Blogging in Higher Education: Issues, Challenges, and Design Considerations (D & D)

Educators in higher education have started to integrate Web2.0 technologies for enhancing learning and instruction activities, taking advantages of their accessibility, ease of use, and potential in achieving various types of learning goals. Furthermore, many of the Web2.0 technologies have been designed and promoted as social tools which are conducive to interaction, communication, and collaboration (Gunawardena, Hermans, Sanchez, Richmond, Bohley & Tuttle, 2009)--the important skills to develop for the 21st century learners (Lesgold, 2009). Blog, the shorthand of weblog, is one of the Web2.0 technologies that have captured educators’ attention in higher education for its potential for cyberlearning. Technologically, blog systems offer an intuitive platform for publishing and commenting on the web with a content delivering mechanism that automatically updates the bloggers (i.e., blog authors) and readers about the latest content (Kim, 2008). This intuitive platform opens up the opportunities for contribution and participation on the Web in this information age (Hsu, Ching, & Grabowski, 2009). Pedagogically, blogging activities can help students develop a range of essential skills, such as writing, reflection, and critical thinking skills, depending on the desired learning goals. From the perspective of learning, “knowledge is created, shared, remixed, repurposed, and passed along” (Mason & Rennie, 2008, p.10) in a Web 2.0 environment such blogs. Socially, blogs create virtual spaces for interaction between the instructor and students, among the students, and between students and the public with access to the web (Fessakis, Tatsis, & Dimitracopoulou, 2008). With this increased interactivity, blogs enable development of communication and collaboration skills and serve as a powerful channel for social networking that encourages students to establish their support groups for learning (e.g., learning communities) and/or for professional development (e.g., communities of practice) (Gloff, 2005). Although blogs theoretically may seem to be a promising technology for learning and instruction in higher education, research findings on the educational blogging are not always positive in terms of whether blogging activities had helped students achieved the intended learning goals (Divitini, Haugalokken, & Morken, 2005). Moreover, the emerging research on blogging at various higher educational contexts reveals challenges and issues associated with designing and implementing such activities. The accumulative research findings of successful and unsuccessful blogging activities suggested valuable implications for future design and implementation of such activities. This paper systematically examined empirical research studies on educational blogging in the context of higher education. The purpose of this presentation is to provide considerations for designing and implementing effective educational blogging activities to help achieve intended learning goals. Specifically, the following research questions were asked: 1. What are the learning goals that can be achieved via educational blogging? 2. What are the issues and challenges of educational blogging activities? 3. What skills do students need to develop in order to blog effectively for learning?