Blogs in language education

Dr. Matthew ClarkeSchool of Education

Change as the new constant

• “The world continues to change in technological, social and economic ways... The literate person must be able to combine and recombine existing and new literacy knowledge, skills, and purposes for new purposes and new contexts using new technologies.”

Anstey & Bull, 2006

Changing literacies…

Exploring Literacy

How have your literacy practices changed over the past 5-10 years?

What literacy practices do you engage in that are different from those of your

parents’ generation?

New literacies

• Involve multimodal texts: words, images, sound, movement, space

• Value sharing, collaboration, connectivity and creativity

• Reflect widespread distribution and consumption of popular culture (e.g. movies, music, characters etc)

• Require multiple literacies, not literacy

Other ‘new literacies’ practices• wikis• blogs• email• IM• videogames• mashups/remix• videomaking• social networking• online shopping

• movies• comics• cartoons• videos• advertisements• online storiesetc

The “digital divide” between home & school

The New in New Literaciesafter Lankshear and Knobel, 2006:38 and 60

Mindset 1 Mindset 2PublishingCentralized expertiseIndividual intelligenceIndividual authorshipOwnershipValue from scarcity Stability and fixity

ParticipationDistributed expertiseCollective intelligenceCollaborationSharingValue from dispersionInnovation, creative rule-breaking

New literacies practices: blogging“Blogs have evolved into multiple forms reflecting diverse

social purposes.” (Lankshear&Knobel, 2006, p. 138)

• A provisional typology of the blogosphere• Interactivity & networking tools include: backtracking,

RSS feeds & hyperlinks• You can read more about the origins and nature of blogs

at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog• You can read tips for successful blogging at:

http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2005/08/29/learning-about-blogging-and-how-to-blog/

Blogs in education• Blogs are free, widely available, and relatively

straightforward to use• Blogs can incorporate a range of multimodal text types and

features (videos, sound files, images etc.)• Blogs lend themselves to longitudinal projects and group

work• Blogs can be a vehicle for learning about the features,

affordances, and pitfalls of online communication• Blogs can be vehicles for connecting to others with shared

interests & support emerging ‘communities of practice’ or ‘affinity spaces’

• Blogs can provide a record of learning over timeDavies & Merchant, 2009

Blogging activity

• Visit the following site: http://bruceinsydney.wordpress.com

• Explore some of the sites in the ‘blogroll’ and think about their design

• Also explore other sites via popular blog spaces, such as Xanga.com, Livejournal.com, Blogger.co, Blogspot.com and Wordpres.com– How do bloggers use formatting and content choices to

convey information about themselves?– Are there any other blogs you use regularly and like?– What features make these sites effective?

Blogging activity ctd…• Now go to http://wordpress.com or Blogger and

create your own blog for the time you are in Sydney (be creative with the title!)

• Make sure you are logged in and go to the ‘dashboard’ for your site

• Use the ‘links’ feature on the dashboard to create links to Bruce’s blog and to the blogs of your peers

• Explore other features on the dashboard and try to customize your blog (share any tricks and tips you discover with others)

References• Anstey, M. & Bull, G. (2006). Teaching and learning multiliteracies. Newark, DE:

International Reading Association.• Buckingham, D. (2007). Beyond technology: Children's learning in the age of digital

culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.• Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (2009). Digital literacies: Social learning and classroom

practices. London: Sage.• Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses (2nd ed.).

London: Taylor & Francis.• Gee, J.P. (2004). Situated language and learning: A critique of traditional schooling.

New York: Routldege. • Healy, A. (Ed.). (2008). Multiliteracies and diversity in education: New pedagogies for

expanding landscapes. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.• Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2006). New literacies: Everyday practices and classroom

learning 2nd Ed. New York: McGraw Hill.• Lessig, L. (2005). Free culture: The nature and future of creativity. New York: Penguin.• Pelgrum, M. (2009). From blogs to bombs: The future of digital technologies in

education. Perth: University of Western Australia Press.• Thomas, A. (2007). Youth online: Identity and literacy in the digital age. New York:

Peter Lang.

A blog taxonomy

The lonely blogger…