Blogging is definitely a resource for adult education as it is a very popular practice that has way more meaning than I even knew before I read the content for this week. For instance, I didn't know blogs were more than an online diary before today. I have certainly read many blog entries, but until reading for this class I had no idea that blogs are actually, "a frequently updated Web site characterized by a reverse chronological listing of entries that can be searched, archived, and categorized according to labels, called tags, assigned by the author" (King & Cox, 2011, p. 90). I also didn't know that hyperlinks were such an important feature of a blog until reading this week's information. According to Oravec, what makes the weblog different from an online diary is that the blog focuses more on critique, while the diary is more focused on personal reflection (2002, p. 616).
Since blogging is a resource, we as educators have to decide how we want to use them and an important starting point for deciding on that is looking at the pros and cons of the tool. Starting with the pros of the blog, a huge pro would be the social aspect of the assignment. When one does a blog, they are sharing their take or opinion on a topic and other people have the ability to post and respond. This is similar to the discussion boards used in class. In chapter six of The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology Carter shares about using blogging as a reflective practice. The Reflector-Mirror exercise she shared let students get to know each other and created a sense of community within the online classroom (King & Cox, 2011, p. 96). Another pro of using blogs in the adult education classroom is the ease of obtaining information and the lack of having to sift through information. Oravec says it this way, "rather than relying on search engines or news services for obtaining information about interesting web activity, students can access the weblogs of individuals about whom they have gained considerable background knowledge and reflective insight over time (2002, p. 617). I personally follow blogs of teachers that I frequently buy from on TeachersPayTeachers because I know they create the types of products I'm interested in. I love to see what they are creating and sharing. Following them saves me the trouble of constantly having to search for links because I know that teacher finds and creates the types of resources that I need. The final pro I will share about blogging is that students can find it to be very familiar and enjoyable. Santos (2011) shares that, using a site like Facebook, where students are conveniently already using can make learning more enjoyable (p. 18). In that respect it is a bit different from Canvas, though students can find discussion boards interesting as well.
Blogging, however, can also have its downsides. One downside was that unless a blogging assignment is structured just right, few students will actually look at and post on classmates blogs (King & Cox, 2011, p. 96). The book shared great strategies to setup a blogging assignment to combat this issue, but it would be something to consider. Unlike a discussion board, it takes a lot of thought and effort when deciding how to implement blogging. A discussion board could be an easier tool to use as a teacher because there is much less planning. Another con is the time and effort it takes to setup the practice. According to Carter one of her students, "referred to this initial introductory period as "techno-hell" as he figured out how to customize a header, add a blog title, and establish the domain name with a catching phrase indicative of the purpose of the blog" (King & Cox, 2011, p. 95). Students don't have to do the initial setup with discussion boards, so that makes it more user friendly for them. Finally, Oravec mentions the annoyance of links having to be regularly maintained and how that can be an issue (2002, p. 618). This is an issue with any type of technology unless you're uploading the resource yourself, so it could apply to discussion boards as well.
Obviously there will be good and bad things about any type of assignment a teacher gives whether it involves technology or not. The key is deciding if the pros outweigh the cons and I believe in analyzing the reading this week that blogging is definitely worth the occasional pains associated with it if it fits the needs of your class. However, if I want an easier way with less prep to give an assignment, then a discussion board would probably be my choice.
References
King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Oravec, J. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621.
Santos, A.N.E., (2011). Blogs as a learning space: Creating text of talks. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 4(6), 15-20.
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that many teachers at lower levels are apprehensive in using blogging as a technique as I've had that discussion with many teachers on my campus. Kidblog was the one resource we felt comfortable with, but as I posted on your blog, our kids are below 13, so we need parental permission to continue and our technology department is still working out the kinks with that.
We've used discussion boards for science using Canvas and we were surprised by the responses and growth that students had in discussing the science content through that method. I think using a blog could be a way to grow that through Genius Hour, however I still don't have a forum that I am comfortable using at this juncture with my age group.
From the lens of an adult education teacher, however, I would definitely implement blogging as a way to have students share things in the classroom. One way I think one of my professors could have used blogging in the past is in having us share out current issues that we are seeing in relation to what we are studying. It could be a blog that all students can write on, then we could comment on it as well. Then outsiders could also share thoughts and bring more conversations into our discussion.