Sound Pedagogy & Blogging

I am going to narrow my focus a bit towards blogging in the classroom, as an example of web 2.0 tools, and good teaching practices. I think this will allow me to focus more in depth on one tool and explore its implementation in the classroom. I believe the things I learn through this will be transferable to other web 2.0 tools, such as podcasting, wikis, and whatever they come up with tomorrow.

Richard Ferdig, in an article for the British Journal of Educational Technology, argues good technological innovations from a pedagogy standpoint should:

1. contain authentic and challenging academic content
2. provide users with a sense of ownership
3. provide opportunities for active participation, interaction, and collaboration
4. create learning communities that allow for new teachers-student relationship, where the teacher moves to a supporting, guiding role
5. provide for the creation of an artifact that represents the learning
6. provide for publication of the artifact, reflection of the creator, and feedback from others (Ferdig, 2006)

I think that blogging in the classroom can meet all six of these pedagogy components.

1. While blogging does not inherently have authentic and challenging academic content, the assignment and blogger adds this component. The teacher, by assigning higher-order, engaging problems or discussion starters, drives the student to create authentic and challenging academic content.
2. A blog is a student's own personal space to work through their thoughts and ideas. They can choose the background, the colors, the fonts, the gadgets and customizable features to make their blog reflect who they are. They are also the main contributor to the blog, letting it take on content and a tone that reflects them as students.
3. Blog are a perfect venue for collaboration and interaction. By commenting on other blogs, they are interacting with their peers and those from around the world. Collaboration is possible through the sharing of information, linking, and comments.
   
4. A blog provides an opportunity for the teacher to step aside and let the student take control of the learning. By having their own space to share their thoughts and ideas, a student can control the direction of learning. It is a great way to differentiate learning; each student can explore the portions of the topic that interest them most.
5. The blog entries are the artifact; the entries are not restricted to text only - they can be videos, slide shows, pictures, text, graphics, or a combination of multimedia.
6. The blog entry is published on the blog. By publishing their work on the internet they are increasing the size of their audience compared to presenting their work to their teacher and classmates. Feedback can take the form of comments or responses to entries in other blogs.
   

References:

Ferdig, R.E. (2006). Assessing technologies for teaching and learning: Understanding the importance of technological-pedagogical content knowledge. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(5), 749-760. Retrieved from the EBSCO Host database.