In many ways, the integration of the use of blogs within the school system has aided in the development of an educational paradigm that involves more active participation from students, teachers, and even parents. In most places around the world, the advancement of technology in certain areas of education has seen an increase in concern towards the use of various technologies in teaching, including the use of blogs. Recently, the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET) developed and introduced an education system, called BlogED, which aims to engage students more in learning while promoting collaboration and accountability. Blogs are incorporated into the educational program by the Department of Education and Training’s policies on privacy, confidentiality, and acceptable use so that fears of being silly and bullying do not prevent learning and communication among students. This paper presents the benefits of educational blogging and the case for BlogED, and explains why blogs should be used in education.
A blog, short for “weblog”, is largely a website consisting of an online diary or log to which a person can post new information, thoughts and opinions on almost any topic of their choice. For example, in relation to learners, blogs allow students to provide information regarding their studies, ask questions and interact with both peers and instructors. Generally, previous posts are displayed first, while the latest uploads are displayed last. A blog can be made private or public depending on the author’s settings or, in the case of educational blogs, the author’s teacher. The author’s interaction with the audience is perhaps the greatest benefit of a blog. Readers are often able to leave comments on blog posts which in turn enrich the learning experience.
An educational blog takes personal blogging to the next level, primarily for the purpose of classroom discussions. It at the same time allows students to write about their learning, reflect on the subject matter and communicate their thoughts to each other, teachers or even anyone at large. However, educational blogs are more oriented towards learning outcomes and often students are not able to post anything they want as it is supervised by the teacher. This feature of moderation is very important to ensure that students are safe when expressing their thoughts and opinions without fear of being harassed or bullied. Educational blogs are also more interactive and versatile learning tools, encouraging the addition of multimedia components such as photos, videos, external links, among other things.
Blog Ed, a product of the New South Wales Education and Training Department, illustrates these concepts. By uploading their individual blogs on the DET portal, the students enter a chorus familiar and comfortable enough for them to speak their thoughts under the directions of their tutors. This strategy is intended to enhance students’ accountability and stewardship in their learning. All these newly incorporated blogs are in the hands of the teaching staff and all steps are taken to ensure that the educational purpose and children’s safety on the internet are adhered to.
Blogs, and especially educational blogs, have a plethora of advantages in both the teaching and learning aspect. Below, we examine the primary reasons why the use of blogs as a means of teaching activities in education became widely popular.
1. Student Participation: Participation is one of the main examples of the benefits of integrating the education process with the use of blogs. Students today are digital-born; they have always used the Internet as a means of communication or connecting with other forms of content. This kind of attitude is what makes blogs sweet, ghosts offer a practical, active, and lively experience that students want to participate in. For example, there is no limit to how creatively and freely one can present information through blogs, unlike academic work that feels much more mechanical, and in many cases, stuck in a certain way of working.
Apart from fostering creativity, blogs also enable students to communicate effectively with each other by reading each other’s posts and contributing comments or even forming groups to blog together. Such interaction and engagement improves the quality of learning by ensuring that students become active participants rather than mere recipients of information.
2. Audience value in authenticity: One of the most important aspects of blogs in the educational system is that students’ work can reach a larger and more genuine audience than teachers. When it comes to writing essays or doing any other assignments, students mostly think of the teacher as the only audience. However, in the case of writing in a blog, this audience is not limited to a single teacher and can include classmates, parents, and even people from across the world. To some extent, knowing that someone else will read his/her post brings a sense of responsibility which in turn forces students to be careful and thoughtful in whatever they write.
Another form of audience participation by students is when students are given feedback by other students and even the readers themselves which increases the authenticity of the learning process. It doesn’t matter if the feedback is just an encouragement or some attacks, with the audience, the student learns to communicate in general as well as appreciate other people’s ideas and points of view, and even move to question their own work.
3. Ownership and responsibility for learning: Students get the chance to express their learning in a personal way in blogs encouraging ownership of the content they create. Engaging with the content improves learning, especially when students post their thoughts about how to best express their understanding of the content in the post. This is particularly useful in subjects that require a lot of thinking, for example English or the humanities, but it can also work in any field from science to the arts.
