Reflection 2, Week 3

A Reflection on Blogs as an ICT Learning/Teaching Tool

A blog is an interesting ICT tool. To introduce what a blog is, here is a video from WPME DEV (3 mins) 

A blog is constructed by generating the coding that is already available on the blogging place of choice. One could start from scratch, however many bloggers use a blogging site that just allows them to post without having to start from the basics of html coding. The two most popular blogging sites at the moment are BlogSpot, owned and run through google, and WordPress. These sites allow you to put in the post and formats the blog to your preferred customisation. Blogs are definitely customisable, for my own blog I use BlogSpot, also known as Blogger. I have circled here the customisation tools for this blogging site.

A blog space is like a scrapbook of old. It allows you to fill up the space anyway you like, and this time with movies and videos and music. The embed tool that many websites use in their multimedia allows you to copy that entire video without downloading it and putting it into your blog, referencing it is a nice way of appreciating the content creator. In the classroom blogs are a fantastic way of getting the class to interact with the course materials as well as things that they find on their own. By encouraging a blog in the classroom it allows the students to think about the topic as critically as they want to. I have built this small matrix below using the SAMR model for web design (specifically HTML coding) on how blogs could be used in the classroom.

Blogs in the SAMR model of teaching – Teaching area Information Technology (Web Design)
Substitution	A substitution of tradition reading material. The teacher provides the reading materials on their blog, maybe a pdf of the activity worksheet for the students to print out. A print out of a guide to building an html website.
Augmentation	Augmentation, the teacher links in other blogs, small readings on html building. Maybe a short tutorial video. There could be a comment section where students who have found other materials could link them into the comments.
Modification	The teacher gives an interactive activity on the design of websites. Linking to a website builder that provides information on coding. The blog could have an interactive element where the students are encouraged to upload images into the comments for the class to insert them into a website in the classroom. The teacher encourages the students to use their own blogs to reflect on their design and the design of others in their class, without being needlessly critical, using the snipping tool to highlight good ideas and areas of encouragement.
Redefinition	Every student is given instructions to write their blogs in the html section of their blogs. With screenshots of them doing so. They are encouraged to build html coding outside of the blog and then upload the folder to the blog. Guiding the students to use their own images or reference them correctly, the teacher can give an idea on how to build a website from scratch. A link to code that is broken and giving the task of getting the students to fix the broken code and re-uploading the fixed code onto their blogs.

Blogs should be at least given the opportunity to be in the transformation section of the SAMR model and it gives the students the tools to be confident in the use of blogs. Under the enhancement sections of the SAMR model we look at how a blog just really replaces the old media of teaching. A blog will become a place to read a section of a text book, or a collaboration of links to readings and maybe a video. Under the Transformative section of SAMR it allows students to explore their topic in their own words and works.

A model of how Enhancement SAMR blogs are is really the CQUniversity Moodle site. Lecturers are given a space to place their readings and links to readings and other places. However in the Transformative section of SAMR, Moodle has the forums, the section for assignments. It allows the students to be contacted directly by the lecturers, and to open the discussion on a topic.

For blogs in a secondary school setting, can educators look at using it as an assessment tool? This is a place where you time stamp everything, and can be seen to be beneficial in the long run. Allowing students to flesh out their ideas. Just as this cohort are doing now, being asked to reflect on certain topics weekly, so can students in schools, obviously marking will be different as schools to post-graduate studies are a completely different kettle of fish.

On this topic, of the three ICT tools introduced this week, the cohort has been asked to reflect on the following questions.

Blogs and wikis are often not allowed or blocked in most schools – what are your thoughts on that?

 (Voki transcript)Another reason they may ban or block blogs and wikis is the new phenomenon of cyber-bullying. However again, it is up to the educators to teach the etiquette of using the internet correctly, and then monitor the use of a sanctioned blog or wiki. So if the educator gets a class to start a blog, it is up to the educator to monitor every student’s blog and then counsel students who use it for bullying or inappropriate actions.









A PMI on Blogs and Wikis

The use of blogs and wikis in schools
Plus (The Positives)	Minus (The Negatives)	Interesting (Neither +/-)
An interactive space for students to pass on information and other interesting aspects of learning Gives the students the freedom to express opinions on certain topics Increases their literacy skills of reading and writing Blogs can block comments allowing the students to feel in control of their opinions, without ridicule Encourages students to look beyond Wikipedia and good for information	The internet has some dark places filled with people who are all too willing to corrupt spaces that educators use Can give students a place where cyber-bullying can occur if not monitored correctly A reliance on technology, if the power goes out will they be willing to go back to a book? Unfettered use can lead to NSFW items being placed on students personal blogs	Facilitates a learning environment between teacher and student that otherwise may not happen Gives the students and teachers a look into each other’s ideas that time may not give

What sort of learning strategies would suit this type of Communication tool?

The learning strategies that could be suitable for this type of communication tool (blogging) would be the visual/audible styles of learning. It also supports the behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism. The learning strategy of de Bono’s Thinking hats can be incorporated into a blog, by getting the students to use the hats in their blogs they may thing critically about a topic.

Overall blogs are a fantastic way of getting information to the learners.

In school, many teachers have achieved new performance goals by using teaching blogs. For example, some teaching blogs have been used to solve problems directly or to explain a concept more clearly with a combination of words and pictures or videos. Other teaching blogs have been employed for classroom management, for sharing photographs and broadcasting class activities, and for teachers to communicate and interact effectively with students and parents. (Chen, Lai, Ho, 2015, p. 237)

What does this mean? Some learners respond to the two major learning functions of a blog, visually and audibly. By using a blog that has both functions you could include the kinaesthetic function of learning by incorporating an individual activity that can be completed at home. I have placed an idea in the Redefinition of my SAMR table above.

How can we make blogs an integral part of the learning process? I understand that some educators will be apprehensive in their adoption of blogs, indeed all three of the ICT tools introduced this week. However by sticking with things that worked only five years ago educators are being left behind by their students.

In the end we have to look to web 2.0 as the future of teaching, not only will we as educators benefit, our learners will benefit as well as the workplaces that they are going into. Given the option to find new and exciting ways to integrate these sorts of tools into our workplace, I will always try to find the most effective learning tool out there.

References

Chen, C., Lai, H., Ho, C. (2015). Why do teachers continue to use teaching blogs? The roles

             of perceived voluntariness and habit. Computers & Education, 82, 236-249.

             Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/

WMPU DEV. (2013, Jul 6). What is a Blog? [Video File]. Retrieved

             from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjwUHXoi8lM