What's it Worth? The…

                             What's it Worth?
               The Perceived Benefits of Instructional Blogging

                                William F. Brescia, Jr.
                          University of Tennessee Health Center

                                    Michael T. Miller
                                   University of Arkansas


                                           Abstract
       Interactive web-access has led to the growth in blogging, a process
       whereby authors publicly post messages, respond to others, and are
       allowed to publicly offer their thinking to the public. Some college
       instructors have been quick to augment instruction with blogs focused on
       content matter and for peer review of work and commentary. There is,
       however, no indication that blogs are effective supplements to the
       teaching-learning process. The current study was conducted to generate
       some initial consensus about the instructional advantages of blogging in
       college settings. Findings suggested that the reinforcing of course
       engagement and the repetition of exposure to coursework are the most
       valuable aspects of blogging.


        The potential elements of effective college teaching have changed dramatically
during the past two decades, primarily due to the options afforded the classroom due to
technology. Where overhead projectors and filmstrips once were the cutting edge media
to be used by faculty in their teaching (Postlethwait, 1972), the range of possibilities has
grown dramatically. The growth has been largely fueled not only by the mere presence
of technology, but by the expectation on the part of students that technology will be used
as a tool to enhance the classroom experience and their learning (Lamson & Barnett,
2994; Tileston, 2004).
        Technology as a defining social condition has become substantial issue for
colleges and universities to deal with (Lewis, Marginson, & Snyder, 2005). The thought
of the institution providing computer access has been trumped by the need for wireless
access, paperless systems and processes online, virtual security systems for residence
halls, and automated, online integrated student support systems that monitor academic
progress, future scheduling needs, and bursar statements (Murry, 2003; Carnevale, 2004).
        The primary area that technology has been slower to conquer has been the
instructional college classroom (Strauss, 2005). Due in part to accessibility and the cost
of technology and in part to faculty resistance, the emergence of meaningful
technological mediation in instructional delivery has just now finally taken hold
(Darment, 2002; Dollar, 2003; Sulaiman, 2002). Among the technologies that have
emerged as common place are web-based course shells, such as Web CT©, Angel©,
OnCourse©, and Blackboard©, online courses, wikkis, compressed interactive video,
smart classrooms with interactive projection screens and a variety of projection-related


Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5            44
hardware, scheduling of assignments through personal data systems, portable multi-
media systems such as Nomad©, collaborative work environments, and systems grading
and reviewing student work through interactive editorial software. The emerging
mindset, eager to participate with this wave of technology, has also begun to embrace
web-based logs, commonly referred to as "blogs" (Oravec, 2003; Stiler & Philleo, 2003).
In the beginning of 2004, there were an estimated 3.8 to 4.5 million weblog sites in
existence, created by both individuals and institutions (Clyde, 2004).
        Blogging has emerged among a variety of web-based instructional possibilities as
a leader, in part because it allows students the ability to interact in a more public venue,
sharing their thoughts, ideas, interpretations, hopes, and fears with anyone willing to
spend time looking on the internet (Martindale & Wiley, 2005). Blogging has also
become a media-darling, enjoying a prominent place among media outlets during the last
presidential election (Martindale & Wiley, 2005; Sausner, 2005). Many within the
academy, however, are less eager to embrace blogging as an instructional support
mechanism, and demand an accounting of just what blogging adds to the classroom
experience. The current study was designed to describe the elements or characteristics of
blogging that might make it an effective tool for supporting college level instruction.

