Foray into Blogosphere

ffiUnndo TY $01uil[]t$ nudil'sBllllol n nD LOllia tl IeGnnohgu BI 0lril Hnizfl WillYour$chool BeAWi nneH NGr n ] Hl HowIslechnology Changing lhe Bole 0tlheleacherP \\ il=__ b h ry ry ffmmffffir Please cite as : Chugh, R 2009, ‘Foray into Blogosphere’, Education Technology Solutions, vol. 29, April/May, p.59-62. of blogs, has become important as the currenl generation demands extensive usage of t e c h n o l o g yi n a l m o s t e v e r y t h i n g that thev do. e d u c a t i o n a lp r o c e s s a n d e d u c a t i o n a l interests. Edublogs are written by anyone with a vested r n t e r e sitn e d u c a t i o na n d i t s o u t c o m e s .E d u b l o g s can be written by teachers for improving What are blogs? classroom instruction,by students in response B l o g sa r e o n l i n ed i a r i e s a , l l o w i n gu s e r st o p u b l i s h to their assessment tasks, and by policy posts that can be sorted in reversechronological makers who need to comment on education. oroer and enabling users to add text, graphic Educational blogs can be seen as facilitating i m a g e s ,i n f o r m a t i o n al li n k s and otherdata. Blog discussion between students and teacners. posts can be edited by the creator at any time An educationalblog will help in devetoping and they allow readers to ieave comments for knowledge, skills and attitudes that stuoenrs t h e o r i g i n a lp o s t i n g a n d t o others,commenrs. will matntain throughout their professional Thus, they can be seen as a means of facilitating and personal lives. ln the past, students nave discussion through ongoing By Ritesh Chugh c o m m e n t a r y . oeen required to write journals or diaries Blogging goes through a that series of posr and allowed them to reflecton t h e i r l e a r n r n g ,b u t comment cycles and can be considerediteratrve blogs As large cohorts of teachers have extended this experience are looking for to allow tor in character.The iterativecharacter of bloggrng w a y st o m e e t t h e n e e d s o f t h e i r rnteractivity with their peers, teachers and t a r g e ta u d r e n c e , ailows for other explanation, clarificationand further the world of blogs (blogosphere) externalcommentators. has forayed d i s c u s s i o n ,w h e r e a sa p h y s i c a lj o u r n a l may not i n t o t h e e d u c a t i o n a le n v i r o n m e n t E d u c a t i o n a l a l l o wt h i s .T h e r e a r e v a n o u st y p e so f b l o g sw h i c h , blogs are a new technology which are capaote o e p e n d i n gu p o n t h e i r u s a g e a n d a u d i e n c e ,c a n of serving as internai and external information oe ctassifiedas political, sports, entertainmenr, sharingand coliaboration tools. Biogs can oe technology,education and so forth. The focus of used across variousacademic d i s c i p l i n e sa n d this article is educational blogs (edubiogs) levels, making them attractive that for adoption will be usefulto enhancestudent engagement by teachers.This article focuses on the use ano encourage critical thinking. Educational of weblogs, aka blogs, in educationand now blogging may include blogging b y students, I n e y c a n e n h a n c et h e p e d a g o g i c a l e x p e r i e n c e . teachers, administrators, Educational industry experts, ano Blogs Adopting technology in teaching, in the form o t h e r i n v o l v e de n t i t i e st h a t f o c u s p r i m a r i l yo n t h e Educational Blogs EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS 059 ifl' ?_'" "{-":lr 6!! ti .:r',::.. ?.3 .i4.-' $ *' 4i'i.r ep.-"':,4 fr fr i'{: :iii:,:,:$:' *ar:ec.l' $ f;: ,.i:.r:ra .'i''o'u:i; *:i...' experience,The page can be customizedaccordtng Advantagesand disadvantagesof also help in encouragingthe onlinesocialpresence educationalblogs and Thetablebelowlistssomeof theadvantages keepingin mind the site'slimitations, of bloggers. The ubiquitous and asynchronous to preferences, thatneedto be considered. disadvantages of classrooms,allowingteachersand studentsto natureof blogsextendslearningoutsidethe domain at any point. reachout to a largerworld.In many instances,blogs What can teachers do? have been used as a successfultool to developand Teacherscan adopt blogs as a means of changing harnesscommunitiesof oracticein schools. their content deliveryapproach in order to enhance Although there are various advantages, the pitfallsof blogs that are listed in the table require and encourage parlicipation, Some activities to consrderare: rL^ Lllti ^l^^^ UIdJJ ^^l Ol lU ^^^r PUJL 6 6 u1 l a4D6D attention.lt is a good idea to make studentsaware r of the nuancesof bloggingon the Internetand the timetables,studyguides,suggestedreadings,class ootentialconseouences. announcements,and other interesting material Where to start? can be helpfulto students.Assrgnmentdetailsand There are variousfree blogging softwaresites,such as Blogger,Wordpressand Edublogs.Thereis a lot of relatedadvicecan also be oosted here. . Develop a case study on a particular subject. choicebecausemost bloggrngsrteshavetheirown Students analyze the case study and post their C v rruaqeLt O U e q h v rl n v vn frnvrr (videos,articles,games,and linksto othersites)that As blogs can enhance individualand group features.Once a bloggingsite has been selected, reflections on theirblog.Get theirpeersto comment teacherscan create an account to registerwith