Article 6: Avoiding the 5 Most Common Mistakes in Using Blogs with Students

Summary:

The article is by Ruth Reynard who is an associate professor of education who has used blogging with university graduate students for five years. The article lists and explains the five most common blogging mistakes for university students. The first is ineffective contextualization when students do not understand the benefit of blogs. They need to have base knowledge of the content in order to decide how to use blogs. Second are unclear learning outcomes where the student should clearly analyze, syntheses, come up with new ideas, and then applies what they have learned in the blog. Third are misuse of the environment, it is not a wiki but a place for students to communicative their thoughts in. Fourth are illusive grading practices stating instructors need to have detailed rubrics for grading. And fifth are inadequate time allocations, in which her article suggests leaving the time allotted to be for the whole length of the course.

Reaction:

The article seems to hold good suggestions to encourage instructors to use blogging a choice in education. It would be useful for teachers to assess understanding of the curriculum in any subject since students post their own thoughts. I agree that it requires students to participate to a greater degree, and I do believe it shows students critical thinking. A negative side to these suggests are there is more time spent reading and it would mean instructors might have to spend many hours catching up on blogs at the end of the term.


Reynard, R. (08, October 01). Avoiding the 5 Most Common Mistakes in Using Blogs with Students. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Campus Technology: http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2008/10/Avoiding-the-5-Most-Common-Mistakes-in-Using-Blogs-with-Students.aspx?Page=1