CLAUDE GAGNE'S LEARNING THROUGH WEBLOGS

Presented Learning through Weblogs at the AACE E-Learn conference in Quebec City on October 16. AACE

Learning through Weblogs -

Abstract: The study reported in this paper examines students’ perception of the use of weblogs as
learning tools; it also explores evidence of learning within blog postings.  Two Ryerson
 University courses in Information Technology Management that require students to use
weblogs are taken as examples. Twenty-two students from these two courses participated
in an online survey concerning their blogging experience. The participants had very good
computer knowledge—most of them had previous experience using blogs. Most of them thought
that building and maintaining a blog was an easy task. However, the research shows that
students’ perception concerning the use of blogs as educational tools was neutral—students
 also perceived the impact of using blogs on their ability to learn the course material
 as neutral. The study shows a lack of clear communication between instructors and
students, which could have had a negative impact on students’ learning experience. 
Furthermore, the study indicates that most students perceived the content they posted
in a somewhat negative way. A content analysis performed on 22 blogs demonstrates that
that the objectives of each course played a significant impact on the evidences of learning
apparent in students’ blogs.  Students in group B demonstrated more evidences of learning
then students in group A. Overall, the study shows that the use of blogs as learning tool
 in university classrooms is promising. Providing students with clear goals, objectives
and expectations could help them to build and maintain their blogs in a way that could
e more beneficial to their learning experience.

 

Contrary to blog evangelism, blogging can sometimes even be detrimental in terms of building influence. That's counterintuitive, since the very rare person who achieves substantial influence via a blog is often widely touted as a success story."

 

Mark Tran writes: "Internet repression is eroding freedom of expression online as more governments block sites and arrest bloggers, a human rights group warned today."

Read the full article here.

Anna Broache writes: "The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources. "

 

Ryerson recently honoured the winners of the fifth Graduate Student Research Article Competition. The competition challenges students to communicate the importance of their research in a manner accessible to the general public.

“These are the best examples of students who combine sectoral specialization with an ability to communicate to the world,” said Anastasios Venetsanopoulos, Vice-President, Research and Innovation.

The 2007 winners are:

• 1st prize, Engineering or Science Related: Declan Williams, Molecular Science – “Of Macrophages and Mass Spectrometers: Advancing Healthcare and the Understanding of how Life Works”
• 1st prize Social Sciences and Humanities: Peter Ryan, Communication and Culture – “Computer Geek Erotica: We know about the Red Pill, but was the Blue Pill Viagra?”
• 2nd prize: Claude Gagné, Communication and Culture – “Learning through weblogs: Are students afraid of learning?”
• 3rd prize: Eric Peterson, Molecular Science – “Cellulose, Sunshine, and Us: Microbial Ecology and the Fundamentals of Ethanol Biorefinement”

“It’s an honour,” said Peterson. “I’m very happy they feel this research is relevant and worth acknowledging.”

Peterson is attempting to improve ethanol production using readily available plant matter such as lawn trimmings and lumber byproducts. The goal of his research is to develop an efficient and sustainable energy source that does not rely on fossil fuels. “Ethanol is only part of the replacement for gas, but it’s a start,” he said.

Meanwhile, fellow Molecular Science master’s student Williams is analyzing proteins in white blood cells as part of a larger project led by his supervisor, Dr. John Marshall. Their research has applications in medical science, drug development and early disease diagnosis.

At the other end of the research spectrum, Communication and Culture students Gagné and Ryan are exploring the role of weblogs in student learning and the influence of art on technological innovation, respectively. Ryan hopes his research will foster increased collaboration between the artistic and scientific communities.

“As Ryerson continues to develop its graduate programs, it’s so important that this growth is accompanied by opportunities for students to not only participate but also to develop their own research careers,” said President Sheldon Levy.

Examining what people do online as they look for information, communicate with others, make transactions, and entertain themselves.

Studies available on PEW / Internet

"That's the question of the day in the navel-gazing world of the blogosphere. Robert Niles, the editor of the Online Journalism Review, recently decried what he sees as a tendency by journalists to characterise blogs as "a 'parasitic' medium" that feeds off the work of traditional newspapers and magazines. He calls the charge "a poorly informed insult of many hard-working Web publishers who are doing fresh, informative and original work"."

Full article here.

 

"Was the first blogger the irascible Dave Winer? The iconoclastic Jorn Barger? Or was the first blogger really Justin Hall, a Web diarist and online gaming expert whom The New York Times Magazine once called the "founding father of personal blogging"?"

 

"An Egyptian blogger was sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and the country's president, Hosni Mubarak, in the country's first prosecution of a blogger."  www.freekareem.org

 

PCWorld's editors recently put together a list of their five favorite blogging platforms. Not too surprisingly, the list was topped with a Blogger, WordPress and TypePad trifecta. Lesser-known Tripod and Squarespace rounded out the list.

 

 

Faiz Askari writes: "The scope and reach of blogs has proved attractive for Indian users. Blogs cut across mediums of conversation and with the use of podcasts and video, these can reach even the illiterate and uneducated masses."

 

 

 

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a grounded theory of information sharing behavior of the users of a personal learning space. A personal learning space is an environment consisted of weblog, ePortfolio, and social networking functionality. It is primarily used within education as a tool to enhance learning, but is also used as a knowledge management tool and to develop communities of practice. Our results identify privacy as a main concern for users of a personal learning space and illustrate challenges users face in ensuring privacy of their information and strategies they employ to achieve the desired level of privacy. We then identify factors that affect users' decisions regarding disclosure of their personal artifacts to various people and groups in a personal learning space. The three main themes as emerged in our study include current stage in the information life cycle, the nature of trust between the owner and the receiver of information, and the dynamics of the group or community within which the information is being shared. Together, these themes portrayed a clearer picture of users’ perspective on the privacy of their information in a personal learning space. The findings offer some ideas about how to create privacy management mechanisms for personal learning spaces that are based on users’ mental model of information privacy. Practical implications of the results are also discussed.

 

PDF available here.