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Metropolitan State University – MDST 583G

Abstract

This literary review and accompanying essay examines the effects of blogging on adult informal learners. Articles detailing educational blogging, blogging for informal learning, asking and sharing information via blog thread, a guide to blogging in Higher Education, and adult learning technologies are incorporated for a comprehensive take on current blogging evaluative trends, and in disseminating their strong points as well as weaknesses. Research culminates with the author’s extrapolation of the data to personal and professional experience, and admission of future plans for the blogging educational project.

Educational Blogging 2

Introduction

Deep self-‐reflection is the cornerstone to learning. No amount of flashy

power points, engaging content, or attention-‐grabbing graphics can make up for lack

of learner participation. Getting learners involved in the process of education,

whether formal or informal, remains road-‐less-‐traveled terrain. Often the online

learning process consists of rote memorization, content dumps, and cheesy learning

modules with even less effective assessments. What can we as educators do to

challenge our students? How can we inspire learners to not just take in or memorize

the information, but to go deeper – to actually unearth new insights, become

something more, to build upon the very foundation of life itself? Simple. We

encourage them to blog.

First, let me approach this introduction with a briefing regarding how the

research and findings influenced what I am about to relay. My intent was to study

blogging, and how a blogger might bring about informal learning to his select

audience by means of the blog as learning vehicle. Sounds easy enough. What I

discovered as I began to dig, however, shifted my paradigm of what blogging is,

what it means to blog, and its purpose.

The Merriam Webster website defines blog as, “a Web site that contains an

online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by

the writer.” Other dictionaries provide similar descriptions. My own experience with

blogs has traversed the enlightening, often touching stories of heartache, love, and

lighthearted fun all intermingled to marketing tell-‐all’s aimed at start-‐ups and

bootstrapping do-‐it-‐yourselfer’s, to MBA’s seeking lofty assignments following


graduation. A common theme interwoven throughout the blogs in which I’ve

indulged now seems obvious: a motif of deep self-‐reflection.

I recognized the potential that self-‐reflection could have on learning, the

paradigm shifts it could induce in the blogger, but in truth, hadn’t considered the

learning from that angle. Assuming the role as writer (in my mind) presupposes

self-‐reflection and some form of profundity. What wasn’t altogether clear when I

began this process was how individual readers could be impacted by the blog; I

sought to answer questions pertaining to how the reader might be. It seemed to me

an intuitive process. Write blog. Attract fans. Bestow Knowledge. Easy, right? My

findings are more complex, and far more fascinating. What if the learners were to

assume the role of blogger? What if their mundane learning were interspersed with

exciting insights and exposed emotive disclosures? What if – the blogging was the

learning?

“The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others but with yourself.” ― Shannon L. Alder


Literature Review

Several articles were used to determine what role blogging plays (or could

play) in learning. My original intent was to discover how bloggers were teaching

their readers – what tactics they were employing, what lasting learning effects were

being had by the readers, and whether the approach could foster a more creative

outcome through deep listening, collaboration, and sharing. Most articles I perused

had a proclivity toward K-‐12 learners and could not be used for my research, as my

initial aim was to study informal adult learners. While the information available did

not provide exactly what I’d originally envisioned, this change in direction triggered

a different approach.

My new questions were reformulated as such: How can we learn from the

available K-‐12 and Higher Learning studies available regarding blogging and

learning? How might the teaching via blogging approach be impacted by these related

albeit unlike findings? And, how might I reframe my questions to include learners

partaking in the blogging process (as was executed in several of the studies) in an

informal, adult learning situation? Once reframed, I was ready to begin.

(Downes, 2004) discussed the weblog and personal journal as tools for

learning and sharing. “The process of reading online, engaging in a community, and

reflecting it…is a process of bringing life into learning,” From the pedagogical

perspective, five major uses for blogs were identified, while positive experiences of

child users were recounted for emphasis. The review may have been biased, as

there weren’t opposing viewpoints mentioned, however, the author’s credentials in

the field influenced my choice to include the article. What stuck with me was


(Downes, 2004) reference to Mark Pilgrim’s “response to and elaboration on “The

Weblog Manifesto”: “Writers will write because they can’t not write…because it’s who

they are and you can’t imagine them being any other way?” Touché.

