Background
Blogging is Learning
Jay Cross, CEO of Internet Time Group and author of Informal Learning, likens a blog to a camera. It puts the world in a new perspective. Everything that the user encounters becomes a potential picture, or in the case of a blog, a potential post.
Bloggers continually search for interesting information they can post. When they post information, they must synthesize that information, formulate additional questions, contrast and make sense of differing viewpoints, and identify patterns and trends. Karyn Romeis, a learning solutions designer at Capita, a British professional services company, has been blogging for two years and finds that she gets tremendous value from it. “I’ve learned more from blogging in the past year than I learned in several years using other approaches,” she says.
Tracy Hamilton, an education assistant of organizational development at Southlake Regional Center in Newmarket, Canada, started blogging as the result of a conference a few months ago. She has a similar perspective. “Blogging is my main source of learning,” she says.
Part of the impact comes from the fact that a blog is public. It raises the stakes much like having to do a presentation at a meeting or teaching in a classroom. In fact, many of the same attributes of preparing and giving a classroom presentation apply to blogging. Mark Oehlert, a well-known blogger who recently became the emerging technologies lead for Defense Acquisition University, “There is something that happens to a person when they hit that ‘publish’ button - you cross a threshold - you move from consumer to producer - you put your intellectual neck on the line and I really think that you aren't the same person after that.”
Blogging is Networking
Blogs also act as a type of social networking tool. Most people are familiar with social networking tools such as MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn. These tools aim to help people to connect and interact in a variety of ways, often based on a profile and personal communication.
Blogging also causes interaction and connection, but in a different and possibly more natural way. Each time a blogger leaves a comment or links to another blogger’s post, they are having a conversation. Over time, as the conversations continue, this leads to recognition and deeper relationships between the bloggers. This is similar to content-based social networking that occurs in del.icio.us and Flickr, but blogging is based on a more open, fluid type of content and conversations. Generally blogs also provide a more robust picture of the blogger through their continuous posts and conversation. Using emerging tools such as MyBlogLog, bloggers can get to know who is visiting their blogs and who is in their community.
Once bloggers become connected, they often reach out to get help on a particular topic. Karyn Romeis tells us, “It is amazing how unselfish bloggers are with what they know. I am so convinced of the value of social networking that I am writing a dissertation on how it has transformed my professional practice. Social networking has blurred the boundaries between work, play and learning, between corporate and academic, between formal and informal.”
This kind of help from a social network is invaluable. Many workplace learning professionals find that building this network and having this sustained discussion allows them to discuss significant issues they face at their work in a way that’s not easy to duplicate through other avenues including face-to-face interaction. Wendy Wickham, a medical applications trainer at George Washington University and a blogger since September 2006, started her blog because of several important projects, including an LMS implementation and some application upgrades. Wendy says, “The folks in the learning blog space, including highly respected eLearning specialists and educators, have been incredibly supportive and provide valuable feedback. When you are in the thick of the day-to-day - tight deadlines, resource constraints, and unsupportive environments - you can feel very isolated from what is happening with others. Being involved with folks grappling with the same issues you are helps ease that isolation.” Because of her blogging, Wendy was recently been invited to speak at a major conference.
It takes time to build up a social network using a blog, but it occurs naturally as part of the conversation. Tracy Hamilton tells us, “You have to work at communicating with other people, asking questions, and responding to questions, but it is very much worth the effort. The one thing I have really noticed and experienced about the blogging community is that everyone is extremely friendly, open and willing to share ideas and be mentors to one another.” The process of connecting can be sped up by posting interesting questions, linking to other blogger’s posts, participating in activities such as the Learning Circuit Blog’s Big Question. Of course, it’s also a good idea to get together with other bloggers at industry events. There are rumors that bloggers like beer.
More Reading
I have my personal favorites on this topic such as (October 2006 Big Question - Should All Learning Professionals Be Blogging - (summary post) Top Ten Reasons to Blog and Not to Blog), but a great source is going to what people in this course have collected via social bookmarking:
ASSIGNMENT
Here's what we suggest for each of the different levels of participation.
Spectators--
1. Read through the Forums, read some of the articles, visit some of the blog posts created by others as part of this activity
2. Attend the webinar on using blogs for reflective practice.
Joiners/Collectors--
Do the Spectator activities, plus
1. Comment on blog posts created by others
2. Add your thoughts in the Forums.
Creators
Do the Spectator and Joiner/Collector activitities, plus
1. Start A Blog (skip if you already have one that relates to this topic).
If you don't have one already, start your own blog. If you have your own blog, try one of the the activities in the personal learning and/or the formal learning forums and post about it on your blog with a link to your post in the appropriate forum. Post in the forums on your own experiences in using blogs for personal and formal learning.
