I’m doing a whole lot of reading and research into the topic of classroom blogging at the moment, and have run into a recurring theme of compulsory student posting that I want to muse a bit about.
The basic idea behind compulsory posting is that, rather than leaving topics or frequency of posting exclusively to the individual to decide, students are – at minimum – assigned a topic/question and deadline which they must cover in their blogs.
In my mind, the question of whether or not to mandate blogging ultimately boils down to a question of purpose and mission. For instance, why are students being asked to start their own blogs; what is hoped to emerge from their use of them; where do blogs sit relative to the course structure, aims and objectives or relative to other courses; what are the more holistic goals above and beyond the course curriculum?
To be honest I’m undecided about where I sit on the whole topic. Ultimately for me one of the key outcomes for use of a blog should be a recognised sense of personal ownership and value in the learning experience, the development of metacognition, and the realisation of one’s place in a wider digital culture. In that sense, preserving the capacity to control and direct the flow and use of the blog at the level of the individual is incredibly important, lest the space start to feel like another form of homework assignment that you “just get through.”
On the other hand, the ultimate value in blogs as medium for learning, and more broadly for engaging and communicating with others, is not necessarily clear in the early stages. From personal experience, there is a period in early blogging – before personal or learning networks have developed and there is a sense of immersion in a wider ecosystem – where composing posts feels like a pointless exercise in an echo chamber – more like a digital version of a paper-based diary than a means of engaging in a wider conversation.
So in that sense I can see compulsory blogging as a potential motivator to help people acclimate to the medium and weather the initial period of uncertainty of purpose or value.
There is also the notion that not everyone will ultimately enjoy blogging. Not everyone enjoys reflection, or contemplation; not everyone enjoys writing. So if a primary goal of student blogs in a classroom is to track their progress through the curriculum, identify any areas of uncertainty, or indeed even frustration – then the prospect of compulsory posting may indeed be necessary.
Having said that though, there is no reason why student reflections must only be conveyed in text. Different people prefer different mediums and methods – be they auditory, visual, textual, analytical, abstract, kinesthetic – most of which could conceivably be captured in a manner or format that you could include in a blog post given enough thought.
For instance,
- Abstract/visual learners might develop a drawing or sketch done on paper, then scan and upload it as a image, with an accompanied explanation of what the work means to them.
- Kinesthetic learners might record a performance of a dance sequence on film, edit and upload it to YouTube, embedded in a blog post, and then explain what mood it was intended to evoke, or story it was meant to tell.
- Students who enjoy group work might collaboratively put together a podcast or video documentary, then each embed it in their own blogs and discuss what the project meant to them.
Essentially, affording as much flexibility to the student as possible will enable them to discover their own preferred ways of working and learning.
So perhaps the question is more about shades of grey – the degree to which you require posting, and how you do so – rather than a binary one in which you either do mandate posting or you don’t.