(Mason, 2006) examined learning technologies in adult continuing education,

which included blogging, but not exclusively. The contrasting viewpoint that,

“blogging has [often] been dismissed as vanity publishing,” was helpful in rendering

an accurate analysis. As an “experiential learning tool,” (Mason) asserted that

blogging can meet adult learners’ needs by being “self-‐directed, making use of

outside experience, and by providing a social context for learning.” Obstacles that

prevented adults in the evaluative study from adequately making use of the blogging

platform for learning were identified: the most common complaint being a lack of

time. (Mason, 2006) noted that the “amount of choice demanded by the course

required a relatively sophisticated, self-‐directed and confident learner to really

benefit from this strategy.” This common thread ran throughout the chosen articles,

identifying difficulty with the model of blogging as a universal educational tool.

Nevertheless, for students who happen to be read/write oriented, self-‐directed, and

of an inquisitive nature, the evidence for learning was overwhelming.

(Kerawalla, Minocha, Kirkup & Conole, 2008) reported on a study involving

Masters-‐level students who blogged as part of an online learning course in the UK.

The framework was empirical, aimed at educators considering its use in Higher

Learning coursework. From a Higher Learning perspective, Kerawalla et al, 2008),

“suggests that blogging can support learning in a number of ways…to gather

resources…to share these, and individual opinions, with others…commenting on


each others’ blogs…support meaning-‐making through reflective learning.” A

perceived challenge to educators suggested by the findings was implementing all

elements of blogging successfully, given the variance of tasks and learning types.

Interestingly, in this study the intended outcome of socialization was limited,

resulting in many students withdrawing, by blogging for themselves or giving up

altogether.

(Savolainen, 2010) took a different angle to the blogosphere – one from the

perspective of consumer. Expressly, the dieting consumer partaking in “slimming

blogs.” My decision to include this particular study rested upon my personal interest

in the matter, and the intent that my own blog should voyage this landscape.

Interactivity between blogger and readership was analyzed in terms of: positive

emotional reactions, negative emotional reactions, asking questions, and providing

answers. (Savolainen, 2010) identified five major motives as blogging drivers: “to

update others on activities and whereabouts; to express opinions to influence

others; seek others’ opinions and feedback; to “think by writing;” and to release

emotional tension.” Other drivers were found in later studies, “such as

entertainment and personal advancement.”

The empirical analysis included slimming blogs that were:

• Publicly accessible

• Primarily focused on slimming

• Contained at least 10 posts and 30 comments with interaction

• Cover a sufficient time period to reflect ongoing pursuance of the

slimming project


Overall findings identified very little negativity or disagreement in blog comment

threads, reflecting the positive atmosphere of the blogs. Friendly and constructive

information sharing was the trend. Community building in this supportive manner

was concluded as the main strength of this form of blog, “provid[ing] emotionally

supportive forums for sharing opinion in the context of furthering everyday

projects,” (Savolainen, 2010).

(Park, Me Heo, & Lee, 2011) conducted a mixed-‐model study on Korean adult

online learners in order to determine (a) adults’ blogging experiences related to

learning, (b) bloggers’ perceptions of the usefulness of blogging in terms

of...learning processes, and (c) the link between adult informal learning and

blogging. (Park et al, 2011) identified the main objective to “explore blogs as a

meaningful environment for informal adult learning…[based on] the strength of

authentic writing, the power of the writing process, and the engagement of

collaborative writing.” This was the only study which came to the conclusion that

more research was needed to explore blogs as a place for learners to benefit

informally. (Which was precisely what I needed to hear).

