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THE USE OF WEBLOGS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: BENEFITS AND BARRIERS - Coggle…
THE USE OF WEBLOGS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: BENEFITS AND BARRIERS
Weblogs
are personal web pages written in chronological order and maintained through a specific software that helps their administration
From an educational point of view
, weblogs are the development of traditional learning logs for students and teachers, whether as a complement to traditional lectures or as a e-learning tool.
A learning log is a tightly focused academic journal that is created as the student becomes knowledgeable on an individually assigned topic.
TYPES
Based on two dimensions:
Style
: here are the interactive weblogs and the closed weblogs mostly based on whether
the weblog author allows for comments on the weblog
Content
: personal topics, political/social/economic commentaries, information technology, etc.
Eight types of weblogs
: the professional journalist; the non-traditional journalist; bloggers focused on a specific theme (movement, event, topic or interest); the education community; the self-expression/journaling crowd; the business/marketing/promotion community; business weblogs behind the firewall; and the experimenters and innovators.
Instructor weblog
: weblogs written by instructors are mainly used as an additional communication channel to share information with students.
Student weblog
: weblogs written by students are basically learning weblogs or project weblogs.
USES
Documenting one’s life; providing commentary and opinions; expressing deeply felt emotions; articulating ideas through writing; and forming and maintaining community forums.
Improving writing skills, encouraging reflective writing, reading student weblogs for assessment, sharing resources and ideas, recording progress and process, course administration, group work, etc.
Standard class web pages (class times, syllabus, etc.); professor-written weblogs which cover interesting developments that relate to the theme of the course; organization of in-class discussion; organization of intensive seminars where students have to provide weekly summaries of the readings; and requiring students to write their own weblogs as part of their grade.
ADVANTAGES
Are easy to setup and administrate
Weblogs makes easier to publish all types of resources (text, images, video, etc.)
allow instant publishing with just one click
can be updated easily,
have the ability to reach a large audience without losing information quality and allowing for different levels of detail
24/7 (anytime, anywhere) access to information posted in weblogs.
No special blogging software is needed to create a weblog
BARRIERS
Instructors may have difficulty in assessing student participation in the weblog.
The use of technology- based tools may be another barrier.
System administrators tend to be restrictive in installing new software
If the weblog is public, it may suffer troll infestations