THE USE OF WEBLOGS IN HIGHER EDUCATION:
BENEFITS AND BARRIERS
Described as an interesting teaching technique whereby students document their learning activities and learning results in a concurrent journal (log).
A learning log is a tightly
focused academic journal that is created as the student becomes knowledgeable on an individually assigned topic.
Weblogs
Weblogs are defined as personal web pages written in chronological diary form and mantained through weblogging software.
Benefits
students can share their results with others; students can
focus on content; students learn about web page creation in an intuitive way; students can jointly write a weblog, which supports group learning. instructors can monitor published weblogs easily; and finally, Instructor can motifor published weblogs and do not need to convert student documents and publish them, as it is already done
click to edit
Types
Instructor weblog: written by instructors are mainly used as an additional communication channel to share information with students. Instructor weblogs usually contain course content, etc.
Student weblog: weblogs written by students are basically learning weblogs or project weblogs. A learning weblog [21] is “a learning diary, created concurrently with the learning experience, and reporting on the learning conent.
Uses
5 motivations for blogging
Documenting one’s life; providing commentary and opinions; expressing deeply felt
emotions; articulating ideas through writing; and forming an maintaining community forums.
weblogs are being used to satisfy a variety of communication
needs to favour e-learning practices.
Wagner proposes the use of weblogs as improved learning logs, this is, as a tool for “enhancing
and strengthening the best features of this teaching technique, while giving students more responsability for the learning and publishing process.
Farrell's five ways of using weblogs in the classroom, each with their own pros and cons: 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.
A weblog keeps records for TQM (Total Quality Management) policies in teaching
assessment. The information provided by the analysis of the weblog development may be used by the academic institutions to carry out a SWOT
Faculty members use weblogs to post class announcements, syllabi, assignments, and more
in addition to offering students a forum for discussing class topics
Weblogs can extend conversations and discussions past the school day, linking to resources
and relevant materials, inviting parents to participate with their children, and inviting students from other parts to collaborate.
Advantages
Weblogs are easy to setup and administrate in contrast to other technologies.
Weblogs makes easier to publish all types of resources (text, images, video, etc.) to the Web
when compared to traditional web publishing.
Weblogs allow instant publishing with just one click: weblogs are easy to create and maintain,
as opposed to traditional web pages that are labor-intensive and require at least some web design knowledge
Weblogs can be updated easily, from anywhere without having to worry about FTP
connections, web authoring software, etc.
Weblogs 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:
Instructor does not need to periodically request the learning logs to the students.
Other technologies can be applied jointly. For instance, using of Wikis as enablers for group
writing and knowledge sharing. For example, building glossaries.
Benefits
The first and foremost benefit of weblogs in HEIs is their use as e-learning tools. This way, the
teaching-learning process can continue outside the classroom.
Weblogs help create connections between students with diverse opinions and interests. This
encourages critical thinking and teaches the value of respect towards other students’ points of view
Weblogs’ features (linking, replying, and tracking) make easier sharing knowledge and
information.
Discussions in weblogs promote higher levels of thinking, because people can think before
answering back.
Because of its format similar to that of a personal diary, weblogs encourage informal
communication, creativity and self-expression.
Collaborative weblogs support team work and group learning.
Barriers
Instructors may have difficulty in assessing student participation in the weblog. There are
several indicators to take into account: group grading, individual posting, quality of posts, etc.,
The use of technology- based tools may be another barrier. It can be of a structural nature, for
instance lack of computers, or difficult access to the Internet
Should be hosted in private servers, so that they do not show neither advertisements nor banners (which
are the most common method of ASPs financing).
System administrators tend to be restrictive in installing new software.
If the weblog is public, it may suffer troll infestations, people that intentionally try to cause
disruption by posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, incorrect, inaccurate, or off topic, with the intent of getting a reaction.