Educational Blogs---Do they work?

I have been reading some research findings about the benefits of educational blogging. Researchers in the UK have concluded that a majority of graduate students that were studied in 2003 -2005 report that blogging is not a major form of learning and holds a low level of interest in their assignments. The article was not available for download from my university's electronic library, but I was able to obtain it in e-form through the inter-library loan system.

Kerawalla, L. et. al (2006) An empirically grounded framework to guide blogging in higher education. Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keyes, UK.

I realize that in terms of Internet technology, this is old information, perhaps even stone age by comparison to the development of social website developments; but, it may still hold a degree of relevance among college students. In discussing one of my current online classes with my professor, he stated that he is experiencing some difficulty in getting students to communicate freely on the discussion boards. While this is not blogging, it is similar in that it requires similar technology and skills, so I propose that there are probably still some similar attitudes remaining.

This paper suggests that several factors affect the student's attitude towards the blog including: what is the basic motivation to blog?, what's in it for me?, what am I learning?, what is the instructor desiring?, and how do students communicate differently with educational blogs than in other forms of communications?

If the world is changing through the increased amount of information available online and an increased ability to locate, review, index, and create content online (Web 2.0), how can online college level classes be changed to increase student participation?

One of the alluring promises associated with the world wide web is the capability to meet and exchange ideas with people from around the world. This is true in education and collaboration using blogging methods. I propose a day in which education technology and educational content are on an equal level as the social websites like Facebook.

I was speaking to an online student recently who was reading "A Communist Manifesto" and asked to answer three questions, What was the background of this work?, What is the difference between socialism and communism?, and What is did Marx mean when he said that religion is the opiate of the people? I felt tired just listening to her, and observing her high level of frustration with her online class.

She was not understanding the book, and had no historical, economic, or political background understanding of the subject. The only resources that she was aware of was the text assigned and the three questions posed by her online professor. I was able to show her how to use Google to search for answers, and use my favorite educational search engine www.ask.com. She was expressing her strong dislike to her online provider, and stated she would probably flunk out if this was how it would be. She felt stupid. She said she wished she could see a picture of her professor's face and could have short introductory clips to watch.

I asked her, "Would you like it if your class was as much fun as spending time on Facebook?" She immediately brightened and said, "Yes, I would!" I told her that educators are working to create that type of online experience, she just needed to hang in there, and learn how to use web resources to learn from others. That conversation has greatly motivated me to learn more about the web applications and open source software that is available to me as an educator.

With the seemingly unending attractions and interest in Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks, there is certainly a strong attraction to the practice of blogging. New applications are constantly being developed and released for Internet and blog usage. In this dialogue, I ask, "What does Facebook and the other blog sites have that educational blogging lacks?"

In my experience, I tend to be either strongly attracted to my blog, or very indifferent to maintaining a blog. I am not an active Facebook operative, but I overhear lots of chatter about the usefulness of Facebook in a wide variety of areas. There is the "Current Status" section, in which bloggers may post a random comment. There are virtual, second life, spaces on Facebook including Pet Society, Yoville, and other such places. Then there is the profile, photos, videos, and comments on the exploits of others.

I am learning from the social power brokers what makes people be attracted to the websites and what works. What have you learned? Please join in the discussion.