February 2004 — Features
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Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere'
Research suggests that many of these advantages can also be afforded by asynchronous discussion forums. At one level we would agree, because both tools are very similar. As such, many of the same research-based findings about discussion forums would hypothetically apply to blogs. Blogs, therefore, represent the potential to promote interactivity, provide opportunities for active learning, increase student and teacher relationships, increase higher-order thinking skills, and improve flexibility in teaching and learning (Ferdig and R'ehler, Unpublished).
On the other hand, blogs provide an environment that is more advanced than simple discussion forums. According to O'Shea (1999), technology can offer ways for students to establish personal and intellectual ownership of new concepts while they visualize and interact with abstract ideas. A blog essentially becomes a student's personal online soapbox. Unlike a discussion forum that is shared by many, a blog gives students full control and ownership over their online content. It becomes a virtual space to try out new concepts that do not have to fit within a hierarchical or topic-based discussion forum.
Blood (2002) further explicates how blogs are different, citing the hyperlink and the frequency of content updates. The hyperlink plays a more important role in a blog because the hyperlinks are designed to stretch outward into the Web to bring news stories, comments, pictures and other items outside of the host's server to the audience. In addition, the hyperlink is used as supporting information for any claim or commentary that the blogger makes on his or her page. Through the hyperlink to the source material, the reader can decide whether or not what the blogger wrote is in line with his or her own beliefs. Blood also suggests that a blog is designed to be visited frequently. This concept is represented by the reverse chronological order of the posts that allow readers to easily identify the most recent posts made to the page since the last visit.
This themed issue of T.H.E. Journal is focused on "using technology to deliver content." One normally thinks of content delivery systems when discussing this topic. In this day and age of constructivist pedagogy - focusing on the students' meaning making - using technology to deliver content should also be seen as using technology to help students create content. Blogs allow students to take ownership of their learning and publish authentic artifacts containing their thoughts and understandings. Blogs also provide a way for students to individualize their content; thus, help us rethink using technology to deliver content.
Practical Suggestions for Implementing Blogs
Blogs can be incorporated into any type of class for all reading- and writing-aged students. They can be used as a knowledge-management tool where teachers and students communicate with each other through the course of the semester, or as a tool to bring reflections or outside material into the class for everyone's benefit. Following are a number of practical suggestions that provide a good environment for successful blog integration.
Consider blogging yourself. Many institutions encourage their faculty and staff to take an online class before teaching one. The obvious benefit is that the instructor sees what it is like to use the technology prior to being on the other side of the virtual desk. The same rule applies for blogging: Take the time to understand blogging and the different possibilities of blogs before using them in the classroom.
