Online Discussion Versus the Blog

Is there anything that online discussion does better than blogs can do in teaching and learning?

Blogs are personal, learner focused tools that are designed for learner directed and orchestrated activity. A blogger has the ability to determine subject matter, customize design, organize content, edit current and past work, and delete unwelcome comments from the blog space at will. Blogs can simultaneously be focused on the educational application, while still retaining the self-directed, internal focus of the owner. For example, the blog enhances social presence by exposing the learner’s affective response through the self disclosure evident in the earlier, perhaps unrelated postings, the links and the graphics they chose to exhibit on their blogs (Anderson & Cameron, 2006). I find the blog a good tool for management and promoting ideas, it can also give each person their ‘personal space’ but I don’t find it an engaging tool to teach with (as a communication tool).It is good as a journal, as discussing an idea or promoting services/products but not for learning or teaching with as I find it abit slow based . I think the virtual class/Java script, Skype, Msn or even discussion forum is a better way to learn online as it is a faster stimulant. Personally doing projects in teamwork, I have used social software as Msn and Skype to communicate and share ideas. The blog doesn’t stimulate as much discussion and the posts seem like a guest book for comments rather than a brainstorm of ideas branching from one topic and further establishing.Ferdig and Trammell (2004) discuss the public nature of educational blogging and argue that, “blogging opens up assignments beyond the teacher-student relationship, allowing the world to grade students and provide encouragement or feedback on their writings.” The infinite potential for comment on their work can be at once intimidating and encouraging for learners and will have implications for how learners want to be perceived by this larger audience. Widening of the audience obviously affects the potential for developing identity but could also result in exchanges that may negatively impact learner confidence as their words are released to anyone on the open Net.Will Richardson (2004) asks the question, “Could blogging be the needle that sews together what is now a lot of learning in isolation with no real connection among the disciplines?” and suggests that blogging has the potential to teach learners “how” to learn. Stephen Downes(2004) argues that “despite obvious appearances, blogging isn’t really about writing at all; that’s just the end point of the process, the outcome that occurs more or less naturally if everything else has been done right. Blogging is about, first, reading. But more important, it is about reading what is of interest to you: your culture, your community, your ideas” (Downes, 2004).Do you think you would atempt to use blogging as a teaching tool or would you use another tool more adapted to your learning style?

Reference

Ferdig, R. & Trammell, K.D. (2004) Content delivery in the blogosphere. The Journal. http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16626Downes, S. (2004)

Educational Blogging. EDUCAUSE Review. http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp

Richardson, W. (2004) Reading and blogging. Weblogg-Ed.from http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2004/03/31.