Reflection, Motivation, and Learning

USING THE BLOG

  1. Students can use WordPress individually, in small groups, or as a class.
  2. Transfer a portion of paper-based assignments, such as reactions to reading or writing assignments, to the WordPress site.
  3. Monitor student blogs and reply as appropriate. Use replies to guide a student’s work by asking questions and offering new information.
  4. Use your site to comment to the group after reading student blogs, inform the class of changes in lecture or assignments, and solicit informal feedback either on course or general issues.
  5. Assign students to pairs, where one person selects an entry from the other person’s blog, links to it, and writes a reaction to her/his own blog.

THE BLOG AS A LEARNING TOOL

Possibilities for making the blog a component of your course:

  • Encourage students to post a brief comment after each class in the WordPress site, the posts can include questions they didn’t get a chance to ask during class, or topics in the lecture that seemed unclear. This can also help facilitate the following lecture.
  • Possibilities to connect students while they study include setting a minimum number of required comments per week. These posts can offer insight into the individual learning experience as the student works independently.
  • Suggest that students ask peers to read and post reply comments to their blogs.
  • Encourage students to regularly search for and post links in their blogs to sites they find interesting and relevant and to comment on why others would find the sites interesting.
  • Encourage students to offer ideas for use of the blog in class. This will stimulate students to have a direct influence in the course.

Based on and adapted from: http://itg.emerson.edu/word/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Blogs-Reflection-Motivation-and-Learning.pdf