I found the theoretical framework underlying this study fascinating. (Park et

al, 2011) identified lifelong learning as essential to our time. The capability of

informal and online learning to be learner-‐centered, offering the learners freedom

to go in their desired learning directions was found to be “favored by many adult

learners,” (Park et al, 2011). However, little research exists regarding tangible

results achieved by this manner of learning (however common). The process of

adult informal learning, including acquisition, reflection, social embedment, and as a


co-‐emergent process were defined and discussed as related to the study. Ninety

percent of learners involved in the study found that they experienced some kind of

learning through their blogging activities. The majority also stated that there were

positive changes in learning after having blogged for a time, and seemed to agree

that blogging would “generate ideal learning environments, particularly for adult

learners who want to learn informally,” (Park et al, 2011).

Synthesis of Findings

(Horton, 2012) makes little mention of blogging in the educational realm.

There is mention of shared project space for group work; to share reflections,

discoveries, insights, and questions; online access to course content; posting course

announcements; and the like. Aside from linking capabilities and posting of basic

course content, (Horton, 2012) doesn’t seem to be a blog-‐for-‐education advocate,

which raises the question of its usefulness, considering the scope of the reference to

e-‐learning. The reason for this may be because technically, online learning modules

if included on a blogging site would not be considered part of the blog itself, but

rather an independent element to the Web site.

A notable trend throughout the data is lack of much material from which to

draw conclusions (aside from the K-‐12 studies which I opted to mostly leave out of

my research due to identified objectives, as disclosed). The lack of industry interest

as illustrated by very few scholars having arranged such research might be telling.

The wealth of online learning data in other areas as opposed to blogging could be

related to personality types – read/write penchants lead to success, while other

types might not meet with such encouraging learning results. As online learning can


be a tricky thing to take on, it makes sense that educators would rather opt for

agreed upon methodologies with the most data backing their effectiveness than

trying something that has met with less-‐than-‐ideal results. This is understandable,

and could explain the lack of viable data.

The overall impact on my personal plans for blogging was positive. Gaining

perspective from each side allowed me to relax into the process of creation,

knowing that incorporation of learning module and blog might not be the most

effective creation, but it could be a unique offering to differentiate myself, as well as

a free tendering to intrigue clients into upgrading my services. Coming from a

standpoint that my module may play more marketing role than learning is a realistic

perspective, and allows me to accurately analyze its results when the time comes.

I’m confident that my research will guide the learning module-‐blog project in a

valuable and exciting direction.

Of course the current data could be somewhat skewed: studies may not have

been set up properly, participants not selected at random, etcetera. Perhaps the lack

of data intrigues me all the more. I enjoy attempting the leading-‐edge, precocious

endeavor. Simply because no one has proved it yet, does not detract from its

potential. Besides, it’s all in the name of education.


Bibliography Carr, Nora. Blog design and writing tips for newbies. eSchool News. May 2008, July. Downes, S. (2004). Educational blogging. Educause Review. 39(5), 14–26. Horton, W. (2012). E-‐learning by design. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: John Wiley and

Sons, Inc. K. (2007). 10 Steps to better blogs. University Business, 10(11), 65-‐66. Kerawalla, L. L., Minocha, S. S., Kirkup, G. G., & Conole, G. G. (2009). An empirically

grounded framework to guide blogging in higher education. Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 25(1), 31-‐42.

Mason, R. (2006). Learning technologies for adult continuing education. Studies In

Continuing Education, 28(2), 121-‐133. Robertson, J. (2011). The educational affordances of blogs for self-‐directed learning.

Computers & Education, 57(2), 1628-‐1644. Savolainen, R. (2011). Asking and sharing information in the blogosphere: The case

of slimming blogs. Library & Information Science Research. (07408188), 33(1), 73-‐79.

Young, P., Gyeong Mi, H., & Lee, R. (2011). Blogging for informal learning: Analyzing

bloggers’ perceptions using learning perspective. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 14(2), 149-‐160.

http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-‐for-‐educational-‐blogging/ http://edublogs.org/10-‐ways-‐to-‐use-‐your-‐edublog-‐to-‐teach/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edublog http://www.merriam-‐webster.com/dictionary/blog

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