Analytical Essay
By Leah Skinner
In Histories of Blogging, Highfield (2017, pp331) argues for the blogosphere as a collaborative platform of discourse; Rettberg (2008, pp. 57) argues that bloggers aren’t just creating diary entries, they’re writing for a global audience; and, Dumova (2012, pp. 250) suggests blogs are platforms that allow people to engage, connect, converse, share, and collaborate with others. It seems only natural then, that blogs, due to their communicative and collaborative nature, could support educational environments (Blair and Serafini, 2014, pp. 28). The Internet and the emergence of web 2.0 technologies have certainly provided immense opportunities for communication and collaboration in educational settings across the Internet and the web (Blair and Serafini, 2014, pp28). So much so, that technology is ubiquitous, requiring a special focus for ways in which, education in particular, can adopt technology into pedagogy (Tomei, 2011, pp12). As Tomei (2011, pp.13) argues, technology has substantial value in education as it leads to higher levels of learning, enhances peer-to-peer and peer-to-faculty collaboration and communication which enhances peer engagement and forms relationships. Further still, when coupling technology with the mechanics of social networking sites, educational settings become communities of practice (Byington, 2011). This paper aims to analyse how instructional blogs, when employed as learning management systems, form communities of practice that enhance the ways in which students’ and teachers communicate and collaborate.
Blogs offer a decentralised communication channel outside of formal learning centres that emulate social networking sites and enhance peer communication and collaboration. The ubiquitous nature of technology naturally means that we need to integrate new pedagogical methods that see technology and online learning merge and form new structures (Tomei, 2011, pp. 12). Bugawa and Mirzal (2018, pp. 5) documented this paradigm shift from Deebom and Amaso’s research (as cited in Bugawa and Mirzal, 2018, pp.5) and discovered that education is moving from “teacher-centred learning” to “student-centred learning” environments (2018, pp. 11). Further review of several theorists’ support blogs as a tool that enhance student participation and therefore enriches learning experiences (2018, pp. 18). It is evidenced that web 2.0 tools such as blogs are useful in educational settings due to the emergence of Millennials particularly because of the engagement with technology in our everyday lives (2018, pp. 10). Blair and Serafini (2014, pp28) discuss the need to adopt new teaching practices that leverage the emergence of technology and social networking sites into educational landscapes. They suggest that the emergence of social media has created not only an expectation for its adoption into everyday activities, millennials seek it out and unless or until educators embrace these technologies and platforms we simply can’t expect extensive engagement with peers, instructor’s, or materials (2014, pp. 31). Through the adoption of social learning practices, educators can offer education through mobile devices which enable a social networking style of communication and collaboration (2014, pp. 31). Blogs, they say, offer a viable medium as they are easy to use, support multi-media, offer autonomy and collaboration, and they can operate alongside of, and outside of, classroom settings (2014, pp.30). Because of the informal nature of blogs, as opposed to a classroom setting or a centralised discussion board like Blackboard, students are more confident to participate which encourages collaborative opportunities where student’s will comment, follow, and link in with their peers (2014, pp. 30). Shy and introverted students are also more likely to engage and participate in conversations online than in a formal class setting including centralised learning management systems like Blackboard (Bugawa and Mirzal, 2018, pp. 2-3). By integrating blogs into pedagogy, teacher’s and students have more ways in which they can communicate and collaborate together across learning materials, and on projects.
