....BLOGS FOR LEARNING....
The web 2.0 tool of a blog can be seen
as a very useful tool in an educational setting. A blog is chronological and,
unlike a website, is owned by students. This allows students to post their own
work in the form of a blog posting or a comment. However, as blogs allow for
this, comments themselves cannot be directly responded too, each referring to
the blog post itself. Despite this, collaboration is still sustained through
blog interaction. The opportunity for more than one author exists but usually a
blog has one author with management limited to them i.e. the author/s can only
edit it.
Blogs can be used for educational
purposes in many creative and collaborative ways that support critical
thinking. Activities included are creative writing, many research and
group activities, such as expert jigsaw, and assignment construction (Click
here to view my blog “The Woven Nest” that I created for a
Textile Technology assignment- a convenient example of how blogs can be used
for assignment construction).
This
particular technology could be used in the Home Economics and Hospitality
learning environment through incorporation of such ICT’s into both textiles and
Food technology theory. As an example Functions can be planned, recorded and
reflected upon through the use of this technology, allowing all students in the
class access to important information.
The
Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition (SAMR) model acts as
a useful guide when constructing lessons that aim at enhancing instructional
technology integration. These four levels of technology can be addressed in
many educational contexts with Substitution and Augmentation at enhancement
phase and Modification and Redefinition at transformative phase. The
following examples are identified as to how the technology of a blog can
be integrated into a classroom at each level of the SAMR model.
Substitution: The blog is used by a student as a tool
to substitute hand written or typed process journal in Home Economics
(textiles, or food technology). A word document is copied into
the blog post with comment on the blog non interactive.
Augmentation: The blog is
used as a platform to publish the process journal. Hyperlinks,
images/photographs, videos/audios are used to support written text and
processes undertaken. The blog post becomes a digital organisation of student’s
process journal through tagging and categorising of work. Teacher leave
comments and peers can read each other’s work.
Modification: Students use hyperlinked writing
to show their and connect thinking, influences, relationships and process
between published content and external resources. Communication occurs in
multimedia and transmedia ways- students upload evidence of themselves completing
a certain task/criteria (a sewing or cooking technique). The work present
encourages conversation, invites multiple perspectives and allows for
constructive feedback. The work in non-linear.
Redefinition: The
student blog is an embedded part of the process and a natural extension of
communication and learning cycle by documenting evidence of learning,
reflecting, sharing and receiving feedback in order to consider revision.
Students are demonstrating self-directed and self-motivated lifelong learning
habits as they are organising, building and maintaining their own online
learning records, a growing academic digital footprint and develop their
personal brand as well as personal learning networks (Tolisano, 2014).
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| Image (above and below) credit: http://langwitches.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Student-Blogs-SAMR2.png |
Overall, Blogs are an effective classroom tool that have the potential to stimulate students engagement and participation to redefine a task...
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