Blogs in Plain English
Lee and Sachi LeFever have done it again with Blogs in Plain English. The only thing I think is missing is a discussion of blogs as a learning tool. There's still a sense of blogging as a broadcast medium with some commenting and conversation thrown in. No criticism of Lee and Sachi here. I think that this video represents the more mainstream thinking/definition of a blog and that it's a lot harder to talk about blogs as learning tools in three minutes. This could make a nice intro to a workshop on blogging. You might also want to forward it to the people who ask "What's a blog?"
Hi Michelle,
I too follow Lee and Sachi's work and like this little context setting video very much. I am intrigued by your question about blogs as learning tools. I know they have their publication and conversation purposes and they are great tools if only used in this way. AND, I find that I learn a lot when I develop a really thoughtful post - because I have to take the time to think it all through and notice my own thinking about the topic. One group I work with thinks of blogs as "learning journals" or "learning logs" which I think may be (?) getting at your point about learning. How do you see the value of blogging as a learning tool?
Posted by: LaDonna Coy | November 30, 2007 at 12:18 PM
Hi LaDonna--you're right that using your blog as a learning journal is part of what I was getting at in thinking about blogs as learning tools. Like you, when I take the time to write thoughtful posts, I am able to reflect and process on things in a way that often deepens my knowledge of a particular subject.
But I also see blogs as learning tools because of their community aspects. For example, I'm fortunate to have a lot of readers who take the time to write very thoughtful comments in response to my posts. I often find that they challenge and/or extend my thinking in a way that wouldn't happen, of course, if I merely kept a written journal that no one saw.
I also find that there is a lot of back and forth between bloggers where we not only use comments, but more extensive posts on our own blogs to extend and elaborate on our thinking and ideas. Because of both RSS and the linkable quality of blogs, I find a lot of new information this way that contributes to my learning.
So while I think that the journaling/reflective quality of blogging (when we use it that way) is part of what makes blogs valuable as learning tools, I also think that it's the reading of and commenting on other people's blogs, plus their comments on mine, that take things even further. I think that learning is both a reflective and a social process, and for me blogging has provided a perfect combination of both.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment--this is one of those times that I wrote myself to some greater understanding because of your comment and question--which is why blogging is such a great learning tool! :-)
Posted by: Michele Martin | November 30, 2007 at 12:33 PM