Welcome to my first blog!!! It is interesting that the essence of this ground breaking first blog of mine, is to discuss blogging, comparing it with discussion boards (which I have used before) and look at pros and cons of blogging. From what I have read so far, blogging can be used in several ways to support
adult education. I do hope that I will be able to use it wisely and effectively.
Blogging is similar to discussion boards activities. However, although there are many similarities with discussion board activities there are some differences. One similarity between a blog and a discussion board activity is that readers can comment on posted entries, which are dated. Another similarity is that they both allow for reflective practice by the author and also persons who write on the blog. Oravec (2002) also highlighted that educators can use blogs as sources of information on important topics and as modes of online classroom interaction. Again, this is similar to how discussion board activities are generally used.
The main difference between a blog and a discussion board activity is that the blog is accessible by the public worldwide, whilst the discussion board usually is designed to be private and are usually a part of a LMS. Once a blog is created and exist on the web, then it is there for public viewing. The blogger is not then able to restrict who can access it (although I have seen where one can use the options to limit readers' ability to comment). Another subtle difference that I have noted is the reverse chronological listing of entries in a blog, which is not the same for the discussion board activities that I have participated in. According to King and Cox (2011), blogs allow for entries to be searched, archived and categorized.
Blogging is similar to discussion boards activities. However, although there are many similarities with discussion board activities there are some differences. One similarity between a blog and a discussion board activity is that readers can comment on posted entries, which are dated. Another similarity is that they both allow for reflective practice by the author and also persons who write on the blog. Oravec (2002) also highlighted that educators can use blogs as sources of information on important topics and as modes of online classroom interaction. Again, this is similar to how discussion board activities are generally used.
The main difference between a blog and a discussion board activity is that the blog is accessible by the public worldwide, whilst the discussion board usually is designed to be private and are usually a part of a LMS. Once a blog is created and exist on the web, then it is there for public viewing. The blogger is not then able to restrict who can access it (although I have seen where one can use the options to limit readers' ability to comment). Another subtle difference that I have noted is the reverse chronological listing of entries in a blog, which is not the same for the discussion board activities that I have participated in. According to King and Cox (2011), blogs allow for entries to be searched, archived and categorized.
Blogging
like other forms of technology can play a significant role in adult
learning. However, it has pros and
cons (which are similar to other forms of technology). One advantage is its use
in reflective practice and journaling. On the other hand, the major drawback is the inability to
control who views/accesses the blog – although this has certain positive
aspects to blogging as well.
King, K. P., & Cox, T. D. (Eds.). (2011). The
professor's guide to taming technology: Leveraging digital media, Web
2.0, and more for learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Oravec, J.A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog
applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,
45(7), 616-621.
I liked your blog. It was really easy to read with the black letters against the white background; I am afraid mine might be a tad difficult to read so I may look for a better template.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the blog allows for reflective practice on behalf of the writer as well as those wishing to comment. I enjoy writing so this is a good thing for me; I know others though do not share those same feelings. One thing I did notice though when I began to make a comment on the post is that there is just a box to make the comment without a spellcheck or chance to change the font, etc. I decided to write my comment in Word and then copy and paste. There is nothing wrong I think with doing that but just takes more time that I did not do when I commented on a discussion board post.
One thing I like about blogs that you mentioned is the fact that entries can be “searched, archived and categorized.” This would be very handy when one is looking for something without having to go through the entire board.
The drawback you mentioned about blogging I think rings true. One does not have the ability to control who sees his/her post since it is on the Internet and not blocked by any passwords like a class discussion board is. Foster (2015) states that blogs “have facilitated the instantaneous act of micropublishing for hundreds of millions of people” in which the writer can really write anything he/she wishes.
Reference:
Foster, D. (2015). Private journals versus public blogs: The impact of peer readership on low-stakes reflective writing. Teaching Sociology, 43(2), 104-114.
I noticed the spell check thing too. The fact that the box only shows 4 lines at a time also forces me to do the 'type elsewhere' tactic too.
DeleteMurphy,
ReplyDeleteWe share the same experience…first time bloggers! We are for sure learning some new technological skills that will allow us to broaden our toolkit. I do think that blogs and discussion boards have quite a bit of similarities but one difference I am noticing since we started our blogs, that is a small benefit of discussion boards, is that the conversations are consolidated in one place. Now that we all have our own blog page, we have to go to each individual’s site to see if something new has been posted in order to engage in a discussion. Even though the discussion boards house all the conversations in one place as a source of convenience, I do like that blogs are much easier to follow since the threads are separate.
You noted that blogging has the potential to play a significant role in adult learning however according to Santos (2011), the practical use of blogs as a tool in, for instance, education, has not yet been widely explored or utilized to its full extent. My question to this statement is why? Blogs have been around since the 90’s, what is taking so long for this type of technology to soar in the world of adult education.
Danella
Santos, A. (2011). Blogs As A Learning Space: Creating Text Of Talks. Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER), 4(6), 15-20. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.19030/
cier.v4i6.4382
I suppose like everything else, it takes time to be fully integrated. I presume the use of Powerpoint took a while to be fully integrated into classrooms; now it is 'par for the course'. From my own particular situation, in Jamaica, I assess that the lack of internet penetration in many of our schools has retarded technology use generally, but blogs specifically.
DeleteWell, you do have some control over who can read and comment on your blog. Check out here: https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/42673?hl=en
ReplyDeleteOh, I just found it. Thanks.
DeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteI have noticed the same thing in regards to the lack of spell check. I have been doing the same thing, typing in word and copying it over to here. This is definitely a difference between blogs and discussion boards and I would go as far as saying a disadvantage.
Danella
Murphy,
ReplyDeleteLike HK said there is a little control over who can read the blog, but I think generally speaking the point of the blog is for it to be visible to the world wide web. Like King & Cox suggest it can be used, "as a network to engage with professionals who share similar interests" (2011, p. 91). I think as a teacher you have to decide what you want and choose the medium that fits your plans. If you want your students to begin to network or create a visible portfolio then a blog would be a wise choice. If you wanted to be able to have candid and private conversations that are safe from the prying eyes of others, then a discussion board would be a better option. They do both have their pros and cons, but I think that just applies to you as a teacher deciding what you want to get out of the assignment.
-DeAnna
Good point. In fact, the value of using both types of technology is becoming more apparent to me. Unfortunately, my military has no LMS, so a weblog is the type of technology that is available to me at the moment; I continue to try to grasp how to utilize it the best way to achieve my desired outcomes.
Deletemurphy did you look at our reading from Oravec 2002 how do you respond to her quote on p618 about an educator's responsibility when it comes to privacy on the internet
ReplyDelete"Yet another problem
involves privacy. Educators should discuss
some of the privacy-related dimensions of weblogs
with students, both to make them aware of their
online audience in practical terms and to explore
the important ethical issues involved."
Oravec, J.A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621.