Blogs and Wikis

 

Albany Law School encourages the creation of social networking web pages as a means to support teaching, learning, and scholarly communication. Blogs and wikis are the two most popular types of social networking tools.

A Blog (contraction of ‘Web' and 'Log') is a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order, often using specialized software that manages and organizes content and offers features such as real simple syndication (RSS). A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some include photographs, videos, and/or audio.

A Wiki (taken from the Hawaiian term 'WikiWiki' or 'Super fast') is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, and edit content. A wiki's ease of interaction and operation makes it an effective tool for collaboration and authoring.

How to Start a Blog or Wiki

Although Albany Law School does not provide blogging software or hosting services, any faculty or staff member interested in blogging may register for a free blog through WordPress.com. Since the law school is a member of CALI, law school faculty may instead choose to use the CALI service known as Classcaster.net to host their blog. Class blogging can also be set up through the Discussion Option in a course's TWEN site.

Faculty may register for free wiki software and hosting services at Wikispaces.com. As of Spring 2010, Westlaw/Twen has added wikis into their course pages. LexisNexis Web Course added the ability to create wikis in the Fall of 2010.

All blogs and wiki authors must follow the guidelines stated in the Albany Law School Web Policy.

Related Resources

Among those from Albany Law School posting regularly in the blogosphere are:

Best Practices for Legal Education
Professor Mary Lynch is the editor and frequent contributor to this blog. The goals  of this blog are to create a useful web-based source of information on  current reforms in legal education arising from the publication of Roy Stuckey's Best Practices for Legal Education and the Carnegie Foundation's Educating Lawyers; and  to create a place where those interested in the future of legal education can freely exchange ideas, concerns, and opinions.
bestpracticeslegaled.albanylawblogs.org  | (RSS)

Same-Sex Union in the Conflict of Laws

Professor Stephen Clark is the author of this website which is focused on the issue of interjurisdictional recognition of same-sex unions.

New York Court Watcher
Professor Vincent Bonventre is the author of this blog devoted to commentary on developments at the Supreme Court, the New York Court of Appeals, and other state supreme courts nationwide.
newyorkcourtwatcher.com  | (RSS)

Center for Judicial Process
Professor Vincent Bonventre, along with an editorial board comprised of Albany Law School students, has relaunched the Center for Judicial Progress to study courts, judges, judicial decision-making and judicial politics and selection at the federal, state, and even international levels. The Center is publishing its research papers and projects on this blog.
www.judicialprocessblog.com | (RSS) 

Constitutionalism & Democracy
Professors Stephen Gottlieb and James Thuo Gathii are the authors of this blog which mainly focuses on constitutionalism and democracy in the U.S. and beyond.
constitutionalismanddemocracy.wordpress.com  | (RSS)

Race and the Law
Professor Christian Sundquist launched this blog to examine both the role of law in the construction of race and the role of race in the construction of law.
raceandlaw.com | (RSS)

Under The Robes
Professor Rosemary Queenan created this blog for her Fall 2007 Introduction to Lawyering course. The information contained on this blog was compiled in part from a blog created by Asst. Prof. of Law and the Director of the Legal Research and Writing Program and other Legal Writing Faculty at Western New England College School of Law. 
undertherobes.wordpress.com  | (RSS)

IBT News Blog
This class blog was created by Professor Nancy Ota as a place where her International Business Transactions Seminar students could post or comment on current events related to the course.
ibt_news_blog.classcaster.org | (RSS)

Instructional Technology at Albany Law School
The Instructional Technologist is the author of this blog which is dedicated to issues related to technology in general and to technology as it relates to legal education.
albanylawtech.wordpress.com | (RSS)

Information Technology Services (ITS) at Albany Law
This blog keeps students, faculty  and staff informed about the evolving services, media and technology utilized and/or available at the school.
albanylawits.wordpress.com | (RSS)

Schaffer Law Library Blog
Colleen Ostiguy, the Electronic Services Librarian, has started this blog to offer information related to library services, legal news and electronic legal resources.
albanylawlibrary.wordpress.com | (RSS)

Diversity at Albany Law School
The Director of Diversity has created this blog to offer information on issues relevant to ALL students, faculty and staff and to provide a forum for discussion around these issues.
albanylawdiversity.wordpress.com | (RSS)

The Albany Government Law Review Fireplace
The Albany Government Law Review runs this legal blog. It is the first student written and edited law blog in the country to engage in substantive law review-like legal analysis and academic speculation.
glrfireplace.albanygovernmentlawreview.org| (RSS)

Government Reform
The Government Law Center (GLC) has launched this new blog to provide information and analysis on myriad issues related to government structural and service delivery reform. Written by Albany Law School professors and attorneys working at the GLC, the blog covers government reform at the state and local level across the United States.
governmentreform.wordpress.com | (RSS)

The Issue Online
This blog contains information relating to Albany Law School's student run newspaper.
alsissue.wordpress.com | (RSS)