Class Blogs as a Teaching Tool to Promote Writing and Student Interaction

Autor/inn/en	Sullivan, Miriam; Longnecker, Nancy
Titel	Class Blogs as a Teaching Tool to Promote Writing and Student Interaction
Quelle	In: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 30 (2014) 4, S.390-401 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1449-5554
Schlagwörter	Electronic Publishing; Web Sites; Writing Assignments; Interaction; Writing Skills; Student Surveys; Student Attitudes; Teaching Methods; Foreign Countries; Educational Technology; Science Instruction; Communication Strategies; College Students; Nonparametric Statistics; Instructional Effectiveness; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Elektronisches Publizieren; Web-Design; Interaktion; Writing skill; Schreibfertigkeit; Schülerbefragung; Schülerverhalten; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Ausland; Unterrichtsmedien; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Kommunikationsstrategie; Collegestudent; Unterrichtserfolg; Australien
Abstract	Blogs are a useful teaching tool for improving student writing and increasing class interaction. However, most studies have looked at individual blogs rather than blogs maintained by a whole class. We introduced assignments involving participation in class blogs to four science communication classes with enrolments of between 15 and 36 students. We administered paper-based surveys to obtain student perceptions of the value of the blogging assignment. Based on feedback in semester one, we increased commenting requirements and spent more time integrating the blog with coursework in semester two. In semester two, students had significantly improved perceptions of the blog assignments. The most commonly cited benefit by students in both semesters was that the blog helped to improve their writing. Most enjoyed the opportunity to have increased intellectual exchange with other students and the majority agreed that knowing other students read the blog motivated them to write better. Students disliked being forced to comment and they felt that they benefited just from reading other students' posts. However, we recommend that weekly commenting should be mandatory, as this increased involvement and perceived value of the assignment. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. Ascilite Secretariat, P.O. Box 44, Figtree, NSW, Australia. Tel: +61-8-9367-1133; e-mail: info@ascilite.org.au; Web site: http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10