Why They (Won’t) BlogDr. Marcel Rotter – University of Mary Washington(mrotter@umw.edu – PP on Slideshare)

Background UMW

University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA

4000 undergraduate Students, 800 graduate students

Largest majors in Biology, Psychology, Business, English

Department of Modern Foreign Languages:- Spanish, French, German (=majors)- Italian, Arabic, Chinese (= language programs)- Language Requirement (intermediate proficiency or

2 years of college-level instruction)

Technology at UMW

Own blogging platform ****.umwblogs.edu

Wordpress based Support of IT by administration Support of IT for faculty and staff

Jim Groom (Edu Punk) = director of IT Faculty Academy each spring Training sessions for groups and in offices

Blogging – very common in classes

Blogging in Advanced German Classes

Part of the syllabus “technical session” with IT support

staff Assignment of topics usually through

teacher’s or class blog Students have to blog 1-2 paragraphs

& comment on at least two other blogs Teacher comments on students’ blogs Grade assigned to force participation

Problems Students unwilling to blog in the FL in German

and some Spanish classes (teacher interviews, student survey)

Students overwhelmed by blogging in classes Would students blog in FL without a grade? How to make the assignment of the grade

transparent? Make it part of a comment on the blog site?

(FERPA=) Email explanation? (effective? Time consuming) Correction by students?

Privacy issues

Elements in the blogging process1. Technology2. Teacher3. Students4. Content

5. [Administration]6. [Parents]

1. Technology impact of other technology on teaching

Thomas Edison in 1922: “I believe that the motion picture is destined to

revolutionize our educational system, and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks. The education of the future will be conducted through the medium of the motion picture, a visualized education, where it should be possible to obtain one hundred percent efficiency”.

1. Technology

Seymor Papert 1984: “There won’t be schools in the future.

The computer will blow up the school”.

similar claims about the radio, TV, ‘teaching machines’ (learning laboratories)

1. Technology 2. Teacher

How should schools respond to the role of digital media in students’ lives?

Teacher training in new technology Changing authority in knowledge

acquisition

3. Students

young people’s media increasingly inaccessible to the majority of adults (by design?)

banality of much new media use

3. Students Young people permeated/defined by modern

media contemporary consumer culture. democratization of relationships students’ experiences with electronic media

Outside of school: the self-determined user/consumer

Inside of school: the “guided” student New media mostly interactive (“Pull-media”) Older media, such as TV (“Push-media”) both kinds inter-connected boundaries between mass communication

and interpersonal communication breaking down

3. Students

Are our students really so media-savvy as we think?

Digital media = indispensable aspect of young people’s leisure time experiences.

Does exposure to media means mastering them?

Surveys among students

1. 2008: 50 FL students, 20 English majors

2. 2012: 75 students from FL and other departments

Bloggers / Non-Bloggers

Length of exposure

Blog-Site ownership

Current Use

Motivation of Blogging

I had to blog for classes, other than that I don't do it. Blogs don't interest me

because they are too internet-intensive and not very personal. They rely too

much on internet persona and not a real person.

I did it for class. I like how it saves everything automatically often and

I like using it for classes, it’s a good way to get everyone’s information

in the same place.

Feature Preferences I

The best part of blogging is the comments. I don't always use them and they aren't always welcome, but usually they are a great tool. … Commenting, even when teachers force it, is a way to move all people into thinking for themselves, constructively, and forming their OWN thoughts on the matter. From a writers standpoint, comments are excellent feedback.

Feature Preferences II

…and its very exposing to put your innermost thoughts on the net. Some people can't take that kind of pressure but use a blog anyway and then can't take the pressure when poor comments are made.

Blogging in a FL

FL DistributionYes, in French (beginner/intermediate), Spanish (intermediate), and German (beginner). I comment in other languages often. I have a lot of friends on LiveJournal from other countries.

Motivation for Blogging in FLBlogging in a foreign language kinda allows one to make the language one's own.

I have blogged in Spanish for my classes. They were not effective because no one was interested in doing them. The idea was for us to share our ideas with each other and respond, but since it was forced, people only did it (when they did it) because they had to and it did not generate deeper thought.

Obstacles to Blogging in FLI maintained a blog in Spanish for my literature course. The only thing that would motivate me to blog (not just in a foreign language) would be grading. … Let's leave the blogs to the middle school students complaining about how awful their lives are.

Motivation for Blogging in FL

yes, it is a good way for classes to communicate and farther practice their use of the language. It is especially nice for students who are not strong speakers.

Possibly. If I ever become truly fluent in a foreign language then I will, but I cannot think in another language and certainly it's too much work with very little hope of payoff.

Obstacles to BloggingReasons for not blogging often include: Facebook is not an ideal medium for blogging No one really wants to hear what I have to talk about

They're a waste of time.…

I do not feel any need or desire to blog

I find myself unable to maintain a blog, attend school, and do everything I'd like to get done. I've also found sites like Fictionpress.com to be better suited to displaying fiction to a more critical audience. I have no desire to use a blog as a common journal. I do however read the blogs of my friends and find them insightful.

Motivation to Blog

perhaps as part of project to generate interest in my non-profit organization, Students Helping Honduras

If I find I have this burning desire to reach the world (perhaps if I become a hermit) then I will no doubt blog in an effort to reach the outside world.

perhaps, for teaching purposes.

Electronic Media Use

Creators vs. Consumers

Creating Media

Elements of success in blogging (?) Students

Must be fluent enough to express opinions Must be motivated to share opinions Must have a sense of identity Must be able to use technology

Teacher Must plan blog as integrate part of course Must provide motivation and stimulation Must master technology (or must have help)

Elements of success in blogging (?) Content

Must be relevant to students Can be multi-medial

Technology Must be easy to deal with Must be attractive to students

Elements of success in blogging (?)

virtual places of learning are no substitute for face-to-face learning, just an extension and broadening

Online and Offline content must be connected since it is the same subject

Elements of success in blogging (?)

Network structures in cyberspace change in roles of students:

Teachers: “owners of knowledge” participants in creation of knowledge

roles are constantly changing: author reader producer interpreter…

But what if students refuse to participate in this process??

UMW BlogsBlogs: http://german393.umwblogs.org/ www.mrotter.umwblogs.org

Jeremy Larochelle (colleague in Spanish) freshman seminar: http://jlarochellefsem.umwblogs.org Lit. courses: http://jlarochelle317.umwblogs.org.  

Slideshare: www.slideshare.com, search for user “mapauro”

Blogging until the end…