Creating a Blog
As week 3 comes to a close I
reflect on my learning in regards to creating a Blog. The word cloud above was created from the text in Week 3 Learning Material. Gauging from the word cloud students are the focus when learning how to blog. The thinking and information used are important to learning about the uses of this tool. From this learning material I have learnt that a blog
is a website, usually established and maintained by an individual who regularly
updates it by way of commentary, graphics or videos. Blogs are a Read-Write tool and like a Wiki,
they are owned by their creators, such as the students in the classroom. As a
teaching tool, they will allow interaction between students as I would
encourage fellow classmates to comment on the postings as well as comments
added by myself. It also allows the world to join in on the class depending on
the school’s attitude to allow access to the Blogs.
I am still learning what the full
capabilities of a Blog are. I read in the Week 3 Learning Material that
Blogs can be used for online diaries, they can link to other blogs, and Web
pages etc. that relate to the topic. These are some of the things I will
achieve as time goes on. For now, this link to David Warlick’s Blog, “Are they
students or learners” is an example of a Blog that uses a table to insightfully
distinguish between being a student and a learner. I am proud to note I have
embedded a YouTube video in my first week of Blogging and now I have created a link to
another Blog as well as link to the YouTube video.
This form of technology is
learner-centred and as the teacher I would act as a facilitator to the
information, not the informant. I know from my experience when creating a Blog
that there are a variety of templates available to use and each can appeal to
different learners for different reasons. For me this learning experience is a
journey into technology hence the choice of background. In a teaching context
learners will choose the template that appeals to how they relate to the task
of establishing their Blog and their individual personalities.
According to Stephen Downs’s article in education, there are five predominant uses of blogs.
·
Used by teachers to create or replace class Web
page (if one exists) and then uses blog to inform students of class rules,
timetable, assignment topics and due dates, readings and activities.
·
Teachers can link inter-related web sites for
their course to the blog.
·
Blogs can be used to facilitate and organise
class discussions. This could be used to encourage participation by some
students who may not put their hands up in front of their peers. Participation
may also be a compulsory component and be part of their final marks.
·
Group blogs can be organised for class seminars
and reading summaries.
·
Students can write a blog as part of their
assessment.
According to Downs, (2004), blogs
are easy to use due to the way updating occurs without having to concern
yourself with page formats and HTML syntax. As a tool, a blog is a
cost-efficient system that supports collaborative and individual learning. For
this ‘digital generation’ blogs are also relative to the use of technology
outside the formal classroom. With this in mind, in my disciplines of History
and Geography I feel a blog will be a valuable tool for the learners to get
creative with the enormous amounts of information about a variety of topics available
on web. I also feel it would be an interesting way for them to present a topic
which would show progression in their learning. One way to ensure feedback is
given is by dividing the class into groups where group members comment on blogs
of their group by questioning why they have published information in their
blog.
In a teaching context there
would be advantages to using a blog over doing a written assignment that is in
hardcopy form. Brainstorming for an assessment piece is a learning strategy that would complement a
blog. As an individual exercise, brainstorming
on a blog would allow the student to put their ideas down about a topic and
then to go back and view comments which may also help direct the student in
their learning. Group assignment work can go ahead at all times because even if
someone is away accessing their work is still available through the blog.
Using a blog as place
for an assignment has the benefit of being accessible across time and space and
through the web. Comments, changes, annotations and suggestions are easily made
by another student or the teacher. Tracking the activity allows the viewer to
witness how thoughts scaffold the construction of the task. By using web links
and multimedia the learner benefits from the valuable material available and a
variety of learning styles are addressed. As blogs are usually set up in
reverse-chronological order, previous information can be found by backtracking
the blog. Blogs have the RSS option which notifies the owner of any changes
made. Scaffolding tools such as tables, diagrams and concept maps can be
incorporated in the blog.
In
regards to a Blog there are pluses and minuses as well as implications to its
use. A PMI chart is a good tool to gather information that assesses the plus,
minus and implications of a topic as exemplified below in Table 1. The value I gain from each weeks activities builds my confidence and I am making connections as to applications of this technology in the classroom.
Table 1. PMI Chart for using
Blogs
Plus
|
Minus
|
Implications
|
Up to date learning tool
|
Incorporates multimedia forms ie. Web pages, blogs videos etc
|
|
A changeable source of information on what interests you
|
Blogging can be informal learning in an alternative way
|
|
You are the author of your own blog
|
Must have clear learning benefits for the learner
|
|
Learner centred teaching
|
Access to computers may not be available to all students at all times
|
Engagement is important along with learning through digital
technologies is important
|
Collaborative learning, sharing information, communication
|
Harsh or unkind comments by other students
|
Students must be using the tools, not just the teacher showing how to
use the tools
|
Flexibility
|
||
Multipurpose
|
||
Post announcements
|
Students have to read the announcements
|
|
Post work, common interests
|
Students must read the work assigned to them
|
|
Linking to other websites that scaffold the learning
|
Source: Authors
own based on elearncqu, Downs, (2004), Three Vignettes – What
does e-learning look like (2013).
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References:
Downs, S. (2004), Educational Blogging, EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 14-26, 2004, Retrieved http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging
Fasso, W. 2013, March 13, Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, httpps://my.cqu.au/user/s0190818.
My Blackberry is Not Working, (2010, Dec. 20)The one Ronnie, Preview, BBC One, Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAG39jKi0lI&feature=player_embedded
Blog Overview, Retrieved 16 March, 2013, http://elearncqu.wikispaces.com/1.+Blog+overview
Three Vignettes, Retrieved 16 March, 2013, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/407928/mod_page/content/9/vignettes.html
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