Should blogging be
used in and out of the classroom for adult learners? A resounding "yes" from
me!
The Web has become a
site for constructing knowledge in which learners become content creators,
collaborators, and community builders. One of the most visible
contributors to the Web 2.0 world of digital media is the Weblog, or
blog. (King and Cox, 2011, p.89) Blogs – a contraction of
‘web based logs’ or ‘weblogs’ – are essentially online journals where an author
publishes a series of chronological, update-able entries or posts on
a topic, typically of personal interest to the author and often expressed in a
strongly subjective voice, on which readers are invited to comment (Farmer, Yue, & Brooks, 2008).
Unlike discussion boards, in my experience, blogs appear to be more intimate,
and are personal in nature. Although blogs are often personal journals,
they can also be more guarded than a class discussion board because they are
published to all on the web.
Blogging has gone
mainstream. I frequent blogs on local politics, favorite authors, sporting
teams and local sporting events, to name a few. My fifteen year old
daughter just shared that she is creating a blog using Weebly for English
Class. Although I am an avid reader, I had no experience
creating a blog before today. However, I know that I need to embrace my technology
"angst" and leverage the learning opportunities technology can provide. Blogging has many pros and cons for adult learners like me.
Let's tackle the
cons, first. I learned in an article about understanding and changing adult
perceptions of social media that privacy was the number one or primary concern
and key perceptual barrier to adoption. (Xie, Watkins, Golbeck,
Huang, 2012) A blog leaves a forever internet footprint, from which
one can be judged until the end of time. Ideas and opinions
change over time while we mature and gain information and
experience. A blog piece on politics today will look different 10
years from now when the political landscape and attitudes change.
(Example #METOO.) Another concern or issue to blogs in education
is the accuracy/legitimacy of the information presented. Don't believe
everything you read.
Even with these
potential pitfalls, the benefits of blogging in education are vast.
Research on learning through blogs assert that blogs have
the potential to be a transformative technology for
teaching and learning because of their reach (King and Cox,
2011). They provide for peer interaction, individual thought and
collaboration, and analytical thinking. Blogging gives peers a
platform for unrestricted communication and for sharing ideas and experiences. With this post, I feel more informed on the topic of blogging and can't wait to hear your views!
References
King, K.P. and Cox
T.D., (2011). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology.
Charlotte, NC: INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING, INC.
B. Farmer, A. Yue, C. Brooks Using
blogging for higher order learning in large cohort university teaching: A case
study. Australasian Journal of Educational
Technology, 24 (2) (2008), pp. 123-136
Bo
Xie ,Ivan Watkins,Jen Golbeck &Man
Huang, Jan 2012, Understanding and Changing Older Adults'
Perceptions and Learning of Social Media, pages 282-296. Educational
Gerontiology, volume 38 – Issue
Hello!
ReplyDeleteNice first blog!!
You bring up a GREAT point about ideas and opinions changing over time. Since blogs create an “internet footprint” as you called it, outdated posts containing outdated ways of thinking are forever accessible. Something considered totally acceptable and PC to talk about today could, in fact, be considered offensive and not at all PC in the future. How many times have there been stories in the news or online about someone who needs to explain and apologize for something that was tweeted about or posted 7, 8, or 9 years ago? Scenarios such as this can affect job opportunities, relationships with classmates and friends/family, and, of course, our own mental health. This is something I am aware of when I post online or social media (which is extremely rare) - I try to state my opinion/thoughts while also imagining my boss reading it.
Anyway I enjoyed your post and had to comment about the extremely relevant point you made!
Thanks for the feedback, Sarah! I completely agree that we should all be careful with social media. Your comment that you post while imagining your boss is reading it made me smile and is very good advice.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, I really enjoyed reading it! I've also gone to blogs for a lot of the same things you mention, such as sporting teams, favorite authors, and traveling to new places. I find it to be much more of an informal social avenue; I never really considered using them in an educational setting. I as well had some angst while writing my first blog for this class. When you write about the pros of blogging for adult learners, you talk about the collaborative nature of sharing ideas and experiences. Do you think some people can overcome that apprehension or angst they have to open up and truly express their honest ideas and experiences? I often wonder if some people would hold back or if it would take them blogging over time to finally feel comfortable in this environment. As you mentioned, and the comment above mentions, anything posted online leaves an Internet footprint. With this knowledge, I wonder if any type of public posting in education would dissuade adult learners from participation. Great post – it certainly made me think more about blogging and our feelings towards it.
I appreciate your feedback! Do I think people can overcome their apprehension and truly express themselves on the web? Yes, I think they will because this forum is engaging and is becoming more mainstream. As I mentioned above, my daughter is blogging in high school. I think we should all use caution, but use this media experience to the fullest. As you say in your blog - "At the end of the day, as we all learn these new techniques, it is important for us to embrace the new digital era.
DeleteGreat blog! One point you made regarding the cons of blogs is that we have to be careful that we don’t believe everything we read online (in blogs) is truth. There’s a vast array of information on the web now and it’s important to have a strong understanding to research an idea before automatically believing a thought once it is read. One example that I come across in my work while teaching safe and research based home food preservation methods is that many people believe that safe recipes can be found on personal blogs. Many of these recipes are unsafe and developed by individuals who are unaware how much science and lab testing is necessary to deem a canning recipe safe to eat. As educators, we spread the word on where to find tested and safe tested recipes and we hold food preservation workshops to teach the food science and safety behind canning.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, what can you do to instill this idea or reinforce the idea when assigning blogs for course activities?
Thanks for commenting, Ashley, and for sharing your personal experience regarding the importance of accurate information posted on blogs. Understanding and sharing this concern with learners is an important responsibility of educators. Requiring professional sources and citations is another requirement that will help steer students to accurate information. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYour approach to the pros and cons of blogging was very thorough. I was drawn in by how you added in your own personal experience in combination with the research you provided on blogging in the classroom. I have utilized blogs not only for my personal life (tips on how to survive being an Army wife to meal prepping) but also in my career teaching middle schoolers. While having face-to-face conversations with my colleagues have been a great professional tool, I often found myself wishing for advice from someone outside of my school or district. Blogging helped connect me to other teachers that matched my classroom philosophy and had similar teaching styles to my own.
ReplyDeleteYou also touched on the fear and comfort level that comes with blogging for learners. While I completely understand how that can deter a learner from getting the most out of a course, I also know that some of my best learning has come when I had to push myself past my comfort zone. My first Wiki project had my anxiety levels through the roof, but after the project was complete, I realized just how capable I was of completing a task that I was sure I'd fail at. Although my first blog post took me a great deal longer to complete than the typical discussion board post I am used to, I came out on the other side learning not only how to make a blog, but how to be more purposeful with my reflection on learning.
Thank you for broadening my understanding of using blogs for educational purposes.
I appreciate your comments, KMT. Thanks for sharing the fact that blogging provides a conduit for you and peer educators. I can see that blogging will be useful, here! I also want to thank you for your comments regarding the fear when working with these technologies for the first time. You are so right! Your comments reminded me of a quote - "Everything you want is on the other side of fear" by Jack Canfield. :-)
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