This week's "hot topic" is "Blogging; Pros and Cons for Adult Learners"
EDACE 765 KSOL Fall 2012
Our fearless leader, facilitator and KSOL instructor, Dr. Kang, has proposed the following question for the current/future adult educator to ponder...
Is blogging the same as discussion board (virtual classroom activity) activity? Based on our readings from this week (King & Cox, 2011, Chapter 6 and assorted articles) on blogging, discuss the differences (if any) between blogging and discussion board activities and the pros and cons you think blogging brings to the adult learner.
The above question, and prompting of discussion, is worthy of attention and thoughtful response. As you might have already observed, I am not one of few words; I usually make my thoughts known, in almost any situation; however, I do use careful contemplation regarding the audience and the atmosphere; trying to show common sense, consideration and even compassion as I voice my opinion on various topics. Therefore, the above topic is something I do have "voice" about and cannot wait to share with you my incredible and valuable insight (:0). I do have a sense of humor...especially since this is my VERY FIRST BLOGGING experience and I often use humor when I am a little nervous! For more information regarding blogging (and for my own benefit, as well) take a tour around the following site http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g Enjoy!
Okay, on to the business at hand. I think one can see from the above example, that I believe blogging is, in fact, quite different from a "message board" activity. Personally, I see the blogging arena to be more personalized and open to true insights, feelings, honest responses and deeper contemplation than the average message board activity. Message board activities are often used to show more of a "scholarly" understanding of classroom materials vs. a more personal and in-depth understanding of the curriculum. Although the blogging activities for EDACE 765 will be graded using the "Rubric for Blogging Assignment" (30 possible points, noted!) there appears to be more freedom of expression and personal input. Our instructor has clearly described what is expected from our blog; engagementt, content and visual appeal, including interactivity. Meaning, we as students need to be engaged, similar to message board activities and continue to site appropriate references, etc; but the visual appeal and interactivity varies greatly from the message board activities.
The "pros" of a blog are fairly obvious (I hope) from what I have discussed above: more freedom of expression, more thoughtful insight, along with more personal thought provoking contemplation on a basic level; although "scholarly" understanding is still expected from the graduate student, the freedom of expression of a blog post cannot been seen as a "con", I believe.
As far as the "cons" blogging may bring to adult education, they are still present. Adult learners, as so humbly noted by Knowles (1970, 1980) "termed the facilitation of adult learners andragogy" (King & Cox, 2011) and noted a "framework of humanistic principals and practices to guide them..." (pg. 91). Recalling the "three orientations to participation in adult learning" (developed from Houle, 1988); goal-oriented learners, activity-oriented learners and learning-oriented learners, allows us to contemplate how blogging can have a positive or negative effect on the adult learner. Adult learners need to know WHY they need to know what they know and be able to relate the learning to both personal and professional (usually) experiences. Will blogging allow all THAT to occur? Personally, I do not believe we know the answer yet...however, we are part of the exciting and evolving "experiment".
King, K., & Cox, T. (2011) The professor's guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Hold on...we are in for a WILD RIDE!
Thanks for visiting my very first blog! Yea, I did it...I think!! :)
Blessings,
Alicia
Alicia, I think both of us enjoy (or at least feel the need to) expound on our thoughts;) As you said, the blog format makes me feel like I can do that without cluttering the message board. However, I just discovered that these "separate" conversations do not allow for a shift in conversation. Normally in the course of our message board, if a new topic comes up, a student adds a new thread and others can join in from there. On a blog, so far, if feels like a 2-way conversation instead of a class discussion. Let me know what you think as you post comments. By the way, I am also finding that as much as I love to "talk," it does create a lot of reading and time to respond. Grateful to have a smaller group. This assignment would be overwhelming with our entire class.
ReplyDeleteCute photo!
Hi Alicia! You are definitely a woman who knows how to express herself, and I love that about you.
