto.fi, and chooses Create your blog. After creating the blog, other group members should be added to the blog as admins. Note that everyone has to sign in once, before they are added as admins.

  • Make the blog public and give it a name that will set it apart from the other blogs.

  • Allow comments.

Once the blog has been created, report its URL to the course assistants. This will only need to be done once in the beginning of the course. However, if new members are added to your group after reporting the URL, you will need to do it again.

When posting, remember to name the posts conveniently, so that the content of the post is easy to interpret. You may also post news or other comments related to neuroscience, but try to explain why they are relevant, and how they are linked to the topics of the course. In addition, you are encouraged to follow and comment on other groups' blogs. The list of the blogs will be published on MyCourses.

Privacy

Under the default theme, each blog post will be followed by a "Published by" line. In case you wish to remain pseudonymous, the easiest way is to change your Aalto Blogs nickname to something other than your real name. If you have more than one Aalto blog, and you want this one to be private but want to use your real name in some other, you will need to install a suitable plugin, or edit settings so that the "Published by" line is not added to the end of each post on your private blog.

Last modified: Friday, 1 October 2021, 1:52 PM