Reflection on Blogging

"is about engaging with the content and with the authors of what you have read—reflecting, criticizing, questioning, reacting". Downes (2004)

After my initial reservations about blogging, I am finding that I am enjoying the process. It is certainly forcing me to analyse and reflect on my learning activities in greater depth. However, at the moment I feel as though it is a one way conversation and definitely not collaborative learning. If the collaborative aspect could somehow be increased then an even deeper level of understanding could be achieved.

A SWOT Analysis is an analytical tool used to encourage thinking about different aspects of a subject, in this case blogging. The four categories in a SWOT Analysis are Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Here is my initial analysis but I will reflect on this further through the week...

Strengths

• could be used as motivating tool to stimulate writing and reading
• a reflective journal in which thought processes can be illuminated
• gives students an equal voice
• can be scaffolded for desired learning outcomes
• can support multimedia
• is easy to use (WYSIWYG)
• individual ownership, take pride in work for larger audience
• an enjoyable tool for children to use

Weaknesses

• children must know what is an appropriate reflection which can be posted on a blog
• may need too much scaffolding
• is not collaborative (Revised...can be collaborative if scaffolded correctly)
• needs to be closely monitored

Opportunities

• encourages students to write
• can encourage integrated learning
• can encourage peer reflection and support

Threats

• learning setting may be contrived and not authentic
• is open to abuse

Added 28/3/11

As I research and participate in blogging each week, I am becoming more enamoured with the benefits provided it is scaffolded to provide optimum learning. 

"Blogging expresses the importance of social and peer interaction as foci of the learning community. Instructors of courses rooted in a knowledge discipline can use blogs to lead students through the foundations of that discipline in order to contextualize real-world experiences. ... Class members further discussion by reading and appraising other students' blogs, commenting on the value or relevance of blog entries to their own experiences, and suggesting additional resources." Glogoff (2005)

Glogoff scaffolds his 'Instructional Blogging'  by setting specific knowledge centred tasks for students to complete via research and analysis.  However the vital part, which makes the learning collaborative, he also requires students to provide positive constructive feedback on three classmates blogs, as well as instructional input from the teacher.   This is the missing ingredient in my blogging journey at the moment and if I were to implement blogging in a primary school environment, this would be scaffolded into the learning experience.

As Glogoff (2005) suggests in this way blogging utilises 'the critical social component of learning central to Vygotsky's (1978) notions of social cognition; Lipman's (1991) concept of a community of inquiry; and Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder's (2002) ideas of community practice.'  This is certainly supported by the collaborative work that the 2011 GDLT students produced on the learning theories wiki.

I stumbled across this wonderful example of a Year 6 Class Blog along with individual Blogs from all class members and Primary Focus, a blog with professional learning development and resource ideas.

References
Downes, S. (2004). Educational blogging. EDUCAUSE Review 39(5), 14–26. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume39/EducationalBlogging/157920
Glogoff, S. (2005). Instructional blogging: Promoting interactivity, student-centered learning, and peer input. Innovate 1 (5). Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=126 (accessed March 28, 2011).
Lipman, M. (1991). Thinking in education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wenger, E., McDermott, R. and Snyder, W.M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.