As previously stated there were terms in the course profile of which I had no understanding and I must admit "blog" was one of them. I had heard the term but never thought to look up what it meant let alone use one. Now after attending week one lectures and reading through a variety of information on Moodle and other sources I have seen their value.
Firstly, I think that in a classroom blogs can be useful in promoting collaborative learning. "Collaboration" the term used by Bruner (1996, cited in Brady, L., 2006,p.8)"implies a higher degree of student proactiveness and interaction in learning". Blogs can be used in the older grades where students create blogs and use them just as we have for this assignment.
Secondly, I think blogs could be useful in encouraging students to engage with world issues and events. Students could be encouraged to post comments and read blogs of students from around the world.
Lastly, I believe blogs could be a useful tool in communicating with parents, relatives and community etc. I think blogs create an opportunity for students to share their learning with each other and the community.
Overall after seeing how easy it is to set up and follow a blog I can see in the future blogs may be a useful technology tool in which I utilise.
After reading more about different frameworks I have found that the 1999 Kearsley and Shneiderman “Engagement Theory” fits well with the principles behind blogs. One of the main components associated with this framework is that students work in a group context. This fits well with the collaborative nature of a blog. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) say that “attention has to be devoted to ways in which students teams can most effectively present and share their results with each other”. I have found that after starting, maintaining, following and commenting on blogs they are a valuable tool in ensuring students can effectively present and share not only results but finding, learnings and other thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear what your thoughts are on this.