Blogs as Learning Spaces in Higher Education

This post is a reflection on the use of blogs as devices for learning in higher education.  The study participants were from Harvard Law School and the Brisbane Graduate School of Business.  These grad schools used blogs as part of their programs.  Students responded to questionnaires on how they felt about the use of blogs in the program.  Most participants felt that blogs were beneficial to the learning environment.

Blogs were seen as a space where interactivity between students took place.  It was a place where students can learn from other students, besides just the teacher all the time.  Students can debate, interact, and leave comments with each other on topics to facilitate learning.  Topics can also be archived, so that at any time, students can go back and look at prior posts or discussions.  Assessment might be tricky…maybe participation is a good way to grade the blog portion of the class.    

I think blogs as a part of higher education can provide a good way for students to learn from each other.  It would provide the instructor to see the thoughts of students in an informal setting.     


Reference:
Williams, J. & Jacobs, J. (2004).  Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector.  Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 20(2), 232-247.