Within this, the possibility of blogging which has no limits gives students the chance to research issues and areas of study to a much greater extent than is possible in a classical written assignment. For example, instead of simply writing an essay on a particular topic, they may examine related ideas, provide additional links to other information, or even include videos and other multimedia content.
4. Nurturing learning networks: One feature of educational blogging that stands out and has a lot of potential is the creation of learning communities. A blog expands a student or teacher’s interaction not only with members of a class but also with other students, teachers, and even individuals from different continents. For example, such a network of learning encourages collaboration and help, as students can read and comment on each other’s blogs, share ideas, and ask each other questions.
As far as teachers are concerned, blogs can be used in such a way that they are used to promote discussions among students and their participation in collaborative work, which is essential for honing their cognitive and interaction skills. In addition, teachers can use blogs for professional networking with fellow teachers with the aim of exchanging ideas and working on activities that will benefit students. The blogging style supports an interactive moment that can be maintained indefinitely where member activities can take place as students become teachers.
5. Enhancement of Literacy and Digital Literacy Skills: Blog writing makes for a very effective practice tool for enhancing writing literacy skills. Students need to know how to express their ideas in writing in order to be understood, this is helpful not only in education but also in workplaces. Furthermore, the use of pictures, short videos and other media with blogs fosters creativity in students as they become adept at integrating various informational technologies, which, in turn, is an important aspect of today’s society.
Bridging the skills gap in information and communication technology is equally important for students living in the 21st century and I think blogging also provides relevant contexts in which these skills can be developed. All these processes prepare students to develop and use effective digital strategies, from learning how to cut and paste information to the need to respect copyright laws in ordering and using images and footage. In many professions, these skills are the basis for further career development, and they help students keep up with the level of technologization of the contemporary labor market.
6. Promoting critical literacy skills: Let us recall the digital age we live in, where information is abundant and can be accessed within seconds, to say the least; students need to be trained on how to verify the credibility of such information found on the Internet more than ever. Here, the proper use of blogs in education can also be helpful in improving students’ critical literacy skills as they have to look at the validity of information not only in their own research but also in their own and their peers’ blog posts. In relation to these ideas, blogs promote the application of critical thinking skills as students engage with the content, which in turn encourages students to become informed and selective evaluators of information – a skill set that would be beneficial in adult schooling and working environments.
Teachers have a vital role in developing educational blogs for their students. As part of the New South Wales BlogED ecosystem, teachers create and manage blogs, ensuring that all content and comments are in line with what is set out in the DET Online Code of Conduct. This is important if conversations need to be respectful, as it also helps some children express their creativity.
There are other examples of situations in which the use of blogs can be integrated: Alongside work, i.e. in support of the primary school curriculum. For example, a teacher could initiate postterm discussions on a class blog where students are encouraged to comment about lessons learned over the week and post pertinent content or questions for fellow class members. Such efforts allow students to engage with learning materials other than just in class, using technologies that make the learning process more interesting.
One of the notable benefits of the various uses of blogs in education is the involvement of the learners’ parents in their education. For example, if a blog is made public for them they can read their posts and respond to them. This makes parents more aware of what happens in the classroom, making teaching and learning intelligent, thereby strengthening the connection between school and home. Such involvement is especially important because parents who are drawn to their child’s blog can help and encourage their child to study without distractions. Furthermore, this extends to the students’ parents talking to teachers through blogs, which makes the process more fulfilling because everyone is working toward the same goal.
Blogs are an effective means of promoting students’ learning, discovering new ways to engage them, and improving communication. NSW DET’s BlogED blogs provide a controlled and secure environment for teachers, parents and students in which they can learn and share their experiences safely. Teachers’ blogs, among other things, promote student engagement and responsibility, help develop learning communities and improve digital literacy. When used in classroom situations, learning blogs will be able to deliver relevant and developmentally oriented learning experiences in the 21st century.
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