Blogs (Module 2)

What of a reflection of the humble blog? I guess from my perspective the blog is almost a way for people to share opinions and thoughts on a open, but controlled environment. Blogs are something like a newspaper, but (in many cases), without the facts that *usually* proliferate professional articles. For us as teachers (facilitators) they can be a way to share in a rich community of educational experience, and experience the challenges of others in a deep, somewhat anonymous environment. The complexity remains though, that we know how to use them.


I have to admit that my experience of Blogging from a student perspective is that it is somewhat misinterpreted, and often seen as superfluous to an end result. Students are so used to the short, slang-style conversation of Twitter and Facebook that to write more than 140 characters (Twitter) seems all too much. I think the question is not so much about the application of the Blog in the classroom, but the purpose behind it.

Purpose of the blog can come from many places, but we have to ensure that it is explicit so students see the point. Without purpose, the intention of the Blog is lost, and the result will, more often than not, become a less than sufficient result. Take a look at assessment as an example.

Assessment in the past has taken shape of questions to problems that require answers, or problems that require solutions. But, with the shift of assessment to challenging, project style tasks, the blog becomes a communication tool; more than a place to simply complete written answers. It is a place to explore emotional input and response, a place to discuss problems, and obtain feedback. What if a teacher actually completed the blog with the students, to see if the purpose was sufficient to maintain engagement and create enough conversation to explore this emotive response?

For me, a blog is a great tool, so long as it is used for the right purpose, and that the intention behind it is to create an ongoing pattern of development, communication, feedback and response to solution. A diary, if you will.