Weblog, a.k.a. blog, is a web-based technology which has been used extensively for instructional purposes recently. Considered as a Web 2.0 application, blogs are believed to have been used firstly by John Berger in 1997 (Rachael, 2005).
They can be defined as tools which help individuals with elementary computer knowledge to create interactive web pages. Blogs are same as web pages for standard users. However, they have a unique place for bloggers (i.e. blog writers). They help bloggers to share their opinions, experiences and everything they want to share with their readers. Besides, readers can add comments to contents of a blog which could be followed in a chronological order. Such a structure creates a virtual interactive environment.
It is possible to classify blogs with regard to their contents, purposes, and publishing environments. Altun (2005) classifies blogs with regard to their purposes as follows:
Ø Personal blogs
Ø Group blogs
Ø Press blogs
Ø Project management blogs
Ø Library blogs
Ø Institutional blogs
Ø Instructional blogs
Blogs can be used as asynchronous tools in web-based training. Blog pages allow users to create their own blogs through their ready templates and user-friendly management tools. Thus, they can be created and updated easily without having information on web editing tools or web-design languages such as HTML (i.e. Hypertext Markup Language).
Blogs also have the facility to provide readers with the opportunity to interact with the page, which is not a common feature of standard web pages. Readers become the co-authors of blogs through adding their opinions and comments.
Blogs, as new tools for interaction, overcome the two tensions put forward by Wenger (2005). The first tension, separation in time and space, is overcome by the togetherness created by the continuity. The second tension, relationship between communities and individuals, is overcome by creating a meaningful participation via interest groups such as pre-service teachers of a certain faculty.
Literature on web based training provides a comparison of blogs, web pages, and forums with regard to their technical and instructional capacities (Table: 1). These tools have similar technical capabilities and characteristics in the way that they are all asynchronous.
However, blogs have some advantages over other tools. First of all, they can be created without any knowledge on HTML or similar web design tools. Thus, anybody with basic computer and Internet knowledge can create his own blog. Second, blogs allow users to display the contents in a chronological order.
Finally, they allow readers to add their own comments and serve as co-authors to the contents of blog pages. All types of multimedia tools can be embedded in blog pages as well.
They can be defined as tools which help individuals with elementary computer knowledge to create interactive web pages. Blogs are same as web pages for standard users. However, they have a unique place for bloggers (i.e. blog writers). They help bloggers to share their opinions, experiences and everything they want to share with their readers. Besides, readers can add comments to contents of a blog which could be followed in a chronological order. Such a structure creates a virtual interactive environment.
It is possible to classify blogs with regard to their contents, purposes, and publishing environments. Altun (2005) classifies blogs with regard to their purposes as follows:
Ø Personal blogs
Ø Group blogs
Ø Press blogs
Ø Project management blogs
Ø Library blogs
Ø Institutional blogs
Ø Instructional blogs
Blogs can be used as asynchronous tools in web-based training. Blog pages allow users to create their own blogs through their ready templates and user-friendly management tools. Thus, they can be created and updated easily without having information on web editing tools or web-design languages such as HTML (i.e. Hypertext Markup Language).
Blogs also have the facility to provide readers with the opportunity to interact with the page, which is not a common feature of standard web pages. Readers become the co-authors of blogs through adding their opinions and comments.
Blogs, as new tools for interaction, overcome the two tensions put forward by Wenger (2005). The first tension, separation in time and space, is overcome by the togetherness created by the continuity. The second tension, relationship between communities and individuals, is overcome by creating a meaningful participation via interest groups such as pre-service teachers of a certain faculty.
Literature on web based training provides a comparison of blogs, web pages, and forums with regard to their technical and instructional capacities (Table: 1). These tools have similar technical capabilities and characteristics in the way that they are all asynchronous.
However, blogs have some advantages over other tools. First of all, they can be created without any knowledge on HTML or similar web design tools. Thus, anybody with basic computer and Internet knowledge can create his own blog. Second, blogs allow users to display the contents in a chronological order.
Finally, they allow readers to add their own comments and serve as co-authors to the contents of blog pages. All types of multimedia tools can be embedded in blog pages as well.
Blog Use for Instruction and Social Interaction
The notion of the creative society and the constant demand for education increase the need for efficient and technology assisted instruction. Educational activities realized in a traditional classroom setting are not efficient anymore in meeting the educational needs of the current century. Conventional education is realized beyond the borders of the classrooms as well. Modern educational approaches and changing roles of educators put new responsibilities on both teachers and learners. The traditional view of education, where teachers serve as the source of knowledge while learners serve as passive receivers, has been outdated. In this respect, information and communication technologies provide powerful equipment and facilities to transform teacher-centered instruction to learner-centered and interactive learning environments (UNESCO, 2002). Among these facilities, blogs are considered as indispensable tools since they can enrich the instruction and social interaction among individuals through transferring in-class activities beyond the classroom.
