Difficulties in Using Blog for Classroom Learning

Although the blog is a very useful tool for classroom learning, there are still some difficulties that may arise when using it.

Firstly, it is difficult to get a whole class of 40 students to contribute to one blog. It is tedious to keep track if everyone has posted and comments to 40 different posts are hard to keep track of. Certainly, if every student is to create his/her own blog, to ask a teacher to go through all 40 blogs would be terrible. Therefore, it would be best if blogs are used in a small class (maybe 12 or less) where every student would creat his/her own blog.

Secondly, students may get a sense of information overload from all the blogs. This is partly due to the fact that information on blogs is not categorised by topic but is simply laid out across the timeline like a diary. It would not be easy to navigate around for particular pieces of information. The sieving of information would be quite tedious.

How are Blogs and Wiki Different?

Although blogs and wiki are both excellent platforms for individuals to share information, there are some fundamental differences between the 2 of them.

Firstly, a blog is usually contributed by 1 person. However, wiki is meant to be contributed by a group of people collectively. Even if a blog is contributed by more than 1 person, seldom does one of the contributers edit the post of another contributer. However in a wiki, this would be the norm.

Secondly, one of the purposes of the blog is to function like a diary. Information is added on across time and is usually read in that sequence. However, in wiki, information may be added on, but the date it is added on is not of great import. Moreover, information gets updated more often than it is added on.

Thirdly, the information in wiki is usually arranged by topics. However, the information in a blog is almost always arranged by the timeline.

Uniqueness of Blogs

Blogs provide very different kind of information compared to traditional forms of media.

Firstly, anyone can blog. In traditional media, due to the cost of disseminating of information and the business goals of the media company, not any information can be simply broadcast. Media companies would select on information which would be in demand. In blogs however, the cost is almost negligible. Therefore, anyone can just post whatever they want.

Secondly, blogs are harder to 'govern' unlike traditional media. Blogs are not held responsible by any organisation but simply by the individual. Traditional media companies however would be held responsible for any information from any of its writers, spokesperson. Therefore, in a way, blogs provide information more freely.

Take off the display

What is wrong with people these days? Are they so insecure to the extent that have to constantly feed themselves with narcissistic self-consolations and exhibiting snippets of their everyday lives out there for approval?

I hate blogging.