Blogs provide a platform to interact, collaborate, and communicate with others due to Web 2.0 software like RSS feeds and API’s (O’Reilly, 2005, pp.6). RSS, or rich site summary, is a technology that utilises extensible markup language (XML) to pull data from various sites and deliver it to an aggregator or feeder software directly to a desktop or mobile device (Goodwin-Jones, 2003, pp. 12). What this means for education in particular is that students can subscribe to various sites- which may be an extension to learning materials or be sites of interest- including peer blogs and the blogs of instructor’s and alumni, to stay connected and to receive notification of new content (Lee, Miller, and Newnham, 2008, pp. 315). This offers opportunities for students to communicate and collaborate on shared content with additional foci that can add to peer and instructor discussions (2008, pp. 315-317). This software is also time-saving as the student or teacher is no longer required to visit each site separately (2008, pp. 315). Instead, new data arrives in the aggregator or feeder and can be saved for perusal at a time that best suits the user. For teachers, this technology can prove an effective way to enhance communication with students. When a teacher subscribes to their students’ blog, they can be notified of new content- which may be creative in nature; may contribute to discussions on learning materials, or; may be reflective of materials which offer insight into the student’s understanding of the subject (2008, 315-317). By viewing posts, teachers have the opportunity to gauge student understand and contribute to the discussion by commenting to show support or encourage further discussion. API’s, or Application Programming Interface, is similarly a time-saving collaborative technology that allows websites to “piggyback” off other websites (Proffitt, 2013, pp. 1-2). In terms of blogs, and their use in education, API’s offer the opportunity for students to add features into their blogs including YouTube videos, podcasts, and pictures from sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Flickr (2013, pp. 1-2). Similarly, this function works in reverse, in that, blogs can link up with other sites, and posts can be shared directly and simultaneously across other platforms and social network sites as mentioned afore. Because of this, blogs truly capture the shift from a static web 1.0 to a collaborative web 2.0 as students opt in to creating dynamic pages with content that links in with other blogs and sites, allowing for opportunities to collaborate and communicate with their peers across the web (Arya and Mishra, 2012, pp. 28). RSS feeds and API’s offer new ways to communicate and collaborate with peers, instructors, and unit materials, extending learning and enhancing participation.
Communities of practice formed through blog sites create a network for teachers to enhance learning materials, increase collaborative efforts for pedagogical methods, and offers communication channels for teacher and student support (Byington, 2011). Byington (2011, pp. 280) argues for the implementation of blogs as decentralised communication platforms to offer peer support and for adding value to pedagogy. She goes on to say that “[a]n online community of practice provides a forum for professionals to exchange ideas and discuss concerns related to the profession” (Byington, 2011, pp. 282). By providing an individualised platform, teachers can create a portfolio of applied materials with commentary that supports how and if pedagogical methods have worked. Blogs, therefore, are an effective tool for sharing expertise (2011, pp. 283). Similarly, blog posts can support comments which creates a running exchange of dialogue that can further enhance and support learning strategies, methods, and ideas (Rettberg, 2011, pp. 283). As each user comments and builds to the community exchange, new ideas form through collaborations. Because each post is associated with a permalink (Arya & Mishra, 2012, pp. 31), blog posts provide a “persistent” link in the blogosphere which transcends traditional conversations, and can be searched for later reference and use (Rettberg, 2008, pp. 65). By using an online platform, teachers can collaborate on teaching strategies and methods across the globe, adopting new ideas and sharing experiences (Byington, 2011, pp 283-284). Offering an online forum is also cost- effective, and is not restricted to time or space (2011, pp. 281). Teachers can also link to other sites and blogs by using hyperlinks, trackbacks, and a blogroll which associates affiliate sites and sites of interest that may enhance and support communication with other bloggers, educators, and other likewise supporting materials (Dumova, 2012, pp. 257). Reeves and Gomm (2012, pp. 53) documented in their research the integration of blogs into the pedagogy of an art course at the University for Creative Arts so as to determine if in fact a community of practice evolved, and if this supported student participation (2012, pp50). Their findings suggest that students not only enjoyed using blogs as part of their course, they engaged more with peers, contributed to conversations, and collaborated with both peers and instructors on projects (2012, pp. 53). Blogs also presented as public portfolios for students which in some cases led to employment in the arts field (2012, pp. 53). They particularly noted that “blogs have a significant potential to improve [students’] learning experiences through…increased opportunities for communication and feedback from both tutors and peers” (Reeves and Gomm, 2012, 69).
Communities of practice formed through blogs enhance opportunities for participation and lead to improved communication and collaboration with peers in an informal setting. Blogs, as an educational platform, support student engagement and project-based learning. By integrating blogs as decentralised learning management systems, students can utilise web 2.0 technologies to communicate and collaborate with peers and instructors in new ways that adopt social networking practices. Video, images, audio, and other links to other blogs and sites extend discourse past learning materials through collaborative technologies and platforms. By applying and sharing individual ideas through blogs, opportunities for communication and collaboration occur where students discover new materials and new ways of thinking that can enhance learning experiences. By engaging with others in critique and extending on ideas in new ways with the opportunity to add further links, blogs have changed the way students and instructors communicate and collaborate independently and together.
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