Being asked to complete a blog for a classroom activity leads me to ponder WHY this would need to be done. I was asked to think about the differences between participating in an online classroom discussion forum and working with the blog and pros and cons of blogging as well.
Lets take a look at the first question- the differences. Already with typing this, I feel much more informal than I do on the online class forum. This feels less like an assignment and more like storytelling. I have to provide the back story as to why I am writing this as anyone can come across it, whereas in the classroom, only my classmates will read it. Since they already are aware of the assignment and the questions, I don't need to spend as much time explaining myself. The seclusion of the classroom is another obvious difference- here I feel more exposed and as though I will provide fewer personal examples than what I willing to provide in the smaller and more private classroom setting.
Turning to the pros of blogging, there are many for the adult learner and educator. To begin, blogging provides another technological avenue for the instructor to pursue. It feels more formal than a social media site but less formal than a classroom. Blogs have increased in popularity over the last few years and have become more simple for the average person than they used to be (Carter, 2011). Blogging can also open the doors to more traffic which in turn will allow for more feedback than just those in the classroom, leading to the possibility of more in-depth conversation on the topic, providing the potential for transformative learning (Carter, 2011). For example, a person could come across my blog and have an interest in what I have to say. As we start to converse, I may find that I am teaching someone else what I have learned in my studies, leading to more ownership and confidence in my knowledge. At the same time, I could learn from that person, or get a glimpse at another perspective, which could further my experiences as I interact with others.
A last pro to mention would be the cost of blog. Many blogs operate as free-services, allowing the student to be able to use another technology tool that allow the student to post in a new way using new tools that can make the post look more attractive than common classroom sites allow (Oravec, 2002).
With pros, there are some cons to blogging as well. In addition to the loss of privacy, there is a new tool that must be learned. To get to this point, I have watched some videos and looked at others to see how they work. This is not something I really had to learn in the virtual classroom. I like learning, (I wouldn't be in this class if I did not), but I had some nerves in hoping that I would do this correctly. Additionally, I am a very private person. I am trying to write this and remain (mostly) anonymous but at the same time I don't want to say the wrong thing and have repercussions come from it. Child, Pearson and Petronio (2009) tell a story of a dental student who blogged his honest opinion of his professors. The school viewed this as a public statements and required the student to repeat a semester at his own expense. The privacy of the classroom is no longer there and I feel a bit exposed.
To conclude, blogging is a new experience. It may end up being positive, it may be negative, but overall it will be a learning experience that I can consider for own teaching toolbox for the future.
References
Carter, T. (2011). Blogging as reflective practice in the graduate classroom.
In K. King & T. Cox (Eds.). The professor's guide to taming technology,
(89-104). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Child, J., Pearson, J., & Petronio, S. (2009). Blogging, communication and
privacy management: Developing of the blogging privacy management
measure. Journal for the American Society for Information Science and
Technology, 60(10). 2079-2094.
Oravec, J. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education.
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 45(7).
With your comment... "here I feel more exposed and as though I will provide fewer personal examples than what I willing to provide in the smaller and more private classroom setting."
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of the major differences between blogging and the regular online classroom discussion boards. This can be a pro and a con as you point out. It is a con in that there is a loss of privacy which is only somewhat alleviated with pseudonyms. But, there is the pro of the possibility of more information flow since the post is available to such a large audience. That audience could potentially reach instructors in the field who have been actively using the content of the blog (in this case, blogging for educational purposes). If they comment, it can add significant insights we as a class might not get otherwise. Although there are pros and cons, with careful management of privacy, my (and students I may one day teach) blogging could bring new insights and great rewards to the learning experience.
So true Vee and as I explore the blogging realm more I see how it can add a sense of belonging as you can reach so many more people and learn more about others and their experiences. I do think privacy should be highly considered however, as what we post today can live on forever and while we change as we grow older, our written word will sustain.
DeleteKSu1Msm
ReplyDeleteAn advantage of the discussion boards is the teacher can implement self-assessments which promotes the adult learners critical thinking skills (Chou, 2012). The discussion board is also a means for collaboration between teammates.
