Blogs allow a student to be creative but within the confines of realizing instructors, peers, and strangers will be reading the posts. Jo Ann Oravec (2002) mentions that blogs can empower students to become more analytical and better critical thinkers. They will open up with their perspectives on the topics presented knowing others will be reading it. Blogging can assist English as a Second Language (ESL) students to practice their skills with an audience outside of the school environment. Vance Stevens in coordination with some teachers from Venezuela, Argentina, and Slovenia conducted an education study using blogs for ESL students called Writingmatrix. Students from these countries at the directions of their teachers blogged and responded to blogs in English using the tag writingmatrix to track each others' blogs. Although it started slow, the blogging picked up and was considered a success. Students were not only able to practice their English, but they also practiced learning about other cultures and learned more technology skills in the process. I have found a few of the blogs still are online today.
There are a few problems that must be overcome with using blogs as an educational tool. Oravec (2002) references that fact that weblinks become "dead" over time. This is one of the reasons I have her referenced here and not linked. I could not find a public link to the below-referenced article. Another drawback of using blogs for educational purposes is privacy. Blogs are public. They are public because that is their use, to be a searchable information log. Shelbie Witte (2007) and her school's administrators found a way around this by using the school's network. Orevac (2002) also warns that instructors must address concerns of the appropriateness of posts with their student before starting a project. Sharing information in a digital age will always garner supporters and detractors.
Using blogs for information sharing is the essence of continuing the learning experience. With the ability of back and forth communication and the knowledge that the information is public, students should want to post quality, insightful writings. This increases the knowledge for everyone.
King, K. & Cox T. D. (2011). The professor's guide to taming technology: Leveraging digital media, web 2.0, and more for learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Inc.
Oravec, J.A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621
That’s a very interesting ESL study you’ve tied on. It exemplifies how technology really can create educational opportunities that bring a global audience together. I’m also very glad you’ve touched on privacy, as that is something that has been weighing on my mind more especially in the latter part of this week. While the public nature of blogs allows diverse learners to engage, it is also a con in how one must consider privacy concerns as well. The Nielsen Norman Group has found in their research that younger generations, those growing up in the internet age, are hesitant to disclose any private information on the web, whereas the current college student and adult generations are more willing to do so (Joyce & Nielsen, 2019). Combined with my current experiences, I am wondering how the use of blogging may even potentially be conversationally limiting to those who are more hesitant to provide personal information in a public forum, compared to a more private online discussion board format. As adult learners, connecting our real life experiences to learning is important, and yet, there are a number of connections to the text that I have made that I am simply not willing to share in a global forum, even with the potential of using pseudonyms, but I would be willing to share in the more intimate format of the private discussion boards. So in that way, I think blogging could even be a hindrance to group learning in a certain capacity. What are your thoughts? Have you (or anyone else) experienced self-limiting for the sake of privacy?
ReplyDeleteJoyce, A. & Nielson, J. (2019, March 17). Teenager’s UX: Designing for teens. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-of-websites-for-teenagers/
BridgetW, you make a good point about being less willing to share personal information on a blog, even with the use of a pseudonym. I agree that I am less willing to present with my own personal experiences due to my position at work and how things I say may be interpreted. It is not as though I complain about my work within the discussion boards of the classroom, but I do feel more protected there as my views are not being broadcast to the world. Sprague (2007) writes of instances where people have been fired for comments within their blogs and the legality of these firings. While I dont plan to write anything that could result in my firing- I am very happy where I work- it still gives me a bit of anxiety.
DeleteSprague, R. (2007). Fired for blogging: Are there legal protections for employees who blog? From https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1274&context=jbl
KSU1MSM, I don't want to make you any more anxious.... The issues of employers or potential employers looking at the records we make online are real. Quite a bit of my career has been spent training in HR shops. My experience has been that as an employer gets close to making a decision (or just sees something interesting in a resume, such as a publication), the employer will look on Google, LinkedIn, Facebook.... The things they find make impressions, whether it's telling tales out of school on a former employer or a contribution to a discussion that was on point and relevant.
DeleteBest
--Les
BridgetW, KSU1MSM, and Les,
DeleteYes, I believe privacy is probably the number one con to using a blog for educational purposes. But I do not see it as insurmountable. I believe using blogs for educational purposes, the assignments could focus on positive ideas. Additionally, an individual can share as much personal information and use hypothetical situations to explain a point. Or, as we do in class a lot, we use researched data/articles to support the point we are discussing whether in a discussion board or blog.
Les, to add to your point though, I have heard of potential employers looking up Facebook profiles and not hiring individuals based on their posts. It is interesting how our privacy has shrunk with the use of technology.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Stevens et al. "Writingmatrix: Connecting Students with Blogs,
Tags, and Social Networking" (2008). I enjoyed the qualitative aspect of it. However, this research does not seem to address the level of the ESL learners, and from the reading I could tell they were intermediate to advanced, as it says that in Argentina they were preparing for their final examination. I wonder how could we -as instructors- accommodate the use of blogs for ESL Beginners, since their vocabulary, grammar and overall confidence to express in the target language is limited and challenging. Do you have any ideas?
Elsa,
DeleteThat is a good question. The only idea I could think of is to make an internal discussion board like a blog for the class to begin with, closed to just your group. Let them practice with each other. Then maybe, it could be expanded to another class, then internationally?
I have never worked with ESL but I thought the idea was really interesting.