CA 9.1 – Desktop Research on Blogs

Although now probably somewhat dated the Williams & Jacob (2004) research showed that ‘shows students to be broadly in favour of the continued use of blogs as an effective aid to teaching and learning’ Williams & Jacob (2004, p.11). Compared with wikis Williams & Jacob (2004) suggest that Blogs boast a level of participation not previously experienced and a greater sense of community and debate is encouraged as a consequence. The delayed response to engage with blogs in the UK intimated by Corbyn (2008) suggests that ‘The appeal of academic feedback, as well as the opportunity for public engagement and the potential for enhancing reputations, has those who blog hooked’.

The blogging phenomenon has evolved from its early origin as a medium for the publication of simple, online personal diaries, to the latest disruptive technology, the 'killer app' that has the capacity to engage people in collaborative activity, knowledge sharing, reflection and debate (Hiler, 2003, cited in Williams & Jacob, 2004). There are many different categories that blogs could be grouped into examples range from group blogs, personal blogs, community blogs, and corporate blogs. Some blogs are defined by their content and subject matter expertise. In his own blog Stuart (Brown, 2006) offers an alternative classification system for the blogosphere based on the type of content which is illustrated in the image below.

As this activity aims to categorise blogs encountered in the educational blogosphere my attempts are less elaborate than Brown (2006) and I offer the following for starters:

Personal Learning

Online diaries written by individuals to express an opinion, display research and reflect on the learning journey. They are primarily aimed for personal use although they often have intrinsic value for others who might be studying or researching similar lines of interest. Issues – learners may wish to set up personal learning blogs outside of the learning institutes own VLE which makes it difficult to manage or control access. Some learners might prefer to limit their personal thoughts and reflections to only a small group of other learners. In the case of learning with the OU the blogging tools are very limited when compared with Blogger or WordPress.

Collins, M. (2010) H808 Reflections – The Home Straight, Blog http://collinsmh808.blogspot.com/

Professional Learning

These blogs are aimed at informing a wider community of professional learners on a particular subject matter. Usually written by a subject matter expert who wishes to engage a large following to seek feedback and further develop theories, ideas and put them into practical applications. I have been following Clive for 18 months or so and find his posts extremely interesting and informative. Although I am not sure this is the case in Clive’s blog the main issue I would identify in some professional learning blogs is the content could be seen as absolute and can be taken as the gospel due to trust that is put into the authors professional standing.

Shepherd, C. Clive on learning, Blog http://clive-shepherd.blogspot.com/

Weller, M. The Ed Techie, Blog http://nogoodreason.typepad.co.uk/

Newsworthy

Newsworthy blogs in education and the wider world of learning aim to inform a very large audience of followers. Posts are very topical as authors aim to announcement or review the latest information on new subject matter. Most articles are well balanced and supported with research evidence as news blogs are usually institutional based the potential issue could be a particular bias or favour to one viewpoint.

This Week in Education, http://www.thisweekineducation.com/

JISC News Blog, http://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/

Evangelist

Blogs established by individuals keen to promote their field of interest and encourage others to become involved. They are keen to establish threads that hook the interest of others. Blog posts can be very interesting but in some cases the author aims to be provocative and can breaks away from traditional learning pedagogy. In the example blog Donald Clark takes on a new view point which challenges long established methods of delivery. Whilst this does question our current learning practices the issue here is that it also questions and instils doubt about the value of our current training output.

Clark, D. Plan B, Blog http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/

As seen from the Blog Blackboard image above blogs and blogging offer different meaning and reasons for engagement with others. I am sure there are many more categories that will be introduced by other members of our tutor group this coming week, perhaps others might name them differently or even place the blogs I have identified above into different categories. The thought that I am considering this now goes to show that the range and diversity of the thoughts and views for each individual learner on H808 is valued and creates more online dialogue to help grow my own understanding.

References:

Brown, S. (2006) ‘The Blogging Spectrum - An alternative classification system for the blogosphere’, blog entry posted 8 August, 2006. Available online: http://modernl.com/article/the-blogging-spectrum

Corbyn, Z. (2008) ‘By the blog: academics tread carefully’, Times Higher Education, 9 October 2008. Available from: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=403827 (accessed 6 August 2010).

Hiler, J. (2002). Blogs as disruptive tech: How weblogs are flying under the radar of the content management giants. [Verified 6 June 2004] http://www.webcrimson.com/ourstories/blogsdisruptivetech.htm

Williams, J. B. and Jacobs, J. (2004). Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 20(2), 232-247. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet20/williams.html (Accessed online 30 Dec 2010)