why blogging works as formative assessment
TRANSCRIPT
Dialogic, Informative, Entertaining: why blogging works as formative assessment
Dr Tansy JessopASPEN Seminar, University of Glasgow
11 March 2016
You and blogging…
• Do you blog?
• Do you read other people’s blogs?
• Why do people blog?
• Why do people blog in academic settings?
Love it or hate it
• Groups of three
• Please take a pack of statements and your very own Likert scale.
• You have ten minutes to come to consensus about each statement.
Blogs are essentially online journalswhere an author publishes a series of chronological, updateable entries orposts on various topics, typically of
personal interest to the author and oftenexpressed in a strongly subjective voice.
(Farmer, B., Yue, A. & Brooks, C. 2008)
“Blogging has the potential to be a transformational technology for
teaching and learning”
(Williams & Jacobs, 2004)
Small-scale project 1: BA Primary
• Final Year Students, English module• Problem: silent seminars: are they reading?• Formative task: blog 1 x per week on readings• One post by Sunday night• Post three comments by Wednesday• Face-to-face blogging groups • Shared group blog platform
‘Think aloud’ data
• Interviewed 6 x students over their blogs• Interval data: W1, W4, W10• Camtasia recording (voice and screencast)• Transcribed and coded
Out of the silent seminar…
You have to evidence that you have read it compared to a seminar reading. You are reading a lot more as well as the set ones.
I go more in depth with the reading than with the reading pack then I’d just highlight. It helps.
We sit in blog groups, all talk about it. Discuss the readings. I think the discussion is more focused.
Into engagement…
Over the whole three years this is the most engaged I’ve been in my readings. I really liked doing this. I wish we had done it more. Maybe start it in the first year.
.
…it is also a bit chatty and informal. Even though I’m putting
in readings, it’s different. It’s a nicer relaxed way of talking
about literature
Into learning…
You change your ideas, and maybe something will influence your next post. It opens your mind up to new ideas. It gets you thinking.
If someone else reads it you’re going to be giving a different view to theirs and developing their understanding – also when you read theirs they develop your understanding.
I’ll be able to use others stuff, opened up a lot of doors, will make my essay a lot better.
But it wasn’t perfect…
• Too much work for one module• Lack of confidence commenting on posts• Lack of personalising blogs• Synthesis with summative?
MA L&T Curriculum Design in HE
• In-class writing activity• One hour per week before session• Community of writers• Individual blogs• Fortnightly blog post• Alternate week comment on three• Formative, required x 4 posts
Module Evaluation 2014-15
It grew on me Brill – confidence building. I have a voice and through the blogging
it was a voice that had to be heard.
I appreciated the dialogical aspect, and found some people’s blogs as informative as they were entertaining
Loved it, felt comfortable blogging worked well for sharing ideas/thoughts.
Not mad about the mix of off-the-cuff thoughts
and them being public….
References
Farmer, B., Yue, A. & Brooks, C. (2008). Using blogging for higher order learning in large cohort university teaching: A case study. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 24(2), 123-136. Available at: http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet24/farmer.html
Williams, J.B. & 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. Available at:http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet20/williams.html