Blog vs. Discussion Board: Is blogging the same as discussion board activity for a SDLer?
Truthfully, nothing has
ever moved me to to ever want to start my own blog. In fact, I have never
really liked the word "blog" much like many people dislike the word
"moist." Therefore, I was not interested in it. HOWEVER,
after this weeks readings, I have decided that I don't think I really
understood it and it deserves my attention.
Celdran, et al. (2021) indicated "four different benefits related to blogging: (1) general sense of satisfaction from producing the blog; (2) relational benefits (3) cognitive benefits; and (4) identity benefits." This certainly makes sense when someone is participating for the joy of it. This article helped me appreciate the value in blogging and the data supports it. It was interesting to see how much this helped elderly adults, and actually makes me want to promote blogging to my aging parents. The therapeutic aspect of sharing thoughts, experiences, and receiving responses connecting to the world can be very positive.
Discussion boards have a
different "feel" to them. I know that is not a particularly
scientific statement, but being that this is a blog, I want this post to sound
like me (I am not the most scientific person). It seems as though
discussion boards are guided and tend to ask a question or gives the task of
its readers to provide more input on a topic. I do not recall
participating in a discussion board when it wasn't related to work or
education. Discussion boards take the place of in-person conversation in
the virtual world in that the focus is information presented by its
participants share specific knowledge and sources of information. Sure,
participants learn from each other and develop knowledge based on each other’s views,
but it does not always have a personal feel... at first. I have found in
my online courses this year, as I "got to know" my peers and spent
more time in discussion boards, I was able to get more of a sense of who each
person was. This is especially true for those with whom I have had more
than one class. So while we are still asked to participate, we do so
willingly, and there is still the potential to become more personally connected
over time. But overall, we have the same extrinsic motivation, which
is to complete the task, check the boxes per the rubric, ad all with the hope
of scoring well.
So, is blogging the same
as a discussion board for an SDLer? They may be of the same family or format,
but they certainly have their differences in settings and motivations.
Blogging, and doing it regularly is a very self-directed activity. Discussion
boards, when required or necessary, demonstrates a different level of
self-direction. Both can lead to new knowledge and promote growth mindset
to lead to new levels of self-direction.
As instructors, we can
learn how to recognize our learners' levels of self-direction, and learn how to
help them develop. As Grow (1991) stated:
"Every stage
requires balancing the teacher's power with the student's emerging
self-direction… Good teaching does two things: It
matches the student's stage of self-direction, and it empowers the
student to progress toward greater self-direction. Good teaching is
situational, yet it promotes the long-term development of the
student. (p. 14)"
Ultimately, through our
discussion boards and learning exercises/experiences (this blog) it is the goal
to gain greater understanding, develop knowledge, and achieve a higher level of
self-directedness that allows us to help others do the same.
So, in short...
Did I want to write a blog? The honest answer is, "Not really."
Did I learn from it? Yes, I really did.
Will I continue to blog after this course? Quite possibly... Will you?
Resources:
Grow, G. O. (1991, September). Teaching Learners To Be Self-Directed. Adult Education Quarterly, 41(3), 125–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001848191041003001
O’Hara, D. (2017, December 17). The intrinsic motivation of Richard Ryan and Edward Deci. apa.org. Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/members/content/intrinsic-motivation
Villines, Z. (2022, March 23). What to know about extrinsic motivation. medicalnewstoday.com. Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/extrinsic-motivation#definition
P.S. Please forgive the inconsistent formatting. I promise I tried!! Goals for next time... :-)
ReplyDeleteForgiven! I'm proud of you for incorporating graphics and playing with the style/format. You're braver than I was, and isn't that what learning is all about, anyway!
DeleteThanks so much! Appreciate your support :-)
DeleteI agree with you because nothing has moved me to start a blog for personal reasons either! I would much rather reflect on my personal growth/experiences through private journaling in a notebook rather than public journaling or stick to discussion boards because they have a different "feel" to them and more in my comfort zone! I do see the benefits to blogging, however, because doing so allows for the exploration of topics and the ability to write freely to encapsulate who individuals are as a person/to showcase their core self and reflect on experiences of having different identities. By the way, I love the name of your blog!!
ReplyDeleteI have definitely changed my attitude toward blogging! I have learned much from this week's readings. Technology in adult learning is really testing if I am up for the challenge. Challenge accepted!
DeleteAs the previous commenter noted, I have never felt an internal motivation to start a blog. The course description does not disclose the requirement to create a blog, but I think it would be better to inform learners in advance so that they can make a decision about whether or not to enroll. Although Witte (2007) discusses the improved engagement middle school students found while blogging instead of journaling in notebooks, there were real concerns about privacy and protecting students. I was disappointed that the author seemed so dismissive of school administrator and district concerns. As an elder Millenial who is parent to middle school students, I have seen the damage that can be done by the everlasting record of the internet and I want my children to understand the danger.
ReplyDeleteBlogging, tweeting, email... the immediate rewards can be tempting for anyone. Ooh, look, it got a strong reaction. Wow, look at how many views and how many followers... and then we continue to learn and evolve, but the world is not quick to forgive and is not interested in our safety and well-being. Am I learning from the experience? Sure. Would I have elected to engage in this specific form of learning? I definitely would have looked for alternatives. Other than increasing digital literacy by pushing me into learning about how to create, protect, and format a blog, I do not see a worthwhile advantage over other options.
Witte, S. (2007). That's online writing, not boring school writing: Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 51(2), 92-96.
I hadn't thought about it from the perspective of the administrator and that perhaps the privacy concern was the start of a slippery slope or the final straw, (either way I think it was a bigger issue than the article gave it credit for, otherwise why abandon it so easily?)
DeletePermanency is a real concern with any internet content. I thought about it even as I was writing my own blog post, and reading it from the perspective of "if my boss read this out of context how would they go...."
Definitely a real thing to think about as we see people given controversial topics to unpack and reflect on, which can be messy and unflattering, and taken out of context harmful to their career and professional/public image.
I would not have felt comfortable keeping a blog for the critical and social issues course, for example, because of the nuance of the course.
Agree with both comments. @S. Alu: there is definitely a need for caution in the use of these platforms with certain age groups. If how many 'likes' I get can affect my emotions as an adult, how much more for kids during their impressionable years?! This is something I too, worry about constantly. My husband and I have forbidden the use of apps like TikTok and Facebook for our teen kids. They use Snapchat, and that would worry me if I didn't know my kids as well as I hope I do.
Delete@ Kimberley, you mention permanency as a real concern. I always joke that once its is on the internet it is forever. But it really is true, and we see this with many political figures and celebrities that have posted things in their youth or younger years and it comes back around when they are in the spotlight. The thought of this would absolutely be a deterrent to me doing a personal blog... although I have no plans of becoming a public figure ;-)
I like that you highlighted the intrinsic and extrinsic factors. I thought a lot about that too - and that maintaining a required blog comes across as much more extrinsic.
ReplyDeleteI understand the idea behind it ' but working remotely the last 4 days I realized it was more work to find everyone's blog and comment almost exactly as we would be doing on the discussion board.
I do think there is more room to customize and individualize the presentation and I love that you spent time to do that because it made yours stand out. I told myself I would work on that this week if it was less crazy so hopefully I'll have some more individualized style on mine soon too!
Thanks for sharing your frustrations. I have had a hard time with some aspects of course expectations as well, and I'm glad to know I'm not alone!
You are definitely not alone! In fact, it is refreshing to see the honesty that is coming from several of our peers. As resistant as I was to this assignment, it has been enlightening!
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