15 April 2011

#H800 Blog about blogging

Week 20 almost reaching its end and one of the topics this week is about blogging. Can blogging be used as a tool to enhance learning?  How should blogging be integrated into course outcomes and tasks?  Why do some students keep a blog?

Kerawalla et al. investigated blogging behaviour and motives of a group of MAODE students (Kerawalla et al., 2008).  They distinguished between 5 motives for blogging:

- blogging avoidance;
- resource network building
- support network building
- self-sufficient blogging
- anxious,self-sufficient blogging just to complete suggested course activities.

Related to these types are other variables such as the number of posts and comments, quality of spelling and grammar and the presence of emotional statements as opposed to academic ones.

The authors conclude that learners give a variety of meanings to blogs.  They suggest to use blogging as an optional instrument, leaving some flexibility for learners.

I created this blog as an instrument to make sense of the abundance of information during the LAK11 open course on learning analytics and to keep track of my learning during the course.  It also turned out to be a discipline-creating instrument, trying to force myself to create one coherent blogpost per week.  Comments have been rare, but useful during the course.  During the H800  course use of the blog has been a bit more haphazard since the online tutor forum takes a bit the role of the blog during the LAK11 course.  I do intend to keep the blog running though, trying to evolve it into a place to reflect on issues on the interchange of work at VVOB Cambodia, the MAODE and various informal learning opportunities on the way.
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