Blogs as Learning Objects:Trends, Issues, Examples

and a Study of One University’s Hosted Blogs

MERLOT International ConferenceAugust 2007 - New Orleans, LA

Laura Brewer, PhDSamuel DiGangi, PhD

Angel Jannasch-Pennell, PhD

“Blogging is the art of turning one’s own filter on

news and the world into something others might want

to read, link to, and write about themselves.”

(Fleishman, 2001)

“Weblogs are a fabulous exercise in self-indulgence

because you are writing for yourself.”

(Branscum in Laisca, 2002)

• What is a Blog?

• Blogs in Higher Education

• Our Study - An analysis of One University’s Hosted Blogs

• Moving Toward a Pedagogy for Effective Blogging for Instruction

Overview

4

What is a Blog?

• 1st web log is believed to be by Dave Winer published in 1997

• “Web log” became “We blog” (coined by Peter Merholz in 1999) shortened to “blog”

• Simply - a blog is “an archive of activity on a Web server” (Katz, 2002)

5

Blogs vs. Other Webpages

• Bogs are Webpages with a particular format– Dated entries, newest on top– Frequently updated– Entries are archived– Include multiple links to related sites– Topics engage a repeat audience who can

interact with the author on the blog

6

Ideological and Democratic

• Blog authors are able to publish without going through standard rules of mainstream publishing

• Blogs allow the public to interpret and disseminate news and information leading to alternative voices

7

Blog Software

• Blog pioneers were technical experts - programmers, Web-designers - or Web enthusiasts

• First free weblog tool 1999• Accessible software led to the

proliferation and diversification of blogs– Members of the general public could now

easily become Web publishers

8

Changing Communication

• Filter Blogs– Early blog software include three form boxes:

link, title, commentary– Author/Editor “pre-surf” the Web for reader

• Free-Form Blogs– Came later - software did not restrict form– Authors could write on anything

9

Managing your Blogs

• RSS - Really Simple Syndication• Subscribe to your blogs

– Content comes to you

• Examples:– Google Reader– Bloglines– My Yahoo Headline Syndication

10

Personal vs. Social

• Blogs have a personal component…even when the content is not

• Blogs are social…the medium promotes commentary

• There is an interesting juxtaposition between the individual author and their audience– Identity creation through blogging

So…

What about blogs and education?

12

Blogs in Higher Education

• As class websites• As a place to share knowledge• As a method of reflection• For class discussion• For student assignments• For teacher-learner communication• As personal learning environments

13

Blogs in MERLOT

• MERLOT search “blog” = 94 hits (Aug 07)• Resources can be categorized as:

– Blogs with discipline specific content– Blogs about educational technology– Material supporting blog use

• Most MERLOT “blog” material is reference material (38), collection (23), or lecture/presentation (9)

14

Blog Use

• Pew Internet & American Life Project 2006– 38% of Internet users read blogs “yesterday”– 8% created blog “yesterday”

• At our institution– Spring 2007 - Faculty Tech Survey

• 9% read blogs at least once a day (30% never)• 1% author blogs at least once a day (80% never)

15

Our Study

• University adopted a new blog software package (WordPress) February 13, 2006

• We studied all blogs created during the first year (through January 24, 2007)

• N=668 hosted blogs

16

Research Questions

• Use Patterns– Who is blogging on the University’s hosted

platform?– What are they blogging about?– How active are the blogs?– What is a “typical” blog lifespan?

• Beyond Use to Pedagogy– How are blogs being used for instruction?

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Directory Data

• Blog Directory Includes:– Blog Title– Description– Creator– Date Created– # Posts– # Comments– Last Update

18

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

19

Creator’s Status

• All but 30 of the blogs included a creator’s name

• 89% of the blogs had creator names that could be located in the University directory

• These blogs were coded by creator status (n=567)

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Who is Blogging?

9.0%

15.9%

25.1%

49.9%

Faculty

Graduate Student

Staff

Undergraduate

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Blog “Type”

• Blog Content was qualitatively coded as:– Academic– Business/Administrative– Other University Content– Personal– Not Set Up

• Three independent coders– Agreement on type for 94% (n=631)

22

What are They Blogging About?

2.9%

6.0%

22.7%

29.5%

39.0%

University Other

Business-Administrative

Personal

Not Set Up

Academic

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Blog Type by Creator Status

Creator Status Blog Type Faculty Graduate Undergrad Staff Academic 27.5 40.9 47.6 19.1 Univ Bus/Admin 5.9 0 0 22.7 University Other 5.9 4.5 .7 5 Personal 11.8 27.3 22.4 26.2 Not Set Up 49.0 27.3 29.4 27.0 (N) (51) (88) (286) (141) 2 = 127.640a; P<.001a. 4 cells have expected count less than 5.

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When were the Blogs Created?

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

Feb-06Mar-06Apr-06May-06Jun-06Jul-06Aug-06Sep-06Oct-06Nov-06Dec-06Jan-07

25

How Long did the Blogs Live?

39%

21%

25%

15%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

1 Day

1 Month

2 - 3 Months

> 3 Months

26

Which Blogs Live Longest?Average # Days by Creator

27.3

32.6 33.4

74.3

Faculty Graduate Student Undergraduate Staff

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Summary

• Blog use varies by type and creator• Many blogs on the University’s platform

do not survive– Research suggests a large proportion of all

blogs don’t survive

• So, what makes a successful blog?

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Answer May Lie

• Relationship between the personal/individual qualities of blogs and the social/collaborative components

• Analyzing academic blogs is more complicated because motivation is extrinsic vs. intrinsic– I.E., Course requirement

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Academic Blogs

• Nine unique courses taught by seven instructors– 11 classes

• Made up 92% of all the University “academic blogs” (n=226)

• Seven instructors contacted about their use of blogs for instruction– Four completed an emailed questionnaire

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Instructor Objectives• Get students writing for “public consumption”

• Introduce students to “new tools and practices essential for maintaining a presence of the web”

• “Venue for students to journal and reflect”

• “Helped to form a virtual community”

• “helped me (instructor) to understand the pulse of the class”

• Encourage the students to “develop technology skills”

• “provide commentary and analysis on readings”

• “important for students to be able to write in a that genre, evaluating online sources and other blogs, using hyperlinks to source materials, and learning rhetorical strategies for directing arguments at an unknown audience.”

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Instructors Report Success

• But….– To improve”…employ some method of more easily

including pictures within the structure of the blogs”

– “Very successful…once everyone relaxed and realized the entry was not an academic paper, they enjoyed the experience more.

– “...but there seems to be an assumption on some students' part that online writing isn't as important or doesn't need to be well-written…This is the biggest challenge--getting some of the students to put the same amount of effort into it.”

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Anecdotal Patterns

• Student academic blogs do not appear to contain the same qualities of other blogs– Few links– Few photos (or other media)– Topic assigned– Few comments

• Questions about “audience”

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More Research Needed to Address Pedagogical Issues

• Fall 2007, we will begin a qualitative content analysis of academic blogs

• We are aiming to uncover characteristics• Hope to develop a descriptive model

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Share Findings

• Contact us @ alt.asu.edu

– Laura Brewer - lbrewer@asu.edu– Sam DiGangi - sam@asu.edu– Angel Jannasch-Pennell - angel@asu.edu