            ENHANCING INSTRUCTION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

         One of the greatest challenges facing college faculty members about effective
teaching is how to select the most appropriate instructional strategy. A number of
variables must be considered including the intended outcomes of the course, the level of
critical reflection required of students, the learning objectives, the density of information
to be transferred, the priorities of the institution, the type of students enrolled, and among
others, the informal culture of the institution or environment in which classes are being
taught (Tileston, 2004). College faculty members, and instructional designers,
increasingly have observed and responded to a heightened level of awareness, use, and
expectation for technologically enhanced instruction.
         The Kaiser Family Foundation (2003) provided an overview of the permeation of
technology. The Foundation reported that children under the age of 6 spend almost as
much time each day using computers as they do playing outside, and that over a quarter
of them (27%) use a computer every day. Similarly, nearly three-quarters of today's
teens (74%) use instant messaging as a major communication vehicle, and over half of
students between grades 7-12 know more instant messaging names than home telephone
numbers (NetDay, 2003). Rakoff (2001) estimated that 75% of those currently aged 18-
29 use the Internet for researching various purchases and recreational activities. This
leads to the conclusion that the students who are currently arriving on campus view the
Internet and intra-computing technology as an expected form of communication and
source of knowledge.
         Mills (2002) noted that the conversation within higher education is no longer
about whether or not technologically mediated instruction has integrity, but in what
combination of forms and what variety of media best responds to learner needs. The
selection of the best technology to meet specific learning objectives is referred to as
blended learning (Kerres & DeWitt, 2003). On-line supplements to traditional face-to-
face course instruction have become common, and one of the most current adaptations of



Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5              45
these support technologies has been web-based logs or journals called "blogs"
(Martindale & Wiley, 2005).
        Blogging as a process is different from other forms of search-retrieve-comment
on discussion boards, as the blog is open to the wider public to view. This ability to be
read by a wide variety of people requires the writer, or `blogger,' to present their thoughts
in a way that perhaps more accurately reflects personal views or arguments (Martindale
& Wiley, 2004). Because of this personal nature, students are afforded the opportunity to
reflect on what they are learning and share personal views and opinions. As students are
conducting research into content areas that they are studying, they can add hyperlinks to
articles, URLs, or other research into their blog to aid visitors in understanding the
development of their conceptualizations (Ferdig & Trammell, 2004). Ferdig and
Trammel noted four distinct learning advantages for blogging: the use of blogs helps
students become subject-matter experts, increases student interest and ownership in
learning, gives students legitimate chances to participate, and provides opportunities for
diverse perspectives both inside and out of the classroom.
        Although blogging has become much more commonplace throughout the Internet,
as an estimated 27% of online users read blogs (Clyde, 2004; Rainie, 2005), there
remains some question whether a blog adds to the integrity of a course. The current
study was specifically designed to look at and describe the perceived added instructional
benefits of blogging. Specifically, rather than relying on individual personal reports, the
study attempted to develop consensus among individuals who have published academic
articles about blogging (e.g., "experts") about the elements that make blogging distinctive
and effective in supporting instruction.

                                RESEARCH METHODS

        As a descriptive, exploratory study, the Delphi-survey method was used to collect
data from a panel of experts (Delbecq, Van de Ven, & Gustafson, 1975). The three-
round survey procedure began with the prompt "What elements or characteristics make
blogging an effective tool for supporting college level instruction?" This question was
field-tested with five university faculty members who used blogging as a web-based
supplement to their teaching. Modifications were made to arrive at the final question
stem, and the survey was administered electronically as an email attachment during the
spring 2005 semester.
        In an attempt to develop consensus among leading educators who study
technology and specifically blogging, a snowballing sampling procedure was used
(Cochran, 1982). Several electronic indexing services were used to examine the major
research literature in instructional technology, and an initial listing of 12 authors were
identified. These individuals had at least one national, refereed article published within
the past two years that included references to blogging. These 12 authors were contacted
via electronic mail and asked first to participate in the study and second to identify
additional experts who are studying and writing about blogging. The process was
repeated with those who were identified, and a final panel of 27 experts was ultimately
identified.




Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5             46
         This panel of blogging experts was sent an electronic survey with the question
prompt previously indicated. They were specifically asked to identify up to five elements
or characteristics that make blogging a uniquely effective tool for supporting or
enhancing college level instruction.
         The Delphi-survey technique was determined to be particularly appropriate for a
study of this nature. First, the technique allows for consensus development among
geographically separated individuals, as such was the case with this expert panel who
came from 18 different states and 22 different universities. Second, the process allows
for critical reflection and contemplation without dominance by any individual or group of
individuals. Third, the survey allows for respondents to view group responses and to
formulate their own response taking into consideration how others viewed the statements
generated.
         Although 27 experts were identified and initially agreed to participate in the
study, only 24 completed all three rounds of the survey. In Round 1, study participants
were asked to respond to the statement "As a leader and expert on the use of blogging,
you are asked to generate up to five responses to the following question: What elements
or characteristics make blogging an effective tool for supporting college level
instruction?" The respondents averaged the identification of two elements or
characteristics per person, and after editing for duplication, 16 items remained to be rated
in the second and third round of the survey.

