Blogging for Teaching and Learning: An Examination of Experience, Attitudes, and Levels of Thinking

Abstract

Blogs have been widely used in education since their emergence. Educational researchers and practitioners have integrated blogs into teaching and learning in different subject areas, but does blog use encourage critical thinking? This paper presents a study, which explores peer commenting for critical thinking in blog writing. In order to discover blogging for skill development, survey method and focus group were employed in this study. Results of blog content analysis indicate levels of critical thinking remain constant with or without peer commenting. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided for effective use of blogs for instruction.

Keywords

• Blogging, Critical thinking, Attitude, Experience, Pre-service teacher

References

1. Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teaching and learning? Educause Review, 41(2), 32–44. Retrieved on December 30, 2011 from http://www.educause.edu/ ir/library/pdf/erm0621.pdf.
2. Aviv, R., Erlich, Z., Ravid, G., & Geva, A. (2003). Network analysis of knowledge construction in asynchronous learning networks. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Net- works, 7(3), 1- 23.
3. Blood, R. (2000). Weblogs: A history and perspective. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
4. Chong, E. K. (2010). Using blogging to enhance the initiation of students into academic research. Computers & Education, 55(2), 798-807. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.03.012
5. Chu, S. K. W., Chan, C. K. K., & Tiwari, A. F. Y. (2012). Using blogs to support learning during internship. Computers & Education, 58(3), 989–1000. –
6. Churchill, D. (2009). Educational applications of Web 2.0: Using blogs to support teaching and learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(1), 179–183.
7. Coutinho, C. P. (2007). Cooperative learning in higher education using weblogs: A study with undergraduate students of education in Portugal. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Education and Information Systems, Technologies and Applications (EISTA) (pp. 60–64). Orlando: EUA. Julho.
8. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Los Angeles: Sage.

