1. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Mirror, Mirror on the Wall? Blogging as Reflection Ruth A. Smith, Principal Lecturer

2. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Learning Outcomes By the end of this session, delegates will be able to: Describe ways in which blogging can be used in assessment Outline the benefits of blogging in assessment Explain how to overcome potential issues in using blogging as assessment

3. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Why use Blogs in Assessment? ‘Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World’ (March 2009) Recognised impact and potential challenges of students’ widespread use of Web 2.0 technologies Web 2.0 is known as the ‘Social Web’where software is available through the Internet that supports group interaction (Shirky, 2003).

4. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Web 2.0 Timeline 1999 MSN Blogger.com Facebook 2004 YouTube 2003 2002 2001 2000 Myspace

5. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Using Blogs A Blog or weblog is “a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser” (Winer, 2003). Blogs replace reflective notebooks for Work Placement Modules

6. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Benefits of Blogging… “Provide a space for students to reflect and publish their thoughts and understandings” (Ferdig & Trammell, 2004) Makes people more thoughtful and articulate observers of their world (Blood, 2002) May develop reflective skills (Clyde, 2005) Can promote reflection and deeper learning which can be transferred to situations outside the classroom (Bouldin et al., 2006)

7. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Barriers to Blogging… Students may be reticent about revealing their real feelings (Catalano, 2005, Lenhart and Fox, 2006) Reflective blogging may be more attractive to some groups than others (Herring et al, 2004) Creative individuals are more likely to enjoy blogging than others (Guadagno et al, 2008) Link

8. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Case Study: Context Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Business Management (3 x 20 credit modules at Level 7) The course commenced with a 7 week block followed by a 6 month work placement. Blogging represents 15% of the final mark for the work placement module.

9. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Blogging Preparation Short Presentation on how to reflect (essential) Structure of Posts:  Where are you now?  Where do you want to be?  How are you going to get there?  What does it feel like?

10. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Evaluation Positive… – “can look back in blog and see past ideas and learn from mistakes” – “it was easy to be self-critical and reflect on group's mistakes” – “helps you understand the module - think about your work”

11. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Evaluation Negative… – “don't know what to write” – “don't know what to write about and takes time that could be spent in a way that feels more productive” – “I sometimes find it hard to get started”

12. INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR THE REAL WORLD Recommendations A Blogging ‘Code of Practice’ is essential Explain what students should be blogging about. Explain how to ‘Do Reflection’. Explain how to protect anonymity. Encourage – give regular feedback.