According to Tremayne (2007) in the past few years blogs
have gone from ‘relative obscurity to immense popularity’. The ease of use of
blogs and the ability for anybody with an internet connection to make one has
surely added to the popularity. Herring et al. seconds this thought by writing
that ‘blogs are popular in part because they enable easy, inexpensive
self-publication’ (cited in Tremayne 2007). For me, this is the second unit
this year in which making a blog has been an integral part of the course
content demonstrating just how widespread blogs have now become, even being
included in higher education. In the words of Oravec (2010) blogs are ‘emerging
in many educational contexts as vehicles for personal expression and the
dissemination and critique of Internet materials.’
Robertson (2010) says that ‘to be successful university
learners, students need to develop skills in self-directed learning’. I find
this quote to be increasingly true the more I blog. The thought of blogging
each week in ALC215 began as quite a daunting experience for me as I had no
idea of where I was to begin. I feel however, that by doing it each week my
mind has begun to evolve and delve into topics that I would have never been
interested in without the push of knowing that I have to do it to pass, just to
be honest. Roberton’s article on blogging in higher education and the need for
students to develop self directed learning is completely accurate and I
honestly believe that if more units involved blogging in their course content
it would push more students to analyse a wider range of scholarly sources.
Robertson shares her thoughts on the benefits of writing a
blog for university students as it is a ‘convenient way to produce and share a
reflective learning log’ as well as ‘offering opportunities for collaborative
learning’ (2010). Blogs offer a virtual platform in which students can publish
on scholarly topics which relate to their future career goal and can even
possibly impress a future employer since reliance on social media is a huge
must for many companies and employees these days.
References
Oravec, JA 2010, Blending by Blogging: Weblogs in blending
learning initiatives, Journal of Educational Media, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1358165032000165671#.UifubT_26bQ
Robertson, J 2011, ‘The educational affordances of blog for
self directed learning’, Computers and Education, vol 57 <https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/143750/viewContent/1978554/View>
Tremayne, M 2007, Blogging, Citizenship and the Future of
Media, Routledge, <http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=a6zPnOn9i9oC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=citizen+journalism+and+blogging&ots=Jxkt3jNhMb&sig=HcF8E5jzSIzg2_TWbgivGk3_2IU#v=onepage&q&f=false>
Image references
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