9. Dallimore, E. J., Hertenstein, J. H., & Platt, M. B. (2004). Classroom participation and discussion effectiveness: Student-generated strategies. Communication Education, 53(1), 103–115.
10. Deng, L., & Yuen, H. K. (2011). Toward a framework for educational affordances of blogs. Computers & Education, 56(2), 441–451.
11. Ellison, N., & Wu, Y. (2008). Blogging in the Classroom: A Preliminary exploration of student attitudes and impact on comprehension. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 17(1), 99–122.
12. Fessakis, G., Tatsis, K., & Dimitracopoulou, A. (2008). Supporting “learning by design” activities using group blogs. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(4), 199–212.
13. Freeman, W. & Brett, C. (2012). Prompting authentic blogging practice in an online graduate course. Computers & Education, 59(3), 1032–1041.
14. Garrison, D. R. (1992) Critical thinking and self-directed learning in adult education: An analysis of responsibility and control issues. Adult Education Quarterly, 42(3), 136–148.
15. Good, J. M. & Whang, P. A. (2002). Encouraging reflection in pre-service teachers through response journals. The Teacher Educator, 37(4), 254–267.
16. Gorsky, P. (2011). Hidden structures in asynchronous course forums: Toward a golden ratio population parameter. Proceedings of Ninth International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning: Connecting Computer Supported Collaborative Learning to Policy and Practice. Center for Information Technology in Education, University of Hong Kong.
17. Gorsky, P., & Blau, I. (2009). Effective online teaching: A tale of two instructors. International Review of Research on Distance Learning, 10(3). Retrieved on October 29, 2012 from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/712/1270
18. Gorsky, P., Caspi, A., Antonovsky, A., Blau, I., & Mansur, A. (2010). The relationship between academic discipline and dialogic behavior in Open University course forums. International Review of Research on Distance Learning, 11(2). Retrieved on October 29, 2012 from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/820/1546
19. Gorsky, P., Caspi, A., & Blau, I. (2011). Communities of inquiry in higher education asynchronous course forums: Toward a population parameter. Manuscript submitted for publication.
20. Halic, O., Lee, D., Paulus, T., & Spence, M. (2010). To blog or not to blog: Student perceptions of blog effectiveness for learning in a college-level course. The Internet and Higher Education, 13, 206–213.
21. Henri, F. (1991) Computer conferencing and content analysis, In C. O’Malley (ed.), Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
22. Hew, K., Cheung, W., & Ng, C. (2010). Student contribution in asynchronous online discussion: a review of the research and empirical exploration. Instructional Science, 38(6), 571– 606. doi:10.1007/s11251-008-9087-0
23. Huang, T. C., Huang,, Y. M., & Yu, F. Y. (2011). Cooperative weblog learning in higher education: Its facilitating effects on social interaction, time lag, and cognitive load. Educational Technology & Society, 14(1), 95–106.
24. Hurlburt, S. (2008). Defining tools for a new learning space: writing and reading class blogs. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(2). Retrieved on December 30, 2011, from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no2/hurlburt0608.htm
25. Lenhart, A., Simon, M., & Graziano, M. (2001). The Internet and Education: Findings of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew Internet & American Life Project, Washington, DC. Retrieved on December 30, 2011 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/ contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED457849
26. Levin, B. B., He, Y., & Robbins, H. H. (2006). Comparative analysis of preservice teachers’ reflective thinking in synchronous versus asynchronous online case discussions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 14(3), 439–460.
27. Lim, S. C., Cheung, W. S., & Hew, K. F. (2011). Critical thinking in asynchronous online discussion: An investigation of student facilitation techniques. New Horizons in Education, 59(1), 52–65.
28. Loving, C. C., Schroeder, C., Kang, R., Shimek, C., & Herbert, B. (2007). Blogs: Enhancing links in a professional learning community of science and mathematics teachers. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education , 45(4), 323–333.
29. Lu, L. L., & Jeng, I. (2006). Knowledge construction in inservice teacher online discourse: Impacts of instructor roles and facilitative strategies. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(2), 183–202.
30. McConnell, D. (1999). Examining a collaborative assessment process in networked lifelong learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 15(3), 232–243.
31. Nelson, J., Christopher, A., & Mims, C. (2009). TPACK and Web 2.0: Transformation of teaching and learning. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 53(5), 80–87. doi:10.1007/s11528-009-0329-z
32. Newman, D. R., Webb, B., & Cochrane, C. (1995). A content analysis method to measure critical thinking in face-to-face and computer supported group learning. Interpersonal Computing and Technology, 3(2), 56–77. –
33. Pinkman, K. (2005). Using blogs in the foreign language classroom. JALT CALL Journal , 1(1), 12– 24.
34. Scheidt, L. A. (2009). Diary weblogs as genre (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved on December 30, 2011 from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.154.3724 &rep=rep1&type=pdf
35. Shoffner, M. (2008). Informal reflection in pre-service teacher education. Reflective Practice, 9(2), 123–134.
36. Sim, J. W. S., & Hew, K. F. (2010). The use of weblogs in higher education settings: A review of empirical research. Educational Research Review, 5(2), 151–163.
37. Stefanac, S. (2006). Dispatches from blogistan: A travel guide for the modern blogger. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
38. Wang, Q. (2008). Student-facilitators’ roles in moderating online discussions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 859–874.
39. Weerkamp, W. & de Rijke, M. (2008). Credibility improves topical blog post retrieval. In Proceedings of the 46th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics: Human Language Technologies (ACL-08: HLT) (pp. 923-931). Stroudsburg, PA: Association for Computational Linguistics.
40. Williams, J. B. & 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.
41. Xie, Y., Ke, F., & Sharma, P. (2007). The effect of peer feedback for blogging on college students’ reflective learning processes. The Internet and Higher Education, 11(4), 18–25.
42. Xie, Y., Ke. F. & Sharma, P. (2010). The effect of peer-interaction styles in team blogging on students’ cognitive thinking and blog participation. Journal of Educational Computing Research. 42(4), 459–479.
43. Yang, S.-H. (2009). Using blogs to enhance critical reflection and community of practice. Educational Technology & Society, 12(2), 11–21.
44. Yang, C. & Chang, Y. S. (2012). Assessing the effects of interactive blogging on student attitudes toward peer interaction, learning motivation, and academic achievements. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(2), 126–135.
45. Zeng, X. & Harris, S. T. (2005). Blogging in an online health information technology class. Perspectives in Health Information Management. 2:6. Retrieved on February 26, 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2047310/.
46. Correspondence: Kun Li, Doctoral Candidate, Instructional Technology Program, The Gladys W.
47. and David H. Patton College of Education, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, United States