ReplyDeleteI did not think about the differntiation between scholarly and personal understanding until reading your post. I agree that blogging allows individuals a forum to publish their perspectives on reading requirements after the information has been synthesized. I feel that discussion board posts do not stray far from the formality of classroom discussions the way blogs sometimes can. For me, that can be a negative attribute because it only requires a shallow analysis of the material. With the blog, I find myself trying to relate concepts to something others can easily access for a clearer understanding. I admit that clarity is not my strongest attribute, so the blogging format takes more concentrated effort.
I do believe that time and experience will tell whether or not blogging can address all of the needs of adult learners. I will say that for me it has been quite effective thus far.
Greetings, Tonya! Please forgive more for not responding to your reply last week. I appreciated your input and found value in many of the aspects you discussed.
DeleteThank you for your kind words! You are a beautiful individual and a strong women...I love that about you!
Keep up the great work!
Alicia
Alicia,
ReplyDeleteHaha, “I am not one of few words”; I had to respond to your post because I am one of few words and feel interacting with someone who is verbose might make me be wordier and a little less direct. I always enjoyed teaching and interacting, but never the writing part.
I think we had very similar pros, except I termed it ownership; I think you showed that ownership or personal expression by being your verbose self and including a picture of your kids in your blog post. Someone else mentioned on another blog about how blogging helps us to get to know one another so much better then just talking on a discussion board; I completely agree. King and Cox (2011) talked about adult learning and how we put it “in the context of (our own) life experiences”. I believe that is why blogging will be a good learning tool for adult learners; adult learners can seek out those online communities of people with similar life experiences in an effort to help one another in our own self-directed learning effort. I think that is one of the biggest reasons I like the older crowd in the distance education world; we all have that life experience to share with the class and each other, making the learning all the more real and related (at least to me).
Dean
Greetings, Dean! First of all, as this 11th anniversary of "9-11" draws to a close, I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for your country and fellow human beings, currently and in the past. What you have done and continue to do for all of us cannot be underestimated. Thank you for all your ramdom acts of kindness...many of which will never be seen, personally, by most of us; but will continue to benefit us all!
DeleteI appreciated your comments related to last week's discussion; yes, I believe blogs are more personal than Wikis or discussion boards, but at the same time lack the dynamic aspect that the Wiki can have, if valued appropriately. Personally, as you can obviously tell, I would still prefer a phone call, a personal visit or at the very least a Wimba Classroom session to find that "dynamic" appeal!
Thanks for making me smile! Yes, I am quite verbose! Can you believe I am married to the very opposite...someone more like yourself, I believe!
Enjoy that precious daughter of yours!
Blessings...
Alicia
Hi Alicia, very insightful message. I agree with Vianne that blogs sort of feel like a two way conversation versus the multiple conversation. I am beginning to think that Blogs only work if you are on them daily or a structured class. I just had four days in Montreal away from any computer and now here I am Sunday trying to catch up. The DL bit is great that it lets me work at my own pace but the class, as Dr K did note, is only able to function with interaction. Now I feel like I will post but too late to offer any real contribution to the class. Everyone will now move onto next week's conversation and the old topics, even if they are stimulating, will die off.
ReplyDeleteI think the wiki is the better option as it is the living document, organic and can continually evolve. Looking forward to that project.
Good post.
Dean, I think I see the military in you where wordiness is not really what is always wanted or required. Good point though about ownership and now I think I understand better what Vianne and Alicia are talking about, i.e. the form a blog takes, is much more personalize than a discussion board, don't think I saw this before.
Dearest, Angry Farmer. Thank you for taking the time after your trip to Montreal to visit my humble blog!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your comments and found value in your contribution to the discussion. As you mention, many of us have "moved on" but I just had to take the time to say "thanks" for making me smile and commenting on my blog!
As this 11th year anniversary of 9-11 draws to a close...the clock on my computer reads 11:11...almost spooky! I must thank both you and Dean for serving our county! What you currently do or have done in the past is an amazing show of love and kindness to your fellow human and country.
Blessings...
Alicia