Blogs

= Blogs = Megan Paxton Wuebker media type="custom" key="10987304" align="right"

Description and Uses of Technology[Please enter your text here]
Defined by Merriam-Webster as "a website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer," a blog offers students a venue to develop a community of learners (www.m-w.com; Dickey, 2004). The term blog was first used in 1997; it is a shortened version of weblog (Duffy & Bruns, 2006). Duffy and Bruns identify blogging as "both a noun and a verb" in that a blog is not only an object ("I have a blog"), but also also something one does ("I blogged about something") (p. 2).

Dickey (2004) identifies blogs as an "increasingly popular form of self-expression" (p. 282). An individual's blog can act as their personal electronic journal, allowing them a place to discuss topics of interest, post images and links, and elicit feedback on issues (Boulos, Maramba, & Wheeler, 2006). Blogs provide individuals with a certain amount of autonomy in the blogosphere, which refers to the collection of blogs as a whole (Williams & Jacobs, 2004; Duffy & Bruns, 2006).

Duffy and Bruns (2006) identifie ways in which blogs can be used in an educational setting. These uses include developing critical and analytical thinking skills, a "combination of solitary and social interaction," and the "potential for increased access and exposure to quality information" (Duffy & Bruns, p. 3). Blogs can be used for reflection, analysis, a space for collaboration, or portfolio development (Duffy & Bruns; Wang & Hsua, 2008)

There are many free and low-cost software options available to teachers and students (Boulos et al., 2006). Some of the options available include [|www.blogger.com], [|www.wordpress.com], and [|www.thoughts.com].

Important Findings on Student Outcomes
Literature on the student use of blogs has focused on two outcomes. One outcome is their potential for social interaction. The second outcome is potential for collaboration among students and between students and teachers. Both outcomes are discussed below. //Socialization//. Gumrecht (2004) found that students using blogs as part of a course often used the online space to find "common ground" (p. 2 ). Within their blogosphere, students come together around a particular topic or interest and create their own community (Boulos et al., 2006). Students prefer to communicate through their blogs to create dialogue amongst themselves (Gumbrecht). Feedback from other students was a driving force for students' continued motivation to blog (Kim, 2008; Gumbrecht ). Wang and Hsua (2008) also found that students are more likely to share their thoughts on class discussions on their blog rather than in class, opening up different avenues of discussion outside of the classroom. Gumbrecht posits that a preference to communicate through a blog is due to the "limited interactivity" presented by the blog versus a classroom setting (p. 3).

//Collaboration//. Boulos et al. (2006), Kim (2008), Williams and Jacobs (2004), and Duffy and Bruns (2006) all identified an increase in collaboration among students as one of the primary benefits of using blogging as an educational tool. Kim asserted that by using a blog, the audience of both the teacher and the student was extended beyond the classroom, increasing the likelihood that students and teachers will come together outside of the classroom and collaborate in the online environment. Williams and Jacobs also found that blogging was a method that can be used to generate knowledge in the classroom. By working in small groups, students were able to turn their individual knowledge into a collective shared knowledge (Boulos et al.).

Emerging Trends and Open Issues
Boulos et al. (2006) identified several disadvantages to blog usage in an educational setting. One of these issues was that, due to the openness of blogs, they can be subject to alteration and vandalism by other users. Similar to vandalism, Gumbrecht (2004) identified "flaming," or aggressively negative criticism, as another potential issue with blogs (p. 3). Additionally, with community authorship of a blog, it could be unclear as to which contributors worked on which parts, thus making assessment difficult (Boulos et al., 2006). Lastly, Wang and Hsua (2008) cited that some participants in their study had difficulty using the blogging software itself, which created a hurdle to a positive blogging experience and a potential instructional disadvantage. In conjunction with these issues, however, Boulos et al. (2006) also provided remedies for potential issues. In order to prevent alteration and vandalism of student blogs, it was suggested that blogs should be monitored, moderated, or closed (Boulos et al.). Posts can be monitored or moderated by teachers, including restricting access, protecting content, and deleting non-constructive comments. Additionally, teachers can use a "roll-back" function available in most blogging software that allows restoration to an earlier point, eliminating any vandalism posted at a later time (Boulos et al.). Blogs can also be closed, which means that only those involved with the blog can view, edit, or post to the blog. Students with permission to access the blog (granted by the teacher) would be able to read and comment on other students' entries, still fostering the development of a learning community and providing other students with feedback (Boulous et al.; Dickey, 2004; Gumbrecht, 2004). In addition to those recommendations, Wang and Hsua also proposed that instructors who were interested in using blogs in an educational setting provide an overview of the software to address any potential issues at the beginning of the course.

Dickey (2004) identified blogs as both "progressive" and "countercultural" (p. 288). For students that have taken online classes, many course experiences have been based on discussion boards, removing the focus from the individual and putting on the class as a whole (Duffy & Bruns, 2006; Wang & Husa, 2008). Using a blog as a means for course reflection allows students to reflect on their own assignments and provide essential feedback to other students (Kim, 2008; Gumbrecht, 2004). Blogging also allows students to come together and generate their own knowledge within the shared online space (Williams & Jacobs, 2004; Boulos et al., 2006; Kim; Duffy & Bruns). Blogs are also being used in organizational settings to increase contact with potential and existing customers, which indicates that in addition to school or personal use, students may be able to employ their blogging skills at a professional level in the future (Kelleher & Miller, 2006).

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Boulos, M. N. K., Maramba, I., & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis, blogs, and podcasts: A new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. //BMC Medical Education, 6//(41), 1-8.=====

Dickey, M. D. (2004). The impact of web-logs (blogs) on student perceptions of isolation and alienation in a web-based distance-learning environment. //Open Learning//, //9//(3), 279-291.
Duffy. P. & Bruns, A. (2006). The use of blogs, wikis, and RSS in education: A conversation of possibilities. In //Proceedings Online Teaching and Learning Conference 2006//, 31-38.

Gumbrecht. M. (2004). Blogs as "Protected Space." Submitted to World Wide Web Conference, 2004.

Kelleher, T. & Miller, B. M. (2006). Organizational blogs and the human voice: Relational strategies and relational outcomes. //Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication//, //6//, 395-414.

Kim, H.N. (2008). The phenomenon of blogs and theoretical model of blog use in educational contexts. //Computers and Education, 51//, 1342-1352.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (2011). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from http://www.m-w.com/.

Wang, S. & Hsua, H. (2008). Reflections on using blogs to expand in-class discussions. //TechTrends, 52//(3), 81-85.

Williams, J. B. & Jacobs, J. (2004). Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector. //Australasian Journal of Educational Technology//, //20//(2), 232-247.

Reviewed By: (Paul Richards, Courtney Cox)