In October 2006, Mollie Crie wrote the article cited above on using blogs in the classroom. The article is geared towards teachers, and she explained what a blog is and how it might support the classroom environment by incorporating technology.
She described the educational benefits of blogs: motivating students especially those who might not participate in the classroom, provide opportunities for students to read and write, provide forums for collaboration and discussion, and to enable scaffolding learning and mentoring. She further explained how blogs can be used in the classroom. The four basic functions were classroom management, collaboration, discussions, and student portfolios. She also discussed risks to consider and steps for teachers that will help them get started.
This was a short, clear, and concise article. The author could have expanded the article ot include more precise instructions to implement procedures in the classroom. Examples could have been provided to make understanding more complete for unfamiliar users.
The Department of the Army’s Civilian Education System,for which I teach, currently uses Blackboard as our primary means of managing the Army Management Staff College’s Basic Course. Classroom requirements, handouts, and homework assignments are posted there. Blackboard has become more expensive and we may move to another system. Blogs / blogging could be considered a possibility to support some of our needs for the distant learning module and the two-week resident course.
Posted by Buddy Wooten
I also read this article and agree with Buddy that it provided a clear, concise explanation of blogging and its educational benefits. The article elaborates nicely on how blogging enhances collaboration efficacy and motivates participation. As distance learning only continues to assert its role in education, blogging will be seen as an invaluable tool.
ReplyDeleteI think blogging in the classroom has the potential to spark the self-directed learning tendencies articulated in the adult education literature. I see blogs as a way for students to learn from each other and to expand their knowledge. Anyone else have thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI think that Blogging definitely has pros and cons. As written in the article it has increased benefits to those that do not want to speak up and collaborate in a classroom environment. Additionally, it provides the instructor and the learner with the ability to continually work on their typing, language, and collaboration skills while outside of the classroom. All of which are a benefit in a world of increasing demands.
ReplyDeleteHowever, blogs should in such a fashion that it still requires the learner to interact on a personal basis and ensure the development of social skills and do more than just "talk to the computer."
Another consideration for blogging is its ability to remove the barrier of time zones. The Army uses blogs to overcome geographic displacement.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, we have also reduced our demand for information from instant to 48-72 hours in order to allow those from around the globe to comment.
The only grief I have with blogging is the chronological nature of the posting capability. There are actual discussion softwares out there that visually allign posts so that you can reply to a previous post and it goes directly under that post.
On much more robust blogs following a blog is confusing because a reply to a comment may be separated from that comment by numerous posts.
Going back to the study, I would be interested in knowing why folks don't participate in class. It would seem that as an adult educator we would be interested in achieving a welcoming environment in the real world as well as the virtual one. On the one hand, blogging may provide the teacher an easy out.
I think blogs have significant potential to increase the exchange of information. I can see the many advantages of sharing information in new, non-synchronous, and innovative ways; however, I worry that blogs have the potential to degrade student-to-student personal relationships. Blogs seem appropriate as part of some learning communities; however, blogs may not adequately support the interpersonal connections that normally occur when members of a learning community personally get to know each other and share their experiences face-to-face. This could be critically important if an instructor-monitored blog is used as the primary way for students to share information.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought the article was by Mötley Crüe...and then I re-read the title. It could have been pretty interesting to see what Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee have to say about adult education and blogging.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, concur with Buddy's observations and the comments everyone has posted. CGSC has many Web 2.0 tools available to the students and faculty, but I am not aware of many using the resources. I attempt to incorporate the wiki into planning exercises, and usually am met with moans and groans of "not again..."