My mind is swimming with thoughts about blogging and when or if it should be used in the adult education arena. My instinctual reaction is overwhelmingly 'yes'- blogging is a powerful tool. The second part is then to look at how a blog is different from a traditional discussion board. Here are a few point worthy of discussion: specific features, use cases, and research about blogs.
Blog Features
A blog is a public, searchable website housing a series of entries created by an author for which readers can comment, resulting in further dialogue (King & Cox, 2011). Blogs are generally considered as a source of 'how-to' references, information/news, or connecting with others interested in similar topics. One thing is very clear, blogs are not private discussion boards. Because a blog may be accessed by the public, precautions should be made to ensure security and privacy of the authors. Witte (2007) shared the challenges of using blogs in the middle school classroom when a student innocently referred to neighborhood where he lived only to have the program pulled citing students' safety as a concern. This is a great example of a situation where a blog may not have been the best tools and a private discussion board should have been utilized.
As learning tools, blogs are meant to encourage learners to explore their own beliefs and develop more analytical analysis' of their thought processes (Oravec, 2002). In reading and responding to peers blogs, learners are also challenged to consider how they feel about what their peers wrote and formulate a reflective response.
Use Cases for Blogs
When focusing on formal learning, blogs are a great solution when an educator needs to teach critical thinking about learning content. This format allows for an informal, free-flowing approach to understanding what the learners are hearing and taking away from the course. Oravec (2002) specifically indicates distance learning as benefitting from a blogging approach.
Formal education is great, but I was interested in other use cases that could help develop students or employees. Fyock (2018) suggested using a blog to articulate a personal brand, thought leadership, increase visibility, and share insights leading to elevating your career. Writing, whether about your career or your learning, you're required to analyze your beliefs and articulate them clearly so that your readers will stay engaged and interested. I would encourage leaders to use blogging with teammates looking for career development guidance. Imagine teammates blogging about experiences shadowing other job roles, planning meetings, or running a workgroup. There may be times, however, that a discussion board will be more appropriate if the work is more sensitive or confidential in nature.
The final use case I'd like to explore today is blogging as a part of the trainer's tool box. Tipton (2014) listed blogging as her number one recommendation to corporate trainers to spice up their training. Blogging allows the learners to get inside the thought process used to navigate a topics. The commenting feature allows the trainer to see how the learner is responding and digesting the information. I'm currently using blogging on a SharePoint site to post important communications sent to the team for documentation purposes. These blogs have a search feature allowing the learner to navigate quickly to the content they are looking for. One of the disadvantages is that blog posts may become outdated and actually sabotage the learner.
Research about Blogs
The speed at which technology has evolved does not allow for adequate time for the research to stay relevant. While the features, benefits, and challenges of blogging in education are much the same now as then, the difference is more in the user's comfort and ease in using technology to learn. King and Cox (2011) express valid concerns about the 'digital divide'. In the 8 years since this book was published, the technology has advanced tremendously. Smart phone usage, wi-fi availability, and user friendly apps have been developed at a rapid pace. While I won't go so far as to say that I think the digital divide lack's relevancy, I believe the divide has changed. How can we really keep up with much more than case studies in this rapidly changing arena?
Final Thoughts
I whole heartedly feel that bloggings has the potential to develop stronger personal and professional convictions for any learner that engages in blogging. The risks of publicly posting sensitive information can be avoided by using one of the many cheap or free discussion board apps to secure that information. I don't believe that the selection to use blogging over discussion boards will impact the learners results in any measurable way. In fact, correctly selection the right platform will liberate the users to write more freely in an appropriate context. As educators, we should proceed confidently but with caution. Good luck everyone and happy blogging!
Fyock, C. (2018, February). Get started with career-minded blogging. TD Magazine. 65-67.
King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Oravec, J.A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621.
Tipton, S. (2014, July 21). The New and Improved Trainer Toolbox: Part 1. [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/insights/the-new-and-improved-trainer-toolbox-part-1
Witte, S. (2007). That's online writing, not boring school writing: Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(2), 92-96.
