To Blog or Not to Blog – That is the Question

A blog, (also known as a web log), is a website consisting of entries or posts that are arranged in reverse chronological order; the most recent entry appears first. In general, blogs include comments and links to increase user interactivity. Blogs are created using a variety of online publishing software. Blogs are one of the products of Web 2.0 (social networking) technology, which allows the internet to be more interactive and user-generated, instead of purely informational (Ducate & Lomicka 2008). A blog allows a user to post their opinions on any topic they choose, which can be read by anyone in the world. In addition, blogs offer readers to post a comment or response to the blogger, which allows for a two-way dialogue. Blogging has become a popular social medium throughout the world for people in all walks of life. It seems to be a viable way to connect people from all over the world.

There has been a lot of research on the usefulness of blogs in the teaching classroom over the last few years. In Downes’ article (2004), the blog is referred to as a “virtual extension of the classroom.”  http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/EducationalBlogging/40493.  Most blog sites do not require knowledge of HTML, and publishing one’s work is achieved easily with the click of a button. Interactivity is one of the benefits, and is argued to have contributed to a ‘resurgence in journaling, through their accessibility, their audience, and their immediacy’ (Kadjer and Bull, 2004). Collaboration is one of the other draws of blogging (Ducate & Lomicka, 2008). Blogs in elementary language arts classes act as a learning support tool in which students can read and peer-edit each others’ work (Downes, 2004). As a ‘new’ medium, blogs are used as a communication tool with parents; student work is both archived and published, and the body of knowledge of the learning community is preserved (Downes, 2004). This is also a powerful form of expression for students.

As educators, we are trying to promote student-centred learning. Not only does it make our jobs easier, it instills student responsibility and leadership. Blogs represent a sense of ownership for students as they are contributing to both the school and worldwide community. The social interaction that ensues can help students develop a sense of camaraderie. (Ducate & Lomicka, 2008).

In many school subjects, blogging gives a voice to students who are too embarrassed to speak in class. (Browstein & Klein, 2006). It provides one more means for learning to occur. In Glass and Spiegelman’s article (2007-2008), blogging was incorporated into a college mathematics project; they found that students learned from each other as they shared both their research and their ideas. There was spontaneous extension on the curriculum as students commented on tangential areas.

There are also many naysayers to the inclusion of blogging in education. Dawson (2007) found that getting her students to do blog assignments on a regular basis became tiresome. She became overwhelmed with having to read many blog entries per student. Blogging began as a personal journal that individuals did to rant or express their ideas. By including it in the curriculum, the sense of freedom of expression became lost as it now became a non-spontaneous way to earn credit. Dawson (2007) found that many of her students’ entries were boring to read, and did not offer any significant insight. Many students began to stop posting, even though there were marks assigned for blog entries. Glass and Spiegelman (2007-2008) concurred as well that it is difficult to fairly assess the blog contributions of individual students. A clearly defined rubric needs to be developed by the teacher that can quantify student attitudes and comments.

The teacher needs to spend a lot of time creating assignments that students would enjoy researching and commenting on. The teacher also needs to buy into the value and use of blogging in order to spark interest in their students. Most teachers are too busy, as are the students, to keep up with their own personal blog. This disjunction creates difficulty in incorporating blogs into the learning environment (Dawson, 2007).

Accessibility is an issue that can hamper the blogging experience. Some students in the class may not have equal access to the internet and a computer at home (Akbulut & Kiyici, 2007). Another issue around blogging is student safety. Since most students in the public education system are minors, protecting them from online predators, harassment, and cyberbullying is a top priority. They need constant guidance, education, and supervision; boundaries need to be set with respect to the revealing of personal information. They need to be aware that anyone can read their blogs (Akbulut & Kiyici, 2007).

Students with literacy problems and insufficient writing skills will continue to have problems blogging, even though the medium has changed. The teacher will find it difficult to support these learners as blogging is done outside of class time.

Based on the research, I believe that blogging can be a valuable learning tool in some classes. In the language classroom. Students can freely write about topics that the teacher assigns, and students can comment on each others’ posts. Since I teach mostly senior high school science courses, I feel that blogs can be used to reflect on a controversial issue. For me, blogs will have a slightly more limited role in my regular teaching routine. I know that some teachers have a homework blog, in which they post assignments. I have been posting my homework assignments on my website, so I do not feel the need to use a homework blog, simply because I am not looking for student feedback or commentary. If they require help with assignments, I think a homework forum would serve better, in which students or I could assist students with queries.

Another issue I have with blogs is coming up with a fair assessment rubric for my students’ blog entries. What would be the minimum number of entries required to get a perfect score? What criteria would I use to assess the quality of the entries? Due to the difficulty of assessment, I would prefer to use blogging as a non-marked learning experience; however, I know that most of my students would not blog as they lead extremely busy lives; I would have to provide an intrinsic motivator for them to blog. Finding a positive means of motivating students to blog and comment on others’ posts will prove to be the most difficult obstacle. None of the literature provided a feasible solution to illicit student motivation; however, I realize that I will have to sell the idea from the beginning, keep up with reading entries, develop a fair assessment rubric, and come up with worthwhile blogging assignments.

WORKS CITED

Akbulut, Yavuz, & Kiyici, Mübin. (2007). Instructional Use of Weblogs. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 8(3), 6-15.

Brownstein, Erica & Klein, Robert. (2006). Blogs: Applications in Science Education. Journal of College Science Teaching, 35(6), 18-22.

Dawson, Kara M. (2007). Blog Overload. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(22), C2.

Downes, Stephen.  (2004).  Educational Blogging.  Educause Review, 9(5), 14-16, 18, 20-22, 24, 26.

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

Glass, Richard, & Spiegelman, Marsha. (2007-2008). Incorporating Blogs into the Syllabus: Making Their Space a Learning Space. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 36(2), 145-155.

Kadjer, Sara, & Bull, Glen. (2004). A space for ‘Writing without Writing’: Blogs in the language arts classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 31(6), 32-35.