Blogging for Better LearningHeidi Ashbaugh, Instructional Design SpecialistDistance Education, a Department of Lifelong Learning

1 - Why Blogging? 4 - How Blogging was Used 7 - The Rubric 10 - Perceived Benefits of Blogging by Students•Students performed reflection on weekly

readings by posting one original post per week.

•Students discussed different topics covered in the readings by responding to at least one other classmate’s original post per week.

• Students less familiar with traditional literature dicussion topics found the blogging experience helpful in aiding them to more fully understand and explore the readings.

•Students who were already familiar with traditional literature discussion topics were able to:

•Expand their own knowledge

•Practice academic responses in an online environment

•Help their classmates who were not as strong in literature discussion

Summary of Project Learning Objects Journal LX™ building block blogging tool was used to facilitate interaction and reflection in

an online literature course using the Blackboard Course Management System.

2 - How Blogging was Introduced

5 - How it Worked – In the Beginning

8 - How it Worked – By the End of the Course

11 - Results Linked to Learning Theories

•Student postings had thin content.

• Students did not include quotes from the text and did not connect ideas from the text with real-life situations

•Most students posted too late for others to really respond:

•An explanation for the desired outcome of the use of blogging in the course was provided to the students:

“I know that some of you may be balking at the idea of blogging!  Please, just give it a chance! . . . I have decided to use blogs in our class for several reasons:  First, I think this may be a more fun way for you to complete your reflective assignments. . . Second, there has been research done that suggests blogging is a way to actually produce more writing than traditional methods.  We will see!  Third, because it's EASY!!  Trust me - once you get set up (which takes only a few minutes!) you are ready to go.  Believe me, you can easily do this. . . Utilizing blogs will allow each of us to interact in an environment that becomes familiar to us quickly and easily. So, take a deep breath if you are a blogging novice - and RELAX.  Or, like the Hitchhiker's Guide in Douglas Adams' books says - DON'T PANIC.”

– Course Information from the Instructor, made available at the beginning of the class.

• Constructivism:• Students were able to collaborate on ideas and opinions and construct new knowledge for themselves and others on the topics covered in the course.

• Connectivism:• Students created knowledge through a diversity of opinions and connected on various levels outside of the classroom material.•Continued communication throughout the course created a bond that allowed for more sharing and learning.• Students realized that their interpretations of literature could change over time and with new life experiences.

3 - How Blogging was Modeled

6 - The Correction – A Rubric

9 - Examination of Why Changes Worked

12 - What was Learned and Ideas for Future Ues

•Criteria for content was added

•Students had to support their opinions with quotes from the text and a page number.

•Student responses to other postings had to discuss one item mentioned in the post with which they agreed, and one item with which they disagreed.

•Criteria for dates and times of postings was added

• There were some complaints from students about adding the rubric after the course started! They got over it.

• Having a specific criteria helps students to understand what is expected of them.

• In most areas, the students were able to perform at the level expected, but they needed to have those expectations clarified in a concise and easily accessible manner.

•Requiring students to learn how to disagree in an academic environment promotes healthy discussion.

•Once students understood the difference between “arguing” and “disagreeing” many more new ideas were presented and discussed.

What was Learned: •Modeling is not enough – students need detailed descriptions of expected criteria.• Requiring students to identify where their ideas differ from those of others creates a more dynamic discussion.

Future Ideas:• Utilize these same principles in small discussion groups first, and then move the discussion on to include the whole course.• Utilize blogs in two spaces: one for personal reflection, and one for group discussion – a private and a public space for sharing a learning.

•Samples of acceptable and unacceptable postings were created for student reference

Good Posting:“The short story "Samuel" made me feel very nervous.  The boys on the train were unattended by any adults, and no one knew where they were.  One of the ladies actually thought about how the boys' mothers didn't know where they were.  But Paley uses some real irony in the next sentences when she says that, "Their mothers all knew that they had gone to see the missile exhibit on Fourteenth Street."  This made me think that their mothers may have known that they were going to use the subway to get to the exhibit, but they most certainly didn't know how their boys would be behaving on the subway.  I guess this made me nervous because I realized that often when parents think they know what their children are doing, they don't really know all the details.  Parents can't be around to supervise their children all the time, so how can they be sure that they are behaving safely when they are out of sight?”

Poor Posting:“Those boys in the story about the train were really stupid!  I can't believe that they behaved so dangerously.  It isn't really surprising that there was an accident.”

Criteria A (4 pts. ea.) B (3.5 pts. ea.) C (2.5 pts. ea.) D (2 pts. ea.)

Critical Thinking About the Text

•Addresses a particular aspect or topic of the reading, and provides a quote from the text to support analysis.

•Full of thought, insight, and analysis.

•Addresses a particular aspect or topic of the reading.

•Thought, insight, and analysis has taken place.

•Summarizes or interprets the reading only.

•Information is thin and commonplace.

•Simply summarizes the reading.

•No analysis or insight is displayed.

Connections and Understanding

•Clear connections to real-life situations.

•Displays in-depth understanding of the text.

•New ideas or connections, but lacking depth and/or detail.

•Displays understanding of the text.

•Limited, if any, connections, which are vague and general.

•Minimal understanding of the text.

•No connections are made, or they are off topic.

•Obvious misinterpretation of the text.

Timeliness (postings by midniight on the day specified)

•Posted early in the week – Saturday

•Posted mid-way through the week – Sunday

•Posted toward the end of the week – Monday

•Posted late in the week – Tuesday

Stylistics •Few grammatical or stylistic errors.

•Several grammatical or stylistic errors.

•Obvious grammatical or stylistic errors.

•Obvious grammatical or stylistic errors.

•Errors interfere with the content.

The rubric for original postings:

Grading for reply postings:Students receive up to 4 points for their response post to another student based upon, 1) Addressing one point that they agree with, and why (2 pts.), 2) Addressing one point that they disagree with, and why (2 pts.).

• Student posting content had improved.

•Discussion between individuals had improved.

•Timeliness in posting improved somewhat:

Continued at the top of the next column.

The first 100 postings of the course – # of postings per day of the week. The course ran from Wednesday morning to Tuesday evening at midnight.

Comparison of last 100 postings of the course – # of postings per day of the week.

Copyright Heidi Ashbaugh 2008. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.