                                        FINDINGS

        The 16 elements or characteristics that make blogging an effective and unique
tool for supporting college level instruction were rated on a 1-to-5 Likert-type scale,
where the expert panel was asked to rate their agreement that the element was truly a
benefit to instruction. The response of "5" indicated strong agreement on the part of the
respondent, "1" indicated strong disagreement, and "3" indicated neither agreement nor
disagreement. In the second round of the survey, where the panel was asked to rate each
element, there was an overall mean rating of 3.77. The individual ratings were returned
to each member of the panel with an indication of the group mean and standard deviation
for each item, and during the third round, the overall mean rating increased to 3.90.
There were a total of 17 rating changes between round two and round three. There were
no significant differences computed for the round two mean ratings of the characteristics
and the round three mean ratings (ANOVA F=2.450).
        As shown in Table 1, in the third round responding experts agreed to strongly
agreed with seven characteristics of the practice that uniquely enhanced college level
instruction. These characteristics included weblogging has its greatest instructional
potential for those who maintain a weblog throughout their college careers, using it as a
knowledge log and personal content management system (mean 4.51), It provides
opportunities to take what is learned in the classroom and express it to those in the public
eye ­ just as they will have to do in the real world (mean 4.38), outside of the `safe'
environment of the classroom (mean 4.25), Leverages teaching to outside class hours
(mean 4.22), Students can "blow off steam, " (mean 4.10), Students' free writing allows a
clearing the mind to do more formal writing (mean 4.07), and Interactivity: students can
comment, ask questions (mean 4.01).



Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5            47
          Table 1.Final (Round 3) Mean Ratings of Blogging Advantages
________________________________________________________________________

Identified Instructional Advantaged                   Mean            SD          Range
________________________________________________________________________

Weblogging has its greatest instructional potential   4.51            .9993           3
for those who maintain a weblog throughout their
college careers, using it as a knowledge log
and personal content management system

It provides opportunities to take what is             4.38            .9918           3
learned in the classroom and express it to
those in the public eye ­ just as they
will have to do in the real world

Overcoming the fear of expressing yourself            4.25            1.006           4
outside of the `safe' environment of the
classroom

Leverages teaching to outside class hours             4.22            .9918           4

Students can "blow off steam"                         4.10            .8643           4

Students' free writing allows a clearing the          4.07            1.003           4
mind to do more formal writing

Interactivity: students can comment, ask questions    4.01            .9198           4

Joint, de-centered, authorship: students can be       3.96            .7812           4
tasked to provide content

Ease of use                                           3.88            1.110           3

Weblogging is perhaps the easiest way to get          3.87            1.210           3
students writing online in an electronic space
that is outside of courseware

Blogging has the potential to support a               3.84            1.110           3
number of goals for writing classes
as well as content classes

They have reasonable potential to                     3.75            .7897           3
support "extra curricular composition"

Ability to link to other documents                    3.70            .8456           3


                                                                      (table continues)




Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5                 48
Table 1, continued.
________________________________________________________________________

Identified Instructional Advantaged    Mean         SD           Range
________________________________________________________________________

Web logs can be used to demonstrate the                     3.50              .8739            3
complexity inherent on the Internet/website

Web-logs can be used to evaluate the                        3.30              1.0087           4
effectiveness of a site ­ how long people
spend on each page, what proportion complete
their "transaction," etc.

Weblogs can be used to track individual        3.19        1.2030        4
behaviors to learn about how people use a site
 _______________________________________________________________________
 Note: The instrument made use of a 1-to-5 Likert-type scale where 1=Strongly disagree with the
statement, 2=Disagree with the statement, 3=No opinion about the statement, 4=Agree with the statement,
and 5=Strongly agree with the statement.

