BP2_2010061_Edu_Uses_for_Blogs

The traditional classroom needs to be ready for the changes Web 2.0 tools provide. Web 2.0 is an integrated Internet program that allows users to not only consume content but also create content. The Web 2.0 tool called the Weblog, or blog, has several uses in education. Blogging allows students to publish their own writing to get used to public scrutiny and overcome shyness (Beeson, 2005), build camaraderie, closeness, and community (Beeson, 2005), and participate by creating, commenting, and collaborating with different content (Churchill, 2009).

Content produced and published by students improves because “many students take extra care in editing their [work] prior to posting” (Beeson, 2005). This helps the students focus on the content and the assignment because they know it is not going to be read by just the instructor.

The sense of closeness and camaraderie created by blogging can be compared to what a family experiences. Carolyn Mason, journalism opinion instructor at University of Alabama states, “There’s a group closeness and compassion I’ve never seen in all my years of teaching. I can only figure that it’s from the blog” (Beeson, 2005). Blogging allows classroom and student unity that was not available.

The greatest change blogging allows in education is the ability for students to participate in learning in a variety of ways. They can create, comment, and collaborate in ways like never before. This also changes for the instructor. [Blogging] takes the professor out from behind the podium (Beeson, 2005). He is a participant instead of a fountain head (Beeson, 2005).

Blogging can change the way instructors teach and students learn and create content. Education has to change and embrace blogging and other Web 2.0 tools. The positive effects are clear and will only become clearer as implementation grows.

Beeson, P. (2005). Bringing blogs into the classroom. Quill, 93(6), 27-29. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Churchill, D. (2009). Educational applications of Web 2.0: Using blogs to support teaching and learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(1), 179-183. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00865.x.