Thursday, August 13, 2009

Blogs and Aggregators...


Hi all,
I always saw blogs as just a simple and boring diary entry on a web page that random people left comments on. How wrong was I!


Blogs are more than just communication tools. Other advantages for education are:
· Ideal for group work, sharing information with peers and receiving constructive feedback from teachers/peers
· A reflective tool for students and teachers
· A form of community news for all to share
· Posting of assignments and classroom topics
· Beneficial for distance/online education
(Blogger, 2009)


I established my first online journal through a free to register site called Blogger. I was pleasantly surprised with the ease it took to set up and how fast I created and posted my first blog (someone even commented on it).

Blogs are a social form of communicating and collaborating with peers and educators. When students collaborate, they become engaged and motivated with learning (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). Social communication also provides the opportunity to experience and learn from diversity (Ashman & Elkins, 2008).

In conclusion, my original views on blogs were very narrow due to my limited knowledge on the subject. However, after being actively involved with the e-learning online activities, I have gained an appreciation for the support blogs give to education. I guess I am constantly learning......

Thank you

Jim Price

Ashman, A., & Elkins, J. (2008). Education for Inclusion and Diversity. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia.

Blogger. (2009). Blogger in the classroom. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from http://www.infinitethinking.org/stuff/Blogger.pdf

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement theory: A framework for technology based teaching and learning. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Photo: www.freedigitalphotos.net

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jim,

    I too thought blogging boring, but wondered ( if that was really the case) why it was so popular.I have since found that I quite enjoy it ( except for the time constraints) and the reflective element helps me considerably.
    I have also joined up to blogs which interest me, and I would never have known about them if not for the course.

    Best
    Mia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Mia,
    The experience so far has been intense, however I have enjoyed blogging and reading other peers blogs. Interesting hearing others views and opinions.
    Thanks
    Jim

    ReplyDelete