Literature: What I have read so far about blogging

Before I got excited about the prospect of investigating educational blogging, I doubted that there was very much in the literature about it. I was right, but what I could find was quite exciting. (A list of selected references is at the end of this entry.)

I found out that blogging was not only a cultural phenomenon, it was starting to make small ripples in K-12 and higher education too (Downes, 2004; Kadjer & Bull, 2003). I found out that blogs were being used for a variety of purposes (e.g. class announcements, course management systems) and activities (e.g. in and out-of-class discussions, summary readings, critical reflections, collaboration tools, student portfolios) (Downes, 2004; Lohnes, 2003; Oravec, 2003; Roberts, 2003). Toner (2004) reported how blogs were used to help teachers share their ideas and vent frustrations outside the confines of a classroom. Stiler and Philleo (2003) used Blogger (where this blog is hosted) to facilitate reflective journaling among preservice teachers.

I realized that there was very little done in teacher education. Furthermore, what was done with blogs in education was relatively new and untested. Just how effective or suitable were blogs for educational activities or purposes? Why not stick with bulletin board systems (BBS) or traditional journals? That was how my idea for pursuing a study on blogging in in-service teacher education was born.

In a future entry, I hope to outline some pros and cons about blogs over BBS.

References

Downes, S. (2004). Educational blogging. Educause Review, September/October, 14-26.

Kadjer, S. & Bull, G. (2003). Scaffolding for struggling students: Reading and writing with blogs. Learning & Leading With Technology, 31(2), 32-35.

Lohnes, S. (2003). Weblogs in education: Bringing the world to the liberal arts classroom. The Newsletter of the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education, 2(1), 5-7. Retrieved October 7, 2004, from http://newsletter.nitle.org/v2_n1_winter2003/features_weblogs.php

Oravec, J. A. (2003). Blending by blogging: Weblogs in blended learning initiatives. Journal of Educational Media, 28(2/3), 225-233.

Roberts, S. (2003). Campus communications & the wisdom of blogging. Syllabus, August. Retrieved October 7, 2004, from http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=7982

Stiler, G. M., & Philleo, T. (2003). Blogging and blogspots: An alternative format for encouraging reflective practice among preservice teachers. Education, 123(4), 789-798.

Toner, M. (2004). Blogs help educators share ideas, air frustrations. Education Week, 23(18), 8.