Research

Blogging/User-Created Content

     Blogging is one of many technologies that teachers may choose to use in their classroom.  Many students may already be familiar with blogging and it can be a technique to better engage students.  MacBride and Luehmann, (2008) looked at the blogging assignments of a high school mathematics teacher and his students.  They found that the teacher, through blogging, wanted to create additional ways for students to participate in class and to increase the amount of time students spent with math content.  They concluded that blogging lets students have a real audience so they do their best work, it allows reflection because they can easily look at their previous work, students teach each other content, content discussions are continued after the lesson, and students use their existing Internet abilities (graphing tools, formatting tools and others) to help them express their knowledge of math content.   Another conclusion of MacBride and Luehmann, (2007) I found important is both the teacher and students thought time spent blogging is worthwhile.

     Ellison and Wu, (2008) looked at students’ perceptions of the aspects of blogging (writing an entry, reading other students’ blogs, or reading other students’ comments on one’s blog) to see which was most helpful to understanding course content.  It was found that reading other students’ blogs was considered most helpful for understanding course concepts.  Ellison and Wu, (2008) found a need for more guidance for students on how to review the work of students’ peers and for understanding of their peers’ viewpoints different from their own.  They also state that blogging alone will not increase student learning it must be combined with sound instructional techniques.  The authors suggest that students may come to class with preconceived ideas of how to blog so it is important to give rules and examples for correct blogging.  They also said if students are to give peer feedback they need to be guided as to what is constructive criticism and know that respectful disagreements are ok.  The study concludes that classroom blogs can use teens’ interest and ability in online communication to support learning in a subject area, in this case mathematics.  They said the realized benefits of classroom blogs depended largely on how a teacher chooses to structure and use the blog.

     In a study by Jimoyiannis and Angelaina, (2011) an analysis framework was used to study students’ engagement and learning from blogging.  They found effective blogging happens when the instructor does the following:  shows all students examples of good blogs and how to participate; designs a blog with learning goals, timelines for task completion, and scaffolding; watches what is posted on the blog; encourage all students to participate while giving them support; gives mandatory writing requirements to be posted on the blog; and assess students on their participation in the blog.  Lastly this study suggests that students achieved higher thinking and cognitive levels from blogging. 

     All studies mentioned above indicate that blogging done properly helps student learning.  I think blogging helps not only better understanding of content but also helps boost writing ability.  Blogging can be structured enough to give students clear directions while also giving them the ability to do things their way.  It lets students create and share their writing.  Since the final audience for a blog post is not only the teacher but also their peers, students will most likely spend more time on their writing.

     If I were to implement a blog I would try to use what has been learned through research on blogs.  I would give students examples of good blog posts and comments.  They would be given a rubric listing what is expected for their blog post and comments.  I would decide on a topic and have students write about it in their blog.  I would probably let them post relevant photos and links to other online resources.  After careful direction on how to respectfully and constructively comment on their peers’ blogs I would let students comment on other student blogs.

Blogging lets students become a more active participant in learning because they decide how they will write about a subject.  Since they can also post photos and links this lets students learn visually or from other links containing information on a subject.  Students will need continuing guidance and blogs will have to be constantly monitored but research indicates blogging is a worthwhile learning experience.

References

Ellison, N., & Wu, Y. (2008). Blogging in the Classroom:  A Preliminary Exploration of Student Attitudes and Impact on Comprehension. Journal of Educational Multimedia & Hypermedia, 17(1), 99-122. Retrieved December 14, 2007, from Education Research Complete database.

Jimoyiannis, A., & Angelaina, S. (2011).  Towards an Analysis Framework for Investigating Students’ Engagement and Learning in Educational Blogs. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28, 222-234.

MacBride, R., Luehmann, A. (2008). Capitalizing on Emerging Technologies:  A Case Study of Classroom Blogging. School Science & Mathematics, 108(50), 173-183.