Blogs have evolved as effective digital platforms for student learning and assessment. Blogs can provide a balance between formal written assignments and the freedom of expression through personal writing. Research on the use of blogs in education suggests that students who blog as part of a course requirement demonstrate increased course-related knowledge and experience opportunities for engagement and self-reflection. This article discusses two uses of blogs as assignments for students along with tips for using blogs in educational settings.
In a qualitative study, researchers examined senior undergraduate students’ use of a project-related blog on a curriculum-assessment alignment project completed as a co-op work placement. The students used blog posts to guide the co-op project and to engage in learning and reflection. The researchers found that “students used the blog extensively, to communicate with their faculty supervisor and with one another, to brainstorm solutions to problems, to record notes, and to critique existing learning outcomes and the literature” (Worthington et al., 2018, p. 125). The blog served as documentation of the project from beginning to end. Students wrote about the pedagogy of curriculum mapping and recorded team decisions about the mapping process. Also, students used the blog to describe challenges faced on the job and to reflect on how the knowledge they gained applied to other areas of their lives.
Another use of blogs was in a literacy course for preservice teachers. As students, the preservice teachers created reflective blogs to demonstrate their knowledge of concepts taught by their instructor. Four blog assignments with instructor-created prompts replaced a traditional reflection paper. Literacy blog topics aligned with the course learning outcomes related to reading, writing, lesson planning, and differentiation. Students used materials and resources shared by the instructor, class discussions, and their research to write blog posts. The blog format supported preservice teachers in developing their teaching philosophies and professional identities (Childs, 2021).
Here are some tips for incorporating blog assignments into your course.
- Align the blog assignment with at least one of the course learning outcomes.
- Define the focus of the blog and maintain a consistent schedule of posting.
- Define the criteria for assessing the blog and share it with students ahead of time.
- Discuss plagiarism and use it as a teaching moment (e.g. Post copyright-free images and cite the source.)
- Choose a platform (e.g., WordPress, Google Sites, Blogger, Edublogs) where students can build their blogs.
Think about how you can implement blogging to promote learning and reflection in your discipline and educational setting.
Cite this blog: Washington, G. (2022, April 30). Blogs As Academic Writing Assignments [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/
Image from Pixabay
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