Tuesday, August 31, 2010

THE FUNCTIONALITY OF A BLOG

 Picture courtesy of Flickr

 
Blog: “A public website where users post informal journals of their thoughts, comments and philosophies, updated frequently and normally reflecting the views of the blog’s creator” (WorldWideLearn, 2010)

Why write a blog? What is the purpose of writing a blog? What is the real reason? What is the goal? Why do people sit and ‘waste’ precious time writing a blog?

A blog is a web publishing tool which allows for instant publishing to the internet and access to a world wide audience. Blogs are usually (but not always) written by one person and updated regularly. They are becoming a common text used by a diverse range of people within society to communicate their thoughts to the world. Blogs can be personal, professional or a mix of both.

As a future learning manager, I interpret the use of a blog within education in two ways. Firstly, as an aid to improve my teacher practices. In the classroom setting I would use a blog to communicate declarative knowledge to students, and I would communicate this knowledge in a variety of ways. The use of a blog to communicate declarative knowledge is also beneficial as students can access the blog outside of school hours. Secondly, in my classroom blogs would be used as an aid to enhance student learning. The functionality of a blog in a school setting allows learners to communicate and reflect on information being learnt in class and also allows students to develop and share ideas for learning that is yet to take place. Blogs are easy to create and navigate, and are a creative means for students to communicate and share information.

Children must be taught about internet safety and netiquette prior to creating their own blog and accessing other students’ blogs. Having said this, learning managers must ensure to closely monitor each learner’s blog, as their blog posts and information provided on their blog can be viewed publicly. In a classroom setting I would begin the learning journey by allowing students to become familiar with the blog terms and conditions and provide discussion time so that learners can voice any concerns they may have.



References:

WorldWideLearn (2010). E-learning essentials: what is e-learning? Retrieved from http://www.worldwidelearn.com/elearning-essentials/elearning-glossary.htm#b

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