Pros and Cons for Adult Learners


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Millennial and Gen Z students receive most of their information through podcasts, blogs, and various forms of technology (MacPhail, 2019); as a student and entrepreneur, it is refreshing and rewarding to create digitally in an educational space. The use of blogging and discussion boards is not new to me, but the learning curve in blogging's rhythm is. I am learning that comprising of writing, reading, 'commenting in,' and 'commenting out' of blogs (Garcia, Moizer, Wilkins, & Haddoud, 2019) and discussion boards builds a unique community. Blogs and discussion boards' only notable difference is that blogs provide more range in public creativity and visually more stimulating. Simultaneously, blogging assignments potentially offer a final product that students can share on social media.  


 "Tell me a Smart Story: On Podcasts, Videos, and Websites as writing assignments" caught my attention as Theresa MacPhail wrote about the options students have with integrating technology into their assignments. Discussion boards and blogs can be interactive with videos and pictures while providing a personal touch and innovating outside of the traditional paper. I have an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications with a concentration in electronic media. I am familiar with nontraditional ways of collecting and distributing information through assignments. Although I have little experience with the discussion boards and blogs, I learned that digital storytelling is utilized in blogging. To tell a good digital story, you have to storyboard the topic; you can't just wing it. Most of what you say has to be planned- not improvised (MacPhail, 2019). Behind the magic of a website, voiceover, podcast, or blog, it is required to organize materials similar to executing a paper. Theresa found that students who choose to do one of these nontraditional research projects are making better arguments and end up putting a lot more effort into the overall project.  


 Giving students and educators the option to utilize different media for assignments will require students to personalize their projects. These types of projects make it harder for students to plagiarize. (MacPhail, 2019) I feel anxiety from public writing- not speaking. Writing informatively, for my thoughts to align fluently, the use of proper grammar and expanding my conversation vocabulary felt intimidating at first. As I grow in the skill, I am enjoying the intentional enhancement of critical thinking and collaboration through discussion boards and blogs.  Entering an online graduate program, I understood that I would be converting my public writer's anguish into a gifted skill while navigating the blogosphere.   

  

Garcia, E., Moizer, J., Wilkins, S., & Haddoud, M. Y. (2019, July). Student learning in higher education through blogging in the classroom. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.er.lib.k-state.edu/science/article/pii/S0360131519300776 

  

MacPhail, T. (2019, April 19). Tell Me a Smart Story: On Podcasts, Videos, and Websites as Writing Assignments. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://community.chronicle.com/news/2183-tell-me-a-smart-story-on-podcasts-videos-and-websites-as-writing-assignments?cid=VTEVPMSED1 

Comments

  1. JohnSeptember 3, 2020 at 12:21 AM

    You talked about the utilization of various media resulting in the students personalizing their projects, and I think this is a fantastic point. Not only does it make it more difficult to plagiarize, but I think students are less apt to want to plagiarize because the world can see it and criticize it. Santos (2011) indicates that because the students know they have an audience outside of just their teacher, it leads to greater care and responsibility in what they post. I think this is very true and results in superior result for the student.

    One thing you discussed that I can't seem to fully understand is "blogging rhythm." I read about it in our reading assignments for this week, as well as researched the term a bit further. However, to be honest, I still don't really understand it. What is your basic understanding of this concept?


    Santos, A. (2011). Blogs As A Learning Space: Creating Text Of Talks. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 4(6), 15-19.

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    Replies
    1. CattEyeSeptember 6, 2020 at 7:28 AM

      Hi John,
      I view the rhythm of blogging close to finding the rhythm in music or dance. If you have ever seen a line dance, electric slide, cupid shuffle, wobble, to the name of a few require specific steps. You have to understand the actions, be a willing participant, and interact.

      The rhythm of blogging requires the same concept- the steps are to write, read, and engage in discussion. There are different forms of interaction with blogs, as well as other ways of learning from these. The rhythm of blogging describes how people blog (Garcia, Moizer, Wilkins, & Haddoud, 2019). Writing, reading, mirror-reflecting are elements that affect the rhythm of blogging and assist in building and engaging social co-participation in a community. Writing refers to how an individual will write a post for their blog. Reading refers to how individuals will read and absorb their comments and sticks to a blog or those produced by others. Finally, commenting refers to posting comments in response to a blog. When discussing the rhythm of blogging, it not only deals with the collaborative discussion but also the quality of content, thoughtfulness, and timeliness.

      Garcia, E., Moizer, J., Wilkins, S., & Haddoud, M. Y. (2019, July). Student learning in higher education through blogging in the classroom. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.er.lib.k-state.edu/science/article/pii/S0360131519300776

      Delete
  2. Shana September 3, 2020 at 10:40 AM

    Your note about about using various media in student assignments also grabbed my attention. In giving students the opportunity to personalize their projects, such as with blogs, a more meaningful learning environment is developed. According to research by Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner (as cited in Kuo et al., 2017), blogs cater to adult students' learning preferences and can facilitate positive learning experiences. In my experience, I would definitely agree with this. I enjoy personalized assignments in which I become more engaged, in turn, my learning is authentic and solidified.


    Kuo, Y.-C., Belland, B. R., & Kuo, Y.-T. (2017). Learning through blogging: students’ perspectives in collaborative blog-enhanced learning communities. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 20(2), 37–50.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jerry Lee Wollam 2020September 6, 2020 at 1:43 PM

    Catt, I also thought that the ability for students to be more creative by utilizing different types of media was a definite plus. I know for myself I have a very hard time putting my thoughts down on paper in an organized fashion as well making them seem coherent and concise, where as, when I speak I am able to make it more coherent. Today with the technology capabilities that are out there I can use many different means to get my point across. I can use podcast, dictation program such as dragon-speak, video-blog (vlog), just to name a few. With this we can find that as Kuo, et. al. (2016) stated, "Blogging self-efficacy refers to confidence in performing multimedia tasks in blogging, including capturing multimedia, multimedia processing, and content transfer to a blog. Research has shown that blogs can be a useful tool for formal and informal learning in various disciplines (Park, Heo, & Lee, 2011)."

    Kuo, Y., Belland, B. and Kuo, Y., 2016. Learning through Blogging: Students’ Perspectives in Collaborative BlogEnhanced Learning Communities. Educational Technology & Society, 20(2), pp.37-50.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LifeLongLNRSeptember 6, 2020 at 9:37 PM

    Catt,

    I enjoyed you post. I think you it on the key points regarding the viability and application of blog posts in adult education. My personal experience with blogs has recently grown with not only applications associated with the K State Program, but a wider use for news and political commentary. The program I am associated with at work has used student discussion boards with good effect for many years. We also require students to communicated with the course facilitator through a daily journal. I very much agree with your perspective on allowing instructors and students the widest flexibility in using different technologies and media while achieving learning outcomes.

    I found your explanation of the rhythm of blogging to be most interesting and very useful, thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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