A Blog By Any Other Name..Is It a Discussion?

 

A blog by any other name.. is it a discussion?

As we move further away from the COVID-19 pandemic technology is still one of the hottest topics in adult education. A recent student survey by EDUCAUSE in 2022 found that students' modality preferences have shifted toward flexible online options. Their survey found that most of their respondents would rather participate in their courses mostly or completely online. “In fact, the percentage of respondents indicating that they prefer mostly, or completely online courses increased more than three-fold from 9% in 2020 to 29% this year” (EDUCAUSE 2022).

Self-Directed Learners

Smith 2002

Malcolm Knowles (1975, 1980 as cited by Boyer Et. Al. 2013) brought the differences of adult learners to the forefront with his concept of Andragogy. One of his original assumptions was that adults have moved from dependency to self-directedness as they mature and that they can and want to direct their own learning (Teal Center Learning Staff 2011). Knowles went on to define Self-directed learning as “a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes.” (1975 as cited by Boyer Et. Al. 2013).

As technology improves and adult learners continue to be self-directed it is important for adult educators to come up with new and interesting ways to engage learners in the classroom. Because an asynchronous classroom has removed the face-to-face contact between students and their instructors’ online tools need to be used to replace that interaction. One of those tools traditionally has been discussion boards. Kok (2008 as cited by Covelli 2017) concluded that instructors’ use of the online discussion board is important to creating a student-centered and self-directed learning experience. This is done by asking students to answer thought-provoking questions as their initial post and then participating in dialogue with other students comparing their ideas. (Kok 2008 as cited by Covelli 2017) “The discussion board as central to an online classroom can be the “face” of the learning process and the primary area where students learn, and instructors teach.” (Covelli 2017).

Discussion Posts

Discussion posts can be great. A newer way to encourage dialogue in an asynchronous classroom is through blogs. On the surface discussion posts and blog posts look similar. Students can respond to an assigned prompt or question; both have the capability for other students to interact with the material through comments. So why would an instructor have their students post their thoughts in a blog rather than a discussion thread?

Blogs

Blogging is a form of social media that involves participants producing online content while making connections with other people. (Pettigrew Et. Al. 2016). Cledran Et. Al. (2022) mentions writing a blog post could provide users the space for catharsis and venting about emotions and other situations of life.  “Studies of blogging have highlighted the need for communication and human interaction as the primary motivators for blogging activities” (Pettigrew Et. Al. 2016). 

In a study done by Lane Clark and Lenore Kinne (2012), they compared two classes. The first class participated in weekly blogs and the second class participated in weekly discussion posts. They found that the class that used blogging as a forum for discussion had more natural conversations with longer posts. With the discussion threads, the discussions were centered solely on the prompt from the instructor with shorter posts and what they called “academic responses.”  In a study done by Cledran Et. Al. (2022) they found that a general sense of satisfaction obtained from producing the blog was the participants’ feelings of gratification and fulfillment when creating and writing each post. Their sense of satisfaction grew from the initial idea to the final result when it was finally published in the blog. Participants in the study showed a sense of industriousness, accomplishment, or pride in completing every post.

Which one works better?

So, which should an adult educator use? Both discussion threads and blog posts can create a sense of community, exchange new and interesting ideas, and foster better communication. Overall, with a well-written lesson plan and a little guidance an adult educator can leverage either option to improve the overall learning experience of their students. This great learning experience will lead to higher satisfaction from their learners as well as the accomplishment a self-directed learner needs to feel at the end of a lesson.

Which one do you like better? Blogging? Or Discussion Threads?

 

 

References:

Boyer, S. L., Edmondson, D. R., Artis, A. B., & Fleming, D. (2014). Self-Directed Learning: A Tool for Lifelong Learning. Journal of Marketing Education, 36(1), 20–32. https://doi-org.er.lib.k-state.edu/10.1177/0273475313494010

Celdrán, M., Serrat, R., Villar, F., & Montserrat, R. (2021). Exploring the benefits of proactive participation among adults and older people by writing blogs. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. Online first. https://doi-org.er.lib.k-state.edu/10.1080/01634372.2021.1965688Links to an external site. 

Clarke, L. W., & Kinne, L. (2012). More than words: Investigating the format of asynchronous discussions as threaded discussions or blogs. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(1), 4-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2012.10784698

Covelli. (2017). Online Discussion Boards: The Practice of Building Community for Adult Learners. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 65(2), 139–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2017.1274616

Smith, M. K. (2002) ‘Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. [https://infed.org/mobi/malcolm-knowles-informal-adult-education-self-direction-and-andragogy/. Retrieved: 9/6/2023].

Pettigrew, S., Archer, C. J., & Harrigan, P. (2016). A thematic analysis of mothers' motivations for blogging. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20, 1025-1031.https://rdcu.be/bQadKLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.