Week 3 | Digital tool 1: Blogs for learning

This week's first reflective blog is about the use of the weblog tool to enhance classroom interactions.

Firstly to be a successful blogger, you must enjoy reading. Because blogging is first, and foremost about reading. As Stephen Downes writes,

"blogging isn't really about writing at all, but rather more the end result of the process". 

Blogs provide a way for students to reflect, expand and carry on with a topic or idea, to engage and encourage other audiences to write and think. In his article, Educational Blogging, Downes (2004) writes about five ways that blogs can enhance education in classrooms;

Source: Fodey.com

So

However, while blogging is a fun way of engaging students in creative writing, it can have its minuses. The P.M.I chart below provides some of the advantages. disadvantages and interesting bits researched.

Note: This PMI chart was created in word, then snipped and saved as a jpeg file, which can be inserted into blogs.

The real drawback I notice in using a blog is the lack of student interaction with them. After all, don't we write so people will read them! and then respond with their own thoughts? (as in, we want people to know what we are thinking, and then tell us they feel the same or not) And if people are not reading them, why would they want to comment. This is where blogging is losing the interest of would be journalists everywhere. I therefore see blogging as an enhancement tool at the augmentation level, and nothing more than a substitution (pen to keyboard) tool with some functionality (being able to share it with others and auto save).

 Remember: Reflection is a complex process for students and requires significant skill in analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Therefore, if you are asking your students to journal in a Blog, consider ways to scaffold their thinking to reflect the learning they are required to demonstrate, such as De Bonos six thinking hats, or Blooms revised taxonomy questions.

This week I have also experimented with adding gadgets to the blog. This was fun, although frustrating at times, especially when trying to find placements and  adjusting the size. I continue to experiment with different tools and images to add flair to the blog and hopefully capture readers.