Bachenheimer’s study cited in Ramaswami, R. (2008)
- Blogging improved writing skills because students wrote more frequently and commented on one another’s work. Students who blogged felt better overall, with blogs helping them determine what to say, organise their thoughts, develop their ideas, synthesize their research and benefit from their classmates’ constructive comments.
Ellison and Wu (2008)
Students commented that:
- ‘It was cool to get feedback on what I’ve written’ (p 112)
- ‘It was really cool when one of the people actually cited what I said in my blog on someone else’s blog. I think that brought everything together’ (p 112)
- Exposed to different perspectives and were surprised at the range of responses (p 113)
Goodwin-Jones, (2003)
- Blogs are a good vehicle for on-line personal journals for students, especially because it enables them to upload and link files to a course, where they can keep an electronic portfolio that shows improvement over time
- By publishing to the web, the student can connect to readers beyond classmates, which is not typically possible with class discussion groups. (Ibid)
- Self-publishing also promotes ownership and responsibility in students “if they know that they are writing for real audience.” (Ibid)
Zawilinski (2009)
- Blogging promotes and develops HOT (Higher Order Thinking) skills and helps to develop and “...share diverse perspectives and exchange information with one another...” (p. 656)
- Provides a wider audience and opportunities for reflective thinking in a community of learners. (p.656)
- “Broadening the audience for student writing and thinking, providing a space for collaborating outside of the typical classroom discussion, problem solving on the Internet and learning to communicate safely...” (p.652) These are also advantages for teachers.
- Blogs can provide the link between home and school, both in terms of the students’ lives outside the classroom but also as a tool to show families what they are learning. (p.652) - also an advantage for teachers.
- One of the advantages of some blogs is that the owner has complete control over viewing, posting and commenting
For Teachers
Urtecht (2007)
- The power of blogs is in the conversation threads - blogs are not necessarily about writing but instead are about a ‘conversation’. Teachers should think of blogs as conversations that invite feedback from a variety of sources.
- Giving opportunities and time to read, reflect and leave comments during classtime or as homework, then, bringing the conversation back into the classroom can help deepen learning and understanding.
Hurlburt (2008)
- Students scrutinize the work of their classmates to evaluate their own effort and make sure they have not failed
- Students put in the effort to bring their work up to the standards of the e-community rather than receiving a “recipe for improvement” from the teacher.
- The task of students having to decide what material posted by their peers is useful and accurate and what lacks accuracy or merit contributes to the larger goal of developing critical thinking skills
- In using blogs “...teachers perceive a significant increase in student learning through motivation for assignments and through deeper thought processes.” (Felix, 2007)
- The blog owner can edit or update a new entry without worrying about page formats or HTML syntax (Downes, 2004)
- One of biggest advantages to “blogs is that they provide an authentic audience for students’ writing and work in general.” (Kreul, 2008 in Zawilinski 2009)
- A blog seemingly transpires to be a helpful tool for teachers to establish and encouraging a nurturing discussion space that enhances students’ reflection.(Yang 2009,p.12)
POSSIBILITIES FOR LIFELONG LEARNING - A few ideas from a group of 9 and 10 year-old students at Myross Bush School. http://teamroom8.blogspot.com
- Blogs can show our learning over time. We can look back over the years and see the progress we've made.
- It's like a journal but it doesn't disappear.
- You can see how you get better at different things and you can show parents and other people how well you're doing.
(The above comments are just some of the ideas from two classes at the school. For more information and great thinking, please visit the Room 8 blog and also the Room 7 one:
FROM A TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Please follow the link to http://bit.ly/fg1sk9 (The eLearning Buzz) where Justine has blogged about why she doesn't use a Reflective Journal anymore.
In summary, she is able to show her own professional learning over time, link this to the appraisal cycle and add to her thinking over time.
She is able to show her own development as a learner and the changes that occur in thinking and professional knowledge, in an environment which encourages and expects comment and feedback from other professionals, enables her to link with others throughout the world to deepen her knowledge on a wide range of areas through discussion and debate.
This is the essence of personalised, collaborative, lifelong learning. It is personalised through the reflections posted in the blog. It is collaborative through the discussion, links to other professionals and questioning from others, including the students (!). It is lifelong as the expectation is to maintain the blog over time, add to the ideas and challenge her own thinking through reflecting on past thoughts and understandings.
Blogs can become part of an effective appraisal cycle as the blog becomes part of your evidence for taking responsibility for ongoing professional learning. This, in turn, supports links to the Professional Standards for Teachers.
Classroom blogs also support the Professional Standards for Teachers by forming a powerful link between home and school. Parents and families have a greater understanding of the teaching and learning in school and are able to participate more fully in their child's education at all levels.
Blogs can become part of an effective appraisal cycle as the blog becomes part of your evidence for taking responsibility for ongoing professional learning. This, in turn, supports links to the Professional Standards for Teachers.
Classroom blogs also support the Professional Standards for Teachers by forming a powerful link between home and school. Parents and families have a greater understanding of the teaching and learning in school and are able to participate more fully in their child's education at all levels.
