Reflecting on Blogs

This reflection is on creating a Blog

I have used the PMI (Plus Minus Implications) analytical tool to reflect on what I have learned about Blogs and their effectiveness for use in the classroom.

Pluses

• they are easy to create so even younger students would be able to use them
• they operate in the same way as a diary, so the learner can easily check their progress in terms of their reflective capabilities over a period of time
• they can be about whatever the student is interested in
• readers of the blog are able to leave comments thus validating the student's point of view or providing another point of view, making the reflection interactive
• the student is not only limited to text, but can also embed images, link to other blogs, web pages and other media related to the particular topic
• when a blog is used as a student's reflection tool, it gives the teacher access to the student's thinking process and the progress they are making in this area
• most students are very comfortable with technology and would probably prefer writing in a blog than writing in the old style notebooks.  If they enjoy doing this, they are far more likely to participate in the process and to give their best effort.

Minuses

• monitoring these blogs would need to be factored into the teacher's workload to ensure that the content of the blogs is appropriate for publication
• students would need to be made very aware of the public nature of the blogs.  Anyone can access the student's blog, and so their thoughts are made public to the world.  Therefore care needs to be exercised to ensure that the content is not going to cause the student any embarrassment down the track.  Students would need to be given explicit information about blogs being part of the  public domain 

Implications

•  Blogs could potentially be used for student homework
• a class blog could be viewed by parents as well as students 
• careful consideration of scaffolding would be required of the teacher, so that students stay on track and are aware of what is required of them
• as many students may enjoy working in their blog, it could be expected that they also produce a greater output of work.  This is of course very positive, but would result in additional time being spent by the teacher in reviewing the blogs
• most importantly, Thomas (2013) states that unless the course being taught is a technology course, the web 2.0 tools should be used strictly to enhance specific learning objectives set forth within a certain content area.

References
http://www.openeducation.net/2008/10/10/using-blogs-to-enhance-learning-%E2%80%93-some-helpful-tips/