There are several pros to blogging; it is free, easily accessible, and it provides the adult learner with opportunities to develop their writing skills. There are two challenges to using a blog random or disconnected comments and adult learners who are learning to develop their voice (Deng & Allan, 2009). I agree Ksu1msm; I also feel a little exposed as I am trying to learn about a new type of technology. One last point, the importance of the audience writing for and respecting privacy of other individuals who want to maintain anonymity.
Reference
Chou, P. N. (2012). Teaching strategies in online discussion board: A framework in higher education, Canadian Center of Science and Education. 2(2), 25-30.
Deng, L. & Yuen, A. H. K. (2009). Blogs in higher education: Implementation and issues. Tech Trends, 53 (3) 95-98.
Colleen: Good point about being able to do assessments in discussion. I suppose you could on a blog, but it may be more difficult to monitor the pages with more traffic. (?)
DeleteThanks, KSU1MSM, for this post. If you will indulge me for a few minutes, the anecdote you share from the Child, Pearson, & Petronio article reminds me of an anecdote from my own family history. It serves as a reminder to me that not only can anyone access public-facing information, but it exists forever.
ReplyDeleteMy great-grandfather taught the Old Testament class at Friends University at a time when it was a required class there. I never met the man, but I am told we share many personality traits. He is held in esteem in our family, and we have treasured stories about him.
One day I looked him up in a search engine--if memory serves, I wanted to locate my great-grandparents' burial plots and take flowers--and found a reference to him in an autobiography that had been uploaded to GoogleBooks. The book's author described my great-grandfather's skill as a university instructor in an unflattering way. I was disappointed, both by the fact that someone had such a poor opinion of him and that their opinion has entered the information highway and can affect others' perspectives of this ancestor. Not the same consequence as the student in your anecdote, perhaps, but one that brought home to me how permanent online information is.
Thank you for letting me share!
Best
--Les
Aw, Les, that is not a fun finding! However, I would think that the person commenting did not get to actually get to know your great grandfather as your family did, but you do provide an interesting example of longevity online.
DeleteI appreciate how you likened blogging to storytelling. Barrett (2006) discusses how digital storytelling “facilitates the convergence of four student-centered learning strategies: student engagement, reflection for deep learning, project-based learning, and the effective integration of technology into instruction” (p.1. From what we have learned thus far in our course, albeit early on, we are engaged in the process of reflection through student engagement with writing blogs. We are implementing a blog ‘project’ for the course, which is also aiding in our future integration of technology into our own classroom instruction. Although it feels less formal (and perhaps a combination of more scary and fun) to write a blog than to create an ‘academic’ discussion post, the learning tools are still there to allow for deeper understanding of the technological learning tool. Barrett’s 2006 study seems almost outdated at the rate that technology moves, yet the article states how important digital storytelling is for the process of student learning. We are experiencing that student learning with this process; digital learning through blogs and storytelling can spark motivation and engagement in students and can create a push for more technology integrating into student classrooms. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteReferences
Barrett, H. (2006). Researching and evaluating digital storytelling as a deep learning tool. Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.
Sara- You make some good points. I think overall blogging is just another tool that can be used in the classroom to keep the classroom fresh and to take it away from the "traditional" classroom. When used in combination with other tools, it expands the classroom to include more learners. Not everyone will like it, but with other tools available, students may be able to find those that they do like and excel with their use.
ReplyDeleteYour point about needing to explain context more in a blog vs a discussion board really has resonated with me. It's true that in a classroom, we all have the same base understanding of the class and assignments that acts as a shared framework for our conversations. Yet, part of the public nature of a blog is opening up the conversation to those beyond that classroom sphere, and so that same base knowledge of context cannot be assumed. While in hindsight it can seem obvious, it is a very real and relevant difference between blogs and discussion boards as collaborative learning platforms. That will certainly be something I think about in the coming weeks as our blogs continue to develop! It's also interesting how you note that posting in this forum then makes more time -- in part because of the additional level of explanation that is beneficial, but also because it is learning a new format, and with greater opportunities for creativity and design, there are more avenues for things to go wrong. I know when I was doing my original post I was running into some technical issues that required some searching for solutions and playing around before it was actually readable. However, while the explaining of context element may remain for all the posts to some degree, presumably the time needed to learn and use this new technological platform will decrease with use as we gain more experience and comfort with this tool.
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