        In addition to the ratings of agreement, two characteristics of weblogging were
noted to be of marginal impact on instructional quality as evidenced by the near-neutral
rating of 3.0. These two characteristics were web-logs can be used to evaluate the
effectiveness of a site ­ how long people spend on each page, what proportion complete
their "transaction," etc. (mean 3.30), and weblogs can be used to track individual
behaviors to learn about how people use a site (mean 3.19).
        These findings suggest that faculty who use weblogs find the greatest benefit of
weblogging to be the opportunity for self-expression and perhaps the self-reflection that
accompanies considerations. The observation that students can "blow off steam," for
instance, is a form of expression that allows students to take in new material, ideas, and
thoughts, process them, and then provide some form of feedback or synthesis on this new
thinking. The process of reflection is important to effective instruction, and weblogging
has a dual benefit in this regard as it allows for a greater level of application than might
be afforded to other more traditional forms of instruction that are relegated to specified
chronological times for meeting.

                                           DISCUSSION

        The results of the data collection suggest that there is a real interest in how
blogging is and can be used to support instruction. The level of participation throughout
the entire study and the willingness for participants to nominate others also suggests that
those who use technology in their classrooms want to know how to use it more creatively
and better to support student learning. This is a positive sign for higher education, as it
suggests that college faculty are indeed interested in the intentionality of their teaching
strategies and that they are committed to student learning, and not simply just trying out
the latest technological fad.




Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5                       49
        Findings from the data collection also provided clear examples of how various
faculty believed that blogging supported student learning. Those instructional benefits
that had the highest levels of agreement tended to focus on the concepts of reflection,
application, and engagement, all of which are key elements to successful college
teaching. Specifically, the blogging opportunity is seen as an element of a class that
brings students back to the subject matter and engages them to the extent that they want
to be involved in a manner that does not embarrass them. They want to respond to class
assignments or discussions or in a peer evaluation in a way that demonstrates their
competence and ability. Research has also consistently demonstrated that engagement
and contact with faculty and other students about academic matters supports student
learning and achievement (Su, Bonk, Liu, & Lee, 2005).
        While the same kinds of interactions can be fostered in small group settings,
whether over coffee in the residence hall or in a required discussion section of a class, the
blog is unique in providing opportunities for reflection before responding. Unlike the
face-to-face small group discussion where students have to respond immediately, the blog
allows for time to synthesize information and develop personal approaches or responses
to material (RSF, 2005; Ngeow & Kong, 2003).
        Perhaps the biggest challenge to blogging is when instructors take away the
voluntary nature of participation and begin requiring postings and responses to other
postings. Although the contact can still promote intellectual development, the temptation
for students is to respond simply for the sake of responding and to finish the requirement
rather than processing information and learning (Brescia, Swartz, Pearman, Williams, &
Balkin, 2004).
        This study has focused on early adapters of blogging technology, and future
research should examine other related areas. One area of research is the student point-of-
view about using blogs in instructional settings. Do students experience other benefits?
Does the interaction help build blogg-based learning communities? Another area of
attention for research is identifying methods that might convince less adventurous faculty
to use blogs in instruction. And, in what specific contexts (or disciplines) does blogging
make the most sense and where is it most effective?

                                         Contributors

William Brescia is the Director of Instructional Technology at the University of Tennessee Health
Science Center, Memphis. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications in instructional
technology, and distance learning, and made in excess of 60 presentations at international,
national, and regional conferences. His research interests include developing strategies for
improving interaction in online learning, Web-based mentoring, distance learning, and computer
self-efficacy.

Michael T. Miller is Professor and Program Coordinator of the Higher Education Leadership
Program at the University of Arkansas. He previously was the Associate Dean of the College of
Education at San Jose State University and works extensively in studying the incorporation of
technology into higher education instruction and management.

Authors' note: The authors wish to express their gratitude to University of Arkansas students
Angie Baker and Randall Brumfield for their assistance in doing background research on this
manuscript.


Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol. 5                 50
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