Embedded Files
"A blog - a shorthand term that means "Web log" - is an online chronological collection of personal commentary and links" (ELI, 2005). "Each entry is dated, and the entries are displayed on the web page in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent entry is posted at the top" (Downes, 2009). Blogs originally began as individually authored text-based services (Thompson, 2006, & Justin's links, 2004). Today collaborative blogs and scribe posts are also very popular and blogs are produced in many different forms: Microblogging, Photoblogs, Vidblogs and Moblogs.
Why blog?
“Blogs provide a communication space that teachers can utilise with students whenever there is a curriculum need to develop writing, share ideas and reflect on work being undertaken in the classroom” (DET, 2011).
Many educators agree that preparing our students for their future should include applying new literacy skills through different media (Davis, 2007; Downes, 2009; Luca, 2011; Rosenthal Tolisano, 2011). "Teachers need to address writing for a public audience, how to cite and link and why, how to use the comment tool in pedagogical ways, how to read web materials more efficiently as well as explore other ways to consider pedagogical uses of blogs" Davis (2007).
Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano (2011) believes "an educator who expects his/her students to blog for learning, NEEDS to be blogging for their own learning” and that one of the prime reasons for blogging is to improve their own learning through metacognitive awareness.
Benefits of blogging
Over the years many educators have written about the benefits of using blogs in education (Davis, 2007; Downes, 2009; Duffy, 2006; Kerawalla, Minocha, Kirkup & Conole, 2008; Siemens, 2002).
Following is a list of some of the benefits:
To connect with others, to share opinions and support each other. To foster the development of learning communities"
To foster student ownership of their learning
To engage students in conversation and encourage authentic voice
To facilitate reflection and evaluation of their own learning
To facilitate collaborative learning and peer reviews
To promote critical and analytical thinking
To provide a potential worldwide audience for student work which can motivate them to do their best work
To help learners see knowledge as interconnected across different subjects
To foster development of writing and research skills
To teach responsible public writing
Why make your blog public?
Many educators believe posting in public spaces is an important aspect of blogging as writing for an authentic audience increases student motivation to perform at their best and connecting with others has the potential to change how they view the world (Davis, 2007; Downes, 2009; Luca, 2011; Rosenthal Tolisano, 2011).
Downes (2009) believes that "learning occurs when the learner immerses themself in a community of practice, learning by perfroming authentic tasks, learning by interacting with and becoming a member of the community. But this only works if the members of the community share. It only works if they are prepared to make talking about what they are doing a part of doing what they are doing".
Recommendations for good practice
A recent study conducted by Farmer, Yue & Brooks (2008) provides the following recommendations for good practice in the implementation and use of blogging in higher education.
"Be clear and supportive about the formative assessment aspect of blogs.
Invite students to set their own goals for blog usage - above and beyond a quantity measurement.
Encourage and model risk taking.
Ensure there is adequate technical support available. Although most students did not experience major difficulties, many of them would have appreciated more information about how to tackle potentially complex technical functions such as adding rich media to their blogs.
Build early feedback in interactivity into the experience. Make at least one tutorial focus early in the semester on the purposes of the blogs and have some mutual feedback opportunities. This will ensure students are given early feedback on how they are progressing. It allows students to establish self assessment as an integral yardstick and for the larger class cohort to give peer support, feedback and undertake further collegial assessment.
Make some of the transition support activities explicit and easy for students: for example, finding each other in their tute groups, commenting on each others blogs.
Have a lab session to ensure that everyone can access the tool at least once in a fully scaffolded environment".
Transcript available at: http://sivers.org/obvious
Outtake from the book "Anything You Want"
by Derek Sivers
Example blogs: Higher education
References
Davis, A. (2007). A rationale for blogs in education. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from Edublog Insights website: http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/
Department of Education [DET]. (2011). Blogs in education. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs
Downes, S. (2009). Blogs in education. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from Half an hour website: http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogs-in-education.html
Duffy, P., & Bruns, A. (2006). The Use of Blogs, Wikis and RSS in Education: A Conversation of Possibilities. In Online Learning and Teaching Conference 2006, 26 Sep. 2006, Brisbane. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/5398/
EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative [ELI]. (2005). 7 things you should know about...Blogs. Retrieved 27/12/2011 from: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7006.pdf
Farmer, Brett., Yue, Audrey., & Brooks, Claire. (2008). Using blogging for higher order learning in large cohort university teaching: A case study. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology 2008, 24(2), 123-136. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from: http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet24/farmer.html
Hall, J. (2004). Justin's links. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from: http://www.links.net/re
Kerawalla, Minocha, Kirkup & Conole, (2008). An empirically grounded framework to guide blogging in higher education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 25 (1). Retrieved 22/12/2011 from:http://0-onlinelibrary.wiley.com.prospero.murdoch.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2008.00286.x/pdf
Langwitches. (2010). Blogging – It is not about the tools...It’s about the skills. [image]. Retrieved 17/11/2010 from flickr website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/langwitches/4343432434/sizes/o/in/set-72157624536422179
Luca, J. (2011). 5 Reasons why our students are writing blogs and creating eportfolios. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from Powerful learning practice website: http://plpnetwork.com/2011/08/26/5-reasons-why-our-students-are-writing-blogs-and-creating-eportfolios/
Thompson, C. (2006). The early years. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from New York Magazine website: http://nymag.com/news/media/15971
Rosenthal Tolisano, S. (2011). Learning about blogs for your students - Part II: Writing. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from langwitches website: http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/12/25/learning-about-blogs-for-your-students-part-ii-writing
Siemens, G. (2002). The art of blogging - part 1: Overview, definitions, uses and implications. Retrieved 22/12/2011 from elearnspace website: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/blogging_part_1.htm
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