Is blogging the same as a discussion board activity?
Had I answered this question yesterday as I grudgingly fumbled through creating and designing my first blog, I would have responded that “yes, blogging is the same as a discussion board activity.” I actually recall mumbling under my breath that “this (blogging) is silly because we already have a platform through KSU Online to discuss course topics.” Now, after reading through some of the materials and resources provided pertaining to blogging, I have to say “no, blogging is not the same as a discussion board activity.”
Although discussion boards and blogs offer some of the same capabilities including interaction and collaboration, ability to share information through hyperlinks, experience with digital technology, and a platform from which to develop a “voice” within a digital community, blogging takes almost all similar features and embellishes them to be greater and more beneficial. For example, blogs allow for enhanced personal expression and “voice” through design templates which support creativity and innovation where most discussion board platforms do not. Blogs also allow for more embedded technological materials that discussion boards may limit due to space or capability. Considering many discussion boards are limited to select users, discussion boards do not provide the unlimited networking opportunities that blogs offer. As highlighted, blogs and discussion boards share many of the same features, functions, and purposes; however, blogs go above and beyond the boundaries of discussion boards and plunge learners into a bigger and better digital world.
What are the pros and cons you think blogging brings to adult learners?
Pros:
- Blogging develops digital fluency, strengthens literacy skills, and can help shrink the “Technology Gap” (Witte, 2007)
- Empowers learners to become more analytical and critical thinkers as they become more familiar with and experienced within the blogging community (Oravec, 2002)
- Helps learners gain a better sense of what the internet has to offer through the exposure and evaluation blogs promote (Oravec, 2002)
- Learners are able to construct knowledge through creation of and collaboration between blogs (King & Cox, 2011)
- Extends ones learning opportunities past the educational institution’s boundaries (King & Cox, 2011)
- Provides educators with insight regarding how learners are comprehending course concepts and making connections between learning and life experiences (King & Cox, 2011)
- Privacy - Information within a blog is public (Witte, 2007)
- Learners and content can get off track if clear blog instructions and expectations are not initially defined (Witte, 2007)
- Dead Links - Blog materials and resources can become unavailable if proper blog maintenance is not maintained (Oravec, 2002)
- Blogging is not intuitive for all learners– establishing blog accounts and learning to manage blog hosting facilities might initially be difficult for some learners (King & Cox, 2011)
References
King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The
Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
Publishing.
Oravec, J.A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications ineducation. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7),
616-621.
Witte, S. (2007). That's onlinewriting, not boring school writing: Writing with blogs and the
Talkback
Project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(2), 92-96.
Thanks for sharing Shandi. I totally agree with the readings and your statement “Blogging develops digital fluency, strengthens literacy skills, and can help shrink the “Technology Gap”. I believe that blogging does help with their digital fluency and a better understanding of technology and how it can be used in technology. Along the same lines as you eluded, blogs are a bit more personal that discussion boards. I think that this is because the nature of the blog and how different and protective discussion boards are. Discussion boards are sterile environments that do not portray the personality of the writers/bloggers. I think that even though we are doing schoolwork, looking at and reading blogs and responding to them seems like working on social media sites, not homework.
ReplyDeleteYour blog site looks good! I ad a difficult time as well and think of changing my site evertime I see it!
Hi Ryan,
DeleteThank you for your kind comments regarding my blog. You compared the sterility of discussion boards to the creative personal nature of blogging, and I completely agree with your comparison. Blogging has revealed to me the impersonal somewhat boring nature of discussion boards. Discussion boards had already become boring for me considering I have been participating in them almost constantly throughout the past four years, but now that I have experienced discussion through blogging, discussion boards have a bitter taste. As you mentioned, classroom discussion via blogging does not seem like homework. Instead, classroom blogging feels more like sharing educational comments, interacting with classmates, and reflecting on new ideas. Even though discussion boards and classroom blogs share the same purpose, to create interactive learning environments, blogs are much more appealing to me.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!
Hi Shandy! I enjoyed reading your blog very much! I am glad to read that you are starting to enjoy blogging and see that it can be beneficial! One of your pros is that blogs help develop digital fluency. I feel that there are many different levels of digital fluency and blogging satisfies only a small portion of what there is to know.
ReplyDeleteBlogs can definitely help students learn to be more technologically savvy, but as stated by Oravec (2002), blogs are used in the business world as well as in education and students can use blogs as a way to train for their future professions. Do you see yourself using blogs in a professional setting? Would you have different expectations than what is expected of us?
Oravec, J. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616
Hi Rebecca,
DeleteThank you for your comments! As you mentioned, blogging offers somewhat limited exposure to digital resources; however, I believe this exposure is very valuable to digital fluency. Blogging provides opportunities for digital design and formatting, experience with hyperlinks and embedding other digital materials, and exposure to digital communication aside from email and instant messaging. Considering blogs are used within the professional community, learning the basics of blogs and gaining experience blogging throughout ones coursework can be very beneficial for professional preparation.
With regard to using blogs professionally, I do plan on incorporating blogs within my professional career. Considering my professional aspirations include online course instruction, I will definitely integrate this technology into my curriculum. As far as blog expectations go, I believe Dr. Kang's expectations are appropriate for this learning tool. I am sure as I gain more experience blogging in the classroom I will personalize my set of expectations, but at this point our current expectations seem fitting.
Thank you again for taking the time to comment on my blog and share your thoughts, I enjoyed discussing with you!