Blogs as Learning Tools

Doing something a little different today. As part of my MEd course on computers in the curriculum, we have been asked to post our assignments on our blogs. Enjoy the new information!

Donna Millard
200788438

Blogs are a piece of social software used mainly for communication. Bloggers, those using blogs, can express their own thoughts, reply to responses received on those responses and possibly develop new ideas from this dialogue. In education, these expressions can either be of a personal nature or directly related to a course all depending on the use of the blog. In fact, one of the problems with blogs is too much communication and information. There are millions of blogs available to be read on the web with some of the information being valuable and other not. Even with this problem, however, bloggers can gain insight from one another's postings and build a dialogue to further the development of knowledge. (Wang, 2008) Wang even develops this idea further by suggesting that "blogs guide learners to develop a deep understanding of and to take more responsibility for their own knowledge." (Wang, 2008, 265)

The whole communication and discussion processes inherent in a blog link it closely to the social constructivist view that "knowledge is constructed when individuals engage socially in talk and activity about shared problems or tasks." (Merriam, 291) Williams and Jacobs (2004) directly link the use of blogging as the best tool for support of Vygotski's social constructivist theory in that it is both immediate and commentary based. Use of a blog to help develop literacy skills in a foreign language has been studied and findings show that the tool is successful because students feel comfortable when making mistakes, provide feedback to their peers and tend to be more willing to participate than they would have in a traditional classroom setting. (Ducate, 2008) Again research finds that to learn, students need to feel comfortable to reflect and comment on their own and others' work. (Xie, 2008) Blogs provide this level of comfort. One case illustrated by Xie (2008) was the use of a blog as a journal for either student's coursework or field of study. The journaling activity acted as a reflective device which in turn strengthened their learning experience. In this case, the supporting theory is not so much of a social activity. It is using blogging in relation to Mezirow's transformative learning theory. The individual is transforming from their own reflection of their own work.

Blogs fit into the educational scheme of social software in a couple different ways. As seen above, it can be used for an individual's reflection or a communication tool for a broader community. What is missing in a blog tool is the collaborative side of social software. Communication is asynchronous and therefore not potentially timely. The inability to work on each other's work is another shortfall of a blog. Blogs are just one potential tool in a teacher's social software toolkit. Since it's so easy to set up and use a blog, perhaps it's a good starting point for new bloggers.

Sources:

Ducate, L.C., & Lomicka, L.L. (2008). Adventures in the blogosphere: from blog reader to blog writers. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 21(1), 9-28. doi: 10.1080/09588220701865474

McGee, P. & Diaz, V. (2007). Wikis and Podcasts and Blogs! Oh My! What is a faculty member supposed to do? Educause Review, 42(5), 28-40. http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/WikisandPodcastsandBlogsO/44993

Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. & Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood: a comprehensive guide. 3rd ed. San Francisco: Wiley.

Wang, K.T, Huang, Y-M., Jeng, Y-L. & Wang, T-I. (2008). A blog-based dynamic learning map. Computers & Education, 51, 262-278. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2007.06.005

Williams, J.B. & Jacobs, J. (2004). Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 20(2), 232-247. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet20/williams.html

Xie, Y, Ke, F. & Sharma, P. (2008). The effect of peer feedback for blogging on college students' reflective learning processes. Internet and Higher Education, 11. 18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2007.11.001