I'm considering using slashdot as a part of my course Web site for English 1102 next semester. I've been experimenting lately with using slashdot's "Journal" feature as a blog, and it occurred to me that I could use it as the basis for classoom discussion boards. I've set up a sample account here. I'd love to hear what the Kairosnews community thinks of the idea.

The site would work as follows. The main site would be a static HTML page which would look like any other class Web site: syllabus, calendar, etc. would appear there.

What's unique is that I would establish a slashdot account like this one for each of my classes. I would require my students to set up accounts so they can post to slashdot. Then I would use the slashdot "Journal" feature for course news and online discussions. Students could use their own journals for freewriting/prewriting/notes, and peer review. They would also be required to participate in the class discussions, which would be based on the class journal.

Advantages of this system:

• Slashdot is a robust, tested site with a terrific discussion engine.
• Grading would be simplified compared to WebCT because I can easily look at each student's account and see where they have posted comments, instead of having to sort through a discussion thread and make sure each student has posted.
• Students can easily view threads in a variety of different formats, as opposed to the one size fits all approach of other discussion engines.
• Locating the class discussion on a "public" site such as slashdot increases the perception that students are doing "real" writing: anyone can see what they have written, and what they write has the potentional to have real impact.

Disadvantages:

• Moderation. It's possible--though not probable--that a slashdot moderator could come through and mod down my students' comments, possibly with humiliating consequences. Plus, over the course of the semester, my own students may have written enough comments to be awarded moderation points, so again we might have the problem of students modding down each other's posts.

• Trolls and flames. Since slashdot allows anonymous posts, class members (or even other slashdotters) could post anonymous flames to discussion boards. Unlike on the main page, moderators rarely visit the journals, so comments are unlikely to be modded down--and, of course, there is no way to delete offensive comments.
• Nerd Factor. As a self-proclaimed geeky site, "cool" students may be turned off by slashdot.