Instructional activities supported with blogs provide democratic environments where learners can present their opinions and comments freely. In traditional instructional settings, negative implications stemming from the attitudes of teachers, course contents, student characteristics and number of students interfere with students’ ability to deliver their ideas efficiently. Gülbahar (2005) claims that students prefer the virtual environment in order to pose their questions and comments, as they consider in-class discussions insufficient. In this respect, blogs can be used as interactive tools where individuals have equal opportunity to share their ideas and experiences, and present themselves to the social environment efficiently.
Instructional blogs can be used as tools to provide students with constant feedback outside the classroom. Feedbacks concerning students’ in-class activities include significant messages which could affect students’ future learning endeavors. Since blogs are independent of time and place, they serve as efficient tools to provide students with feedback outside the classroom as well.
Another important feature of blogs is their structure enriching social interaction among teachers and students. According to many cognitive learning theorists, assigning meaning to information is efficiently realized through individuals’ interaction with the social environment.
For instance, Vygotsky claims that social environment has a significant role in cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978; Kearsley, 2005). According to Piaget, one of the factors affecting cognitive development is social interaction, which is also a prerequisite for intellectual development (Piaget, 1973; Charles, 2003). The father of socio-cognitive theory, Bandura, maintains that learning occurs through constant interaction among individuals, behaviors and the environment (Bandura, 1989; Senemoğlu, 2004). These theories reveal that interaction among peers, and the interaction between learners and teachers have a crucial impact on the learning process in instructional settings. Learners have the chance to observe a social and interactive setting through face-to-face communication in classroom. However, such an interaction mostly depends on the place where it occurs and the time when it occurs. Pursuing the interaction among students and teachers beyond the boundaries of the classroom can be realized through instructional settings which are supported with information and communication technologies. In this respect, instructional uses of blogs allow social interaction to occur through providing a collaborative environment where students and teachers can share their ideas and experiences (Altun, 2005; 56).
The notion of the creative society and the constant demand for education increase the need for efficient and technology assisted instruction. Educational activities realized in a traditional classroom setting are not efficient anymore in meeting the educational needs of the current century. Conventional education is realized beyond the borders of the classrooms as well. Modern educational approaches and changing roles of educators put new responsibilities on both teachers and learners. The traditional view of education, where teachers serve as the source of knowledge while learners serve as passive receivers, has been outdated. In this respect, information and communication technologies provide powerful equipment and facilities to transform teacher-centered instruction to learner-centered and interactive learning environments (UNESCO, 2002). Among these facilities, blogs are considered as indispensable tools since they can enrich the instruction and social interaction among individuals through transferring in-class activities beyond the classroom.
Instructional activities supported with blogs provide democratic environments where learners can present their opinions and comments freely. In traditional instructional settings, negative implications stemming from the attitudes of teachers, course contents, student characteristics and number of students interfere with students’ ability to deliver their ideas efficiently. Gülbahar (2005) claims that students prefer the virtual environment in order to pose their questions and comments, as they consider in-class discussions insufficient. In this respect, blogs can be used as interactive tools where individuals have equal opportunity to share their ideas and experiences, and present themselves to the social environment efficiently.
Instructional blogs can be used as tools to provide students with constant feedback outside the classroom. Feedbacks concerning students’ in-class activities include significant messages which could affect students’ future learning endeavors. Since blogs are independent of time and place, they serve as efficient tools to provide students with feedback outside the classroom as well.
Another important feature of blogs is their structure enriching social interaction among teachers and students. According to many cognitive learning theorists, assigning meaning to information is efficiently realized through individuals’ interaction with the social environment.
For instance, Vygotsky claims that social environment has a significant role in cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978; Kearsley, 2005). According to Piaget, one of the factors affecting cognitive development is social interaction, which is also a prerequisite for intellectual development (Piaget, 1973; Charles, 2003). The father of socio-cognitive theory, Bandura, maintains that learning occurs through constant interaction among individuals, behaviors and the environment (Bandura, 1989; Senemoğlu, 2004). These theories reveal that interaction among peers, and the interaction between learners and teachers have a crucial impact on the learning process in instructional settings. Learners have the chance to observe a social and interactive setting through face-to-face communication in classroom. However, such an interaction mostly depends on the place where it occurs and the time when it occurs. Pursuing the interaction among students and teachers beyond the boundaries of the classroom can be realized through instructional settings which are supported with information and communication technologies. In this respect, instructional uses of blogs allow social interaction to occur through providing a collaborative environment where students and teachers can share their ideas and experiences (Altun, 2005; 56).
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