Blog Reflections as a Journal

Reflection on own learning – I’m not one to keep a diary or journal, however since creating a blog and posting up reflections on my learning has been quite useful. Some information with me can be easily forgotten if I don’t read over it again, therefore having this blog allowed me to refer back to my reflections for future analysis and reading. At first I was a bit unsure about other class members seeing my work, but then I realised, ‘who cares’, it’s about what I learnt, there’s no wrong or right answer. I liked the idea of sharing this information with other class members and reading their different perspectives because they covered things I didn’t consider which really helped my learning.

Reflection on potential of my learners – By using a blog it gives the students the opportunity to network and interact with one another through the use of an ICT devise (blog) rather than keeping a hard copy diary or journal which is a more private approach. By students sharing their thoughts on different viewpoints may help in understanding different issues. This blogging activity definitely caters for the 21^st century learner.

Constructivism – definitely has a constructivism approach because this online collaboration tool allows students to have a permanent record of their reflections so they can refer back to it for future reading and analysis. Cognitivism – has a degree of cognitivism as I believe the blog entries aid students in organising the learning content. Behaviourism - Students are led through a series of steps (readings, activities, reflections) with the end goal of completing a blog entry. Connectivism – students learnt through sharing their thoughts and ideas on activities using a blog.

I don’t think reflecting on learning using a blog supports a diverse range of students. Although it caters for the 21^st century learner it doesn’t accommodate for those students who are digitally inactive. For those who have visual and verbal learning styles this activity would suit because these learners get the most out of pictures, videos, diagrams and readings. This online e-Learning activity supports learning by allowing the students to participate in a range of online readings, online wikis, online activities and reflecting upon this using their personal online blog. Not all learners are going to be comfortable completing this task because they don’t have the knowledge and experience in using ICT. Trupp (2009) stated that some learners might not use ICT at home, this lack of knowledge and experience with ICT may contribute into the classroom and create learning challenges rather than support it.