Pedagocigal use of blogs

Can blogs be used pedagogically?

Yes, blogs can be used pedagogically. Firstly, teachers can use a blog to publish instructional materials, assignments, links to articles and websites that the students can access to and where the students can reflect on readings and make comments. The advantage of this is that the teacher does not have to make copies of course materials and can point students to the blog for answers to questions on assignment (University of Sydney, 2016; Kirk and Johnson, 2009; Hall, 2013).

Secondly, through blogs, students can improve student writing, especially in developing analytical and critical thinking skills. It often creates avenues for engagement or interaction between bloggers and readers particularly in the comments section, where they can engage in intellectual debates related to a topic. In this way, critical and analytical thinking is fostered among students (Lamshed et al, 2002; Hall, 2013).

Thirdly, a blog can be useful as a forum for group projects, or act as a collaborative authoring tool for students to develop and present a group assignment or project (Hall, 2013). With this, students could develop their own individual and common blogs where they can create portfolios of their writings and get feedback from their teachers and classmates. In addition, the students can also write posts for several subjects or comments on what they have been learning in class (University of Sydney, 2016: Kirk and Johnson, 2009). As students develop their own blogs, it will be an easy way for teachers to observe and monitor the student’s progress. Teachers can classify, summarize and evaluate different students’ blogs and then publish the teachers’ opinions, directions, and feedback on their own blogs or on class blogs (University of Sydney, 2016).

References

Lamshed, R., Berry, M., and Armstrong, L. (2002). Blogs: Personal e-learning spaces. Binary Blue. http://www.binaryblue.com.au/docs/blogs.pdf (accessed on 06.11.2016).

Hall, M. (2013). Using Blogging as a learning tool. Retrieved from: http://ii.library.jhu.edu/2013/11/27/using-blogging-as-a-learning-tool/

Kirk, D.J., and Johnson, L. T. (2009). The Use of Blogs as a Knowledge Management Tool. Academic Exchange Quarterly. Volume 13(4). Retrieved from: http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/cho4462z9.htm

University of Sydney. (2016). Blogs for Education. Faculty of Education and Social Work. Retrieved from: http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/learning_teaching/ict/theory/internet/blogs.shtml