- “Blogs could be easily used for cooperative project work where each person independently completes a section of the project.the individual tasks can be allocated by the teacher or negotiated within the group” (Joshi 2009, p.3)
- “The use of group blogs has been widely reported and is particularly popular where the educational institution may not have the facilities or technical infrastructure within their virtual learning environments.The group blog will allow multiple users to contribute and with a little HTML knowledge”(Bartlett-Bragg 2003, p.3)
- Use of a group blog can reinforce a “depth of analysis and reflection that is rare in the more private and less openly challenged individual reflective journals.” (Phylip and Nicholls, 2009)
- Students share collective ownership of the online learning space of the group blog where they can share resources as well as creative ideas, whereas the private journal by comparison is an individual venture. (Phylip and Nicholls, 2009)
- Phylip and Nichols (2009) emphasize the need for explicit criteria which promotes analysis and reflection in the group, in contrast to uncritical stream of consciousness writing, in order to improve outcomes for students (p. 697)
- The group blog is a good space for documenting group reflection and, given an authentic, real world task, it provides the group with incentive for a high level of engagement. (Phylip and Nicholls, 2009)
For examples of Group Blogs and Individual refer to the sidebar.
A Video on Managing Group Blogs - some very interesting points to ponder about manageability and ownership. This always proves to be one of the trickiest management issues for teachers - particularly the editing factor! As one of Justine's students pointed out - if the blog is their learning journey then we should see progress over time in their learning. For example, in their spelling - it should improve over time and with practice and knowledge. If the teacher edits it, then whose writing does it become? (This from one of the 9 year olds!)
