Educational Benefits of Internet Blogging

Educational Benefits of Internet Blogging

According to educational specialists Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide, the use of blogs in an educational setting produces several benefits. These benefits include the promotion of critical and analytical thinking, increased access and exposure to quality content and a combination of solitary and social interactions with peers. The educational benefits of blogging can also extend to the administrative and teaching aspects of how a class operates.

Critical and Analytical Thinking
Peter Duffy, Educational Development Officer at Open University America, and Dr. Axel Bruns, Media and Communication, Creative Industries faculty member at Queensland University of Technology, suggest that students can benefit from the structure of a blog in several ways. A blog provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking skills and to employ language and writing principles that demonstrate analytical thought and comprehension. Blogs also give students a platform from which creative risks can be taken, Duffy and Bruns say. As students are given writing assignments for blog posts, they will learn the benefits of commitment, scheduling and planning as they strive to meet deadlines and stay on topic.

Must Read: 10 Business benefits of blogging

Increased Exposure to Quality Content
As students apply various skills learned in the classroom to writing a blog, the chances that they will encounter scholarly material increases, say the Eides. When given a topic to write about, a student is likely to seek out data that supports her point of view. She may find content from a variety of sources and, through trial and error, will learn the difference between authoritative and non-authoritative sources. Blogging is an effective educational tool and can be used as part of the course requirements or as an extra credit endeavor. Either way, the blogs should be relevant to material covered in the classroom.

Solitary and Social Interaction
Blogs, Duffy and Bruns say, are commonly perceived as little more than an Internet message board. The educators argue, however, that unlike message boards, a blog gives its creator a predominant space to express individual views, while message boards do not. Message boards highlight a group's thoughts more than they do the thoughts expressed individually. Simply put, blogs provide a stage for a single author, while message boards provide a stage for a group of individuals. This trait makes blogging of more worth educationally, Duffy and Bruns say.

Teaching and Administrative Benefits
Duffy and Bruns say that blogging benefits students by providing supplemental support for the administrative affairs of a classroom. For instance, in addition to official written correspondence between teachers, students and parents, a blog can serve as a central location that contains material relevant to the class, such as calendars of events, assignment recaps and course syllabi. With its ability to support digital photos and videos, a blog can also be a gathering place for students to view images and video of class activities, such as a field trip.

Post Author

Ambassador Chigozie Akolam

educational activist.
+2347035302120