the This anynegativecriticism. on the posts,discouraging site, give the blog a name that reflectstheir interest will encouragediscussionand will enable reflective construction of knowledge, they can be seen as and they are ready to write and publish their blog learning.Markingcan be based on frequencyand crucial tools for developing citizens of tomorrow. oost.Aweb addressthat can be sharedwith students consrstencyof contributionsto the activity,response to peer blogs and referenceto and demonstrated they will From a teachingand learningperspective, will be orovided.Studentswill be able to commenton helpto encouragecriticalthinking and reflective skills studentscan create the teacher'sposts.Alternatively, knowledgeof subjectcontent.Trynot to be too rigid in students.As well as improvingwritingskills,they their own blogs that will be used for their learning as this can stiflecreativityand motivation. lOO D I S CM A N A G E R $uecial $tIS . Eachunit storesand protectsup to 100 CD's i DVD's . Capacityis easilyexpandedwith additionalunits . Includesthe Opditrackersoftwarepackage; enablingusersto find any discor lrlesinstantly . Locatefllesand retrievediscsin seconds . Organisecriticalbacl<-up data . Passwordprotectdrscsfor addedsecurity 060 TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION SOLUTIONS ffwffiffffi ffiffi Strategiesfor successful implementation . Providetrainingso that studentsbecome llisimportnntto see bloqs dsd familiar withthefunctions/features of the blogs. . Understand tool that allours corttlersdtiorts, the technology and the benefits course deliveru and studenl dssessll|enl rnlher lhnn merelq being niournnl. Bloqs should be ltsed locornpletnent existinq tenchinq tnelhods. . Apart from 'show and tell' activities,get students to take a photo of their chosen item peer students. . Allow students to express opinions about the topic discussed in class. Act as moderator to clarifyany doubts and to facilitatethe discourse. . Get students to create their own blogs where t h e y c a n p o s t t h e i r r e f l e c t i o n sa b o u t e d u c a t i o n a l e x c u r s i o n s ,s u c h a s a c a m p i n g t r i p . T h i s w i l l e n h a n c et h e i r w r i t i n gs k i l l s .S o m e s t u d e n t sm a y want to put up photosto sharewith theirfamily and friends. . Students may want to form a blog where they can share their experiences about a c o m m o n i n t e r e s t ,s u c h a s t e c h n o l o g y c, r i c k e to r g a r d e n i n g ,t h u s e n c o u r a g i n gc o m m u n i t y s p i r i t . T h e i r r e a d e r s c a n p o s t c o m m e n t s , l e a d i n gt o a s u s t a i n e dc o n v e r s a t i o n . . Use blogs as a means of showcasing students' work. This could include poetry, photos, animations and other projects that students have accomplished, lt will provide them with a feelingof pride when their work is s h o w c a s e dt o a n a l m o s t u n l i m i t e da u d i e n c e . Remember that since blogs can be used across multiple disciplines, it is necessary to be creative and conjure ways to use them for engaging students in a variety of academic settings. And, most importantly, blogs are for teachers and the students too, facilitatingstudent-teacherand student-student relationships.Teachersneed to stay involved by providing regular comments and feedback to the students, 062 EDUcATIONTEcHNOLOGYSOLUTIONS a l t h o u g ht o e n s u r eo p t i m a lo u t c o m e s ,t h e u s a g e o f b l o g s i n e d u c a t i o n a la c t i v i t i e sn e e d s t o b e blogs offer to promotehigher participation c a r e f u l l yp l a n n e da n d m a n a g e d .B l o g s d e f i n i t e l y andownershio. have the capacity to change the way teachers . Developtemplateblog postsfor studentsso t e a c h , i n t u r n , i m p r o v i n gt h e l e a r n i n ge x p e r i e n c e thatexpectations areclear. for students. lf teachers have not begun to use . ldentifyrulesand guidelines aboutthe useof b l o g s i n t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a la c t i v i t i e s ,n o w m i g h t t h eb l o g . . Regular feedbackshouldbe provided, using be the right time to start. So why wait? Foray into the blogosphere! I the commentfeatureof the bloggingsite,so thattheexercise is meaningful forthe students. . Provideassistance by allowingstudentsto practice so thattheyunderstand thismedium. . Motivate andencourage students to regularly postgraduate and undergraduate students in post blogs, emphasizing the importanceof thetool. and development, lS project management, and a n d p o s t i t o n t h e i r b l o g a n d t h e n ' w r i t ea n d t e l l ' . E n c o u r a g ep a r t i c i p a t i o nt h r o u g h c o m m e n t s b y to complement existing teaching methods. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages, Mr. Ritesh Chugh lectures in the Faculty of Business and lnformatics at CQUniversity's Melbourne Campus. He teaches to both the fields of information sysfems management electronic commerce. Mr. Chugh has been In conclusion, it is importantto see blogs as a tool that allow conversations,course awarded CQ Univers ily's 2007 Fac ultyI Pro -Vi c e - deliveryand studentassessmentratherthan merelybeinga journal,Blogsshouldbe used teaching excellence. He can be contacted at Chancellors' portfolioslAlC Tier One Award for r.c h ug h @me l.cq u.ed u.au