The
use of web logs (“blogs”) has become a popular
addition to many college courses as faculty try to
find new ways to integrate this popular technology
into the classroom. (Beeson, 2005; Quible, 2005;
Ducate, 2005, Glogoff, 2005). By the end of 2004,
32 million Americans said they had read a blog,
eight million Americans had created blogs, and
almost half were created by people under age 30 (Reine,
2005). In fact, Huffaker (2005) cites several
studies that reveal that a significant number of
blog authors are younger than 20. Lenhart (2006)
notes that by 2006, these numbers had increased to
12 million American adults who keep a blog, and 57
million American adults who say they read them.
Thus, students come to the classroom with a facility
for maintaining and communicating through blogs.
Beeson (2005) argues that it is an approach that is
more in keeping with their way of thinking (29).
With the increased popularity of blogs, faculty
members have been integrating them into their
courses to enhance class discussion. Past research
has summarized findings from case studies involving
the use of blogs in a single course (Glogoff, 2003;
Quible, 2005; Ducate, 2005). The authors of this
study, conducted at a business university, assigned
a similar blogging exercise in three different
courses—expository writing, e-commerce, and
government--in order to introduce students to the
use of blogs in their respective disciplines and to
help students prepare for meaningful classroom
discussion. This study finds that by completing the
required readings and then posting discussion
questions and reflections on topics of interest to
which their classmates can respond--essentially
beginning the conversation prior to the class
session--students become more engaged in the course
material. This exercise requires students not only
to read the required course materials but to engage
with them critically in order to move beyond a
superficial understanding of the materials. By
using the same assignment and assessment tool, the
authors found that blogs can be effective in
enhancing class discussion in a range of disciplines
and in integrating liberal learning into
professional programs.
Blogging in the Classroom
Keith Hamon on 13 Sep 11Imagine a Google Maps of scholarship, a set of tools sophisticated enough to help researchers locate hot research, spot hidden connections to other fields, and even identify new disciplines as they emerge in the sprawling terrain of scholarly communication.
