Blog Overload

So I admit it. I got caught up in all the hype about blogs — about their potential for communication, for creating global connections, for expressing oneself, for extending face-to-face discussions, and for building community in online environments. In most cases, my initial excitement has not borne fruit.

I don’t fault my students. I am the instructor. And given my background in pedagogy and education, I should be a good leader. But when it comes to blogs, I have not been.

Still, I am not going to give up on blogs. What I am going to do is become a much more critical user. And so I offer some thoughts as I prepare to revamp the integration of blogs in my courses. —Kara M. DawsonBlog Overload (Chronicle)

Most of my students treat their blogs like any other homework assignment. Now that most students are doing their social networking on Facebook or MySpace, the blogs are fairly business-oriented. I have faced many of the problems Dawson mentions. One way I have responded is to get students to prime the pump early by posting a very brief entry that contains a direct quotation from the assigned reading, and then ask them to bring to class a half-page reflection paper that responds to something they read on a peer blog. I invite them to post that half-page reflection on their blog, but most don’t. And that’s fine, since if they just think of it as a homework assignment, it probably won’t make gripping reading. I also ask students to post two to four comments on peer blogs. Since students can choose to stop at two, every comment after the second is a gift. That cuts down on the number of “I agree” posts that count as comments.

The blogging portfolio rubric I use is very open ended. It has a category for “timeliness” and a category for “depth,” so that students may approach their blogging by posting it early and getting it over with, or by posting thoughtful reflections after the class discussion is over. There’s a category for being the first post on a peer blog entry, and there’s a category for participating in a discussion on a peer’s blog.

While I do occasionally teach small upper-level major courses where all the students are dedicated and involved, in most large classes about a third of the students will do their best on just about any assignment they get; about a third will do the bare minimum, if that; and about a third could go either way. Some students who are painfully shy and don’t like speaking up in class can find a way to express themselves through blogs. Some students do their best work in the comments they post on peer blog entries. And the small minority of super-dedicated bloggers quickly gain an audience within the class; even if only three or four students carry on the discussion after the class is over, those students can still feed off of each other’s enthusiasm, and the whole class can benefit.

Just as some students can’t stand group work, or oral presentations, or revising multiple drafts, or face-to-face draft consultations with the instructor, or discussion prompts, or lectures, or workshops, some students won’t like blogs, no matter what the instructor does. It took me a while to find a structure that I could fit into the structure of the course, and it took me longer to teach that structure to students in such a way that they aren’t too overwhelmed by how different it seems at first. I’ll keep making adjustments and seeking ways to improve the experience, and I’m glad to see Dawson is doing the same.

2 thoughts on “Blog Overload

  1. Dennis – Thanks for sharing your blogging rubric. I plan to adapt some of them in my future courses. I have posted the criteria I use for blogs below in case it is helpful to you.

    In addition, a colleague and I are looking at several content analysis models that may be applicable to blogs. Specifically, we are looking at:

    Gunawardena, C., Lowe, C., & Anderson, T. (1997). Analysis of global online debate and the development of an interaction analysis model for examining social construction of knowledge in computer conferencing. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 17(4): 395?429.

    Newman, D. R., Webb, B., & Cochrane, C. (1995). A content analysis method to measure critical thinking in face-to-face and computer supported group learning. Retrieved November 13, 2006, from http://www.emoderators.com/ipct-j/1995/n2/newman.html

    Newman, D. R., Johnson, C, Webb, B., & Cochrane, C. (1997). Evaluating the quality of learning in computer supported co-operative learning. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 48(6), 484-495.

    Not sure if this will take us anywhere but the resources may be of interest.

    -KD :)

    —–
    Blog Criteria

    Participation: Students will be expected to make substantial contributions to their Weblogs, to regularly follow the conversations and to post in a timely manner. Participation can take many forms including, but not limited to, posting initial responses/reactions, asking clarification questions, sharing professional expertise, experiences and/or resources, providing an alternative perspective or synthesizing online discussions for the benefit of all participants. Please note that responses such as ?I agree?, ?Me too?, ?I know what you mean? do not constitute substantial participation. Likewise, ?flaming? (i.e. scathing comments, rude interactions or other socially unacceptable behavior) will not tolerated. Just as in a face-to-face classroom, building a community of mutual respect and trust is essential.

    Mechanics: Everyone is prone to making grammatical and spelling errors, however, excessive errors will adversely influence the quality of Weblog postings. Posting should be clear and concise. Every sentence should contribute to the intended message. Rather than asking, “is it long enough?” ask, “is it clear, organized, and does it convey the message?”

    Content: When applicable postings should relate to the assigned weekly topic (these will be specified within the weekly modules). However, I hope you do not limit your postings to these topics. Postings should be thorough (i.e. communicate complete thoughts in a concise manner), useful and on topic. When possible, they should broaden the knowledge base we are creating in the course, demonstrate your personal learning, facilitate higher-level thinking and address multiple perspectives on an issue. Enthusiasm is key to making the content of your postings come alive for your colleagues. You are an educator enrolled in an online course about using the Internet in instruction. You must have some passion about it; let it show!

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