Learning Guide: Blogs

Learning Guide: Blogs

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Describe the Tool – A blog is a special kind of website consisting of regular entries or posts arranged in reverse chronological order. Bloggers will write their entries about their topics to share with individuals with similar interests. Instructors use blogs to give students information about the course, assignments, discussions, lectures, and other useful information as a powerful way to engage students in the subject matter. According to Zandi, Thang & Krish (2014), blogs are an innovative technology that supports students learning and allows teachers to interact with students using online technology.

Effective Instruction – Blogs allow students to share their own perspective and experiences while learning from other classmates. In order for instructors to use blogs effectively they must be willing to let students take ownership of their learning, encourage creativity, allow students to address their audience, and provide feedback to students to increase their learning in the digital world. An example of using blogs for instruction is creating an online journal for students that will be an advantage for teachers in three different ways. First, blogs are accessible to readers. Second, blogs not only have personal uses, but also is used for interactive and collaborative purposes. Finally, blogs can provide functions for immediate editing (Suzuki, 2004).

Strategies for Integration – Instructors will have a positive experience with blogs if they believe that it increases engagement by integrating technology to help students with writing and creative thinking. Therefore, instructors can still use teaching methods for writing and creative thinking however they are able to use technology and integrate it into the classroom.

How to Get Started – Instructors who wish to use blogs in their classrooms will need to decide what the students will accomplish by blogging and how will it support their learning outcomes, what type of writing will they do, if they will use their personal blog or collaborate using one blog as a class, and what type of platform they will use. An example of a blogging platform would be WordPress, Blogger, or even Tumblr. Instructors can access blog content by evaluating individual entries (discussion posts) or assignments using a rubric to allow for streamlined assessment. 

The Following websites are a good reference for learning about blogs:

https://www.buildyourownblog.net/
https://firstsiteguide.com/what-is-blog/
https://www.digitalmarketingradio.com/how-to-start-a-successful-blog

References

Suzuki, R. (2004). Diaries as introspective research tools: From Ashton Warner to blogs. Teaching as a Second or Foreign Language 8(1). Retrieved from: http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume8/ej29/ej29int/


Zandi, P., Thang, S.M., & Krish, P. (2014). Teacher professional through blogging: Some preliminary findings. Social and Behavioral Sciences 118, pp. 530-536. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814016024


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