Is blogging the same as discussion board activity?
The pros and cons you think blogging brings to adult learners.
Reading about blogging was an interesting topic because I never use blogs before. In my new blogs, I focus on the pros and cons of blogging in adult learners. First of all, I will start with the advantage of using bogging from teachers perspectives. I believe blogging gives teachers free space to be creative outside the classroom. Teachers can think about blogging as free learning tools that help them to publish their information on the internet thus their students can have access to them anytime anywhere. A great example of teachers use of blogging is Mr. Ford’s blogs for his class. “Welcome to the new Class 6F Weblog. This is the place where you can access up-to-date information about what is going on in my class. It is a dynamic site ... allowing the chance to interact and contribute to the on- and off-line life of the class”(Oravec, 2002 p. 617). Another advantage is providing a space for students to gather more information. Weblogs allow users to see many perspectives that improve their ability to analyze and compare information from different sources. Moreover, a weblog is a useful tool to improve higher thinking skills such as critical thinking by allowing students to respond to the online masteries Oravec (2002).
There are some disadvantages to use blogging for education purposes. One problem is the need for updating information from the teachers or instructors. Usually, teachers are busy with class activities and grading and using blogs can add more load to their schedule. A study by Aljumah, (2012) focused on using blogging for teaching English. The study includes 35 undergraduate Saudi students majoring in English participated in this study, the researcher found that “blogs lack regular updating and fail to respond to learners’ questions without delay, which affected learners’ enthusiasm and initiative in ELT”(p. 111). Another disadvantage faced students with blogs is time management. Spending time to manage a blog and adding the information takes time from users especially with students who do not have experiences before with blogging Aljumah (2012). I personally, feel that time-consuming is one of the problems that I faced when I create my account and using blogs in this class because I do not use blogs before this class so it is new experiences that require time to master.
Aljumah, F. H. (2012). Saudi learner perceptions and attitudes towards the use of blogs in teaching English writing course for EFL majors at Qassim university.English Language Teaching, 5(1), 100-116. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.er.lib.k-state.edu/docview/1773224014?accountid=11789
Clarke, L. W., & Kinne, L. (2012). More than words: Investigating the format of asynchronous discussions as threaded discussions or blogs. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(1), 4-13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.er.lib.k-state.edu/docview/1314311425?accountid=11789
Oravec, J.A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621.
Hi Tariq,
ReplyDeleteIt appears we are in great company because this was my first experience with blogging. That said, I find both that blogging and discussion threads are the same. However, the lines blur in the context of blogging. For example, our discussion threads are an academic analysis of course content shared through technology to discussion intellectual material. My interpretation of blogging is a relaxed standard of the discussion threads, but if blogging is used as a form of an academic discussion thread, should we maintain the standard of academic writing?
Rhonda
Thank you, Rhonda, for your visiting and participating in my blog.
DeleteYou mentioned a great point about academic writing. I think it is very important to have a clear role in the writing style from the instructors if the blog will be used for course but if it personal blogs the writing will be different depending on the users' education background. Sorry for the late response but I thought my response was sent last week.
Best,
Tariq
Tariq, thanks for posting this here. I especially like your critique of the pressures on time management for learners and educators. I hope you get the conversation in these responses that will advance analytical thinking and higher learning.
ReplyDeleteRhonda makes a good point in her response. OK, Rhonda makes several good points. One of our requirements for posting here is APA style and scholarly writing...but should we relax that standard for this kind of activity? On another blog response, I alluded to how there is a tension between scholars and practitioners. To try to make scholarly research more accessible to the general public and practitioners, Jonkoping International Business School created a blogging platform they named Vertikals (Roos, Mellander, & Danielsson, 2016). But if we write like, well, researchers...I wonder if we'll still be seen as stodgy and irrelevant academics.
Rhonda also writes about blurred lines between discussion boards and blogs. Clark & Kinne (2012) found that even though the two share similarities, there is a qualitative difference in learners' experiences between the two. I've been chewing on that for the last few days--any thoughts you have on what makes learners more satisfied with blogs than discussion threads I gladly welcome.
Best
--Les
Clarke, L. W. & Kinne, L. (2012). More Than Words: Investigating the Format of Asynchronous Discussions as Threaded Discussions or Blogs. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(1), 4-13.
Best
--Les
Roos, J., Mellander, C., & Danielsson, E. (2016). Turning academic research into public engagement. BizEd, 15(3), pp. 48-52.
Thank you Les for visiting and participating.
DeleteHi Tariq,
ReplyDeleteNicely developed blog! One of your quotes resonated with me. Your statement, “Another advantage is providing a space for students to gather more information.” Totally agree with you and gave me a launching point to do more research about the power of blogs.
My opportunity to comment on your post was highlighted by King and Cox . As the two authors state (page 90), “ability for readers to comment on posts.....creates the collaborative knowledge-building capacity. What is interesting is our professor set the guidelines for our assignment and then “from a distance” he can monitor as we build upon each other’s blog posts. To me this creates a dynamic learning situation that I, as the student, has a resonsibilty to embrace the technology integrated into the course.
Finally, I agree with your critical thinking as a pro f blogging. This type of learning platform does lend itself to powerful dialogue between students.
Kevin
King, K. and Cox, T. (2011). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Hi Kevin,
DeleteI am glad you found my blog useful. I like your idea of blog posts when you said: "To me, this creates a dynamic learning situation that I, as the student, has a responsibility to embrace the technology integrated into the course." I believe blogs allows learners to learn from each other by reading posts and comments.
Thank you Keven for visiting and participating.
Tariq
I agree in regards to the similarities and differences between blogging and discussion boards. I noticed after reading other classmates take on the two that I was maybe a little to formal in my blogging and did not allow enough personal opinion or insights. That being said I see and agree with King & Cox, 2011 on how reading others blogs is a learning experience all its own. You get to know others on a personal as well as a professional level through blogging.
ReplyDeleteWhen you talked about blog conversations not being active my interpretation was the fact that you have to log on to check if you have any posts to respond to whereas the discussion board you receive notifications each time you have a response. Was this what you were referring to?
The time management aspect you mentioned I also agree with. I struggled with the setup and how to arrange the blog that I felt overwhelmed and frustrated with the process.
King, K. and Cox, T. (2011). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Hello, CLH,
DeleteFirst of all, I like your quote "I see and agree with King & Cox, 2011 on how reading others blogs is a learning experience all its own. You get to know others on a personal as well as a professional level through blogging." To answer your question about the blog conversations not being active. Yes, the notification is useful to keep the conversation active in blogs and this what I faced personally with my blog I did not receive notification.
Thank you for visiting and participating,
Tariq Alshalan