2. Create a blog post on any topic related to this subject such as
2A. Using Blogs for Personal Learning
2B. Using Blogs as Part of Formal Learning
2C. Blogs vs. Social Networks for Personal Learning
2D. Blogs vs. Threaded Discussions
2E. Your thoughts on this learning experience
etc.
(Bonus points for linking to other blog posts from participants as part of your blog post.)
3. Add a link to your blog post in the appropriate Forum so we can easily find your post.
We've created the following Forums to be used as part of the above assignments:
Starting Your Own Blog - go here to get help on creating your own blog.
Blogging for Personal Learning - discuss and add links to your blog posts here
Blogs and Formal Learning - discuss and add links to your blog posts here
FORUM TOPIC--Starting Your Own Blog
While you can learn a great deal from reading and commenting on other blogs, when it comes to personal learning, there's no replacement for having your own blog.
There are a variety of blogging platforms you can use--we recommend Blogger. It's easy to learn, there are lots of resources and supports available and you have some nice design options to make your blog look good. Here are some resources to get you started:
Setting up a Blog in Blogger (video)
The Blogger Help Center
200+ Quick Tips for Using Blogger Effectively
Tutorials for Customizing Your Blogger Template
If starting your own blog right now using Blogger seems like too much, then consider using the blog feature available to you here as part of Ning on Work Literacy. You can access it through your profile page where you simply click on "add a blog post." This feature might at least help you get your feet wet in terms of practicing with writing blog posts. Later, you can start your own.
Assignment:
If you already have a blog, leave a link to your blog here in the Forum. If you decide to start one this week, then leave us a link here, too. Also use this Forum to ask questions about the mechanics of starting a blog. There are plenty of knowledgeable people here who can help you out.
FORUM TOPIC--Blogging for Personal Learning
For learning professionals, maintaining a blog can be a powerful professional development tool. Regular blogging encourages reflective practice--you're more likely to actively engage with what you're reading and experiencing as fodder for blog posts, which increases your own understanding and improves your thinking on what you're learning. A blog can also be the backbone of your professional online presence, serving as an online portfolio and a home for interaction with other bloggers.
Learning is essentially a cycle of action and reflection and your blog provides a forum for the reflective portion of your learning. As you read and engage in various on and off-line experiences, you can use your blog to think through what's happening, impacts, potential problems or changes you want to make, etc. You could do this reflection in an off-line professional development journal, of course, but in doing so, you miss another important component of learning--the social aspect. By using your blog for these reflections, you open your thinking up to questions and alternative ideas from other bloggers. They may comment on blog posts to provide you with additional resources or make suggestions about how you could handle an issue you're facing. They may question some aspects of your thinking so that you're forced to better articulate what you're learning or possibly even change your thought processes.
While there's much to be gained from the reflective process of blogging, this learning is turbo-charged as a result of the interactions you have with commenters and other bloggers online. The social aspect fuels your individual learning.
How have you used blogs for your own personal learning and professional development? What challenges have you faced? What benefits have you experienced? Use this forum to share stories, ideas, etc. on using blogs for personal learning and professional development. Put links to your blog posts here. Try out some of the activities listed below and then blog about them, either on your own blog or on the blog that is part of your personal profile in this Work Literacy community.
On the Benefits of Blogging for Personal Learning and Development
Should All Learning Professionals Be Blogging
More on Learning Through Blogging: What Readers Think
Blogs as Personal Learning Networks
Exercises and Activities to Use in Blogging for Personal Learning and Professional Development
Becoming a More Reflective Practitioner
The Importance of Questioning Your Work--Respond to one or more of these questions for any project you're working on.
Professional Development Practice: The One Sentence Journal--an exercise to try on your blog.
Debriefing Yourself--another personal learning exercise you can use for blogging
Sacha Chua's Blog--an example of someone using their blog for personal lifelong learning
FORUM TOPIC--Blogs and Formal Learning
How have you used blogs as part of formal learning experiences? What challenges have you faced? What benefits have you experienced? Use this forum to share stories, ideas, etc. on using blogs for personal learning and professional development. Try out some of the activities listed below and then blog about them, either on your own blog or on the blog that is part of your personal profile in this Work Literacy community.
On blogging in more structured learning environments
Using Blogs to Enhance Learning
Towards Reflective Blog Talk
Educational Blogging
Avoiding the 5 Most Common Mistakes in Using Blogs with Students
Examples, Exercises and Activities
Learning Circuits Blog "Big Questions"--Ask "big questions" related to your organization, profession, the content of a course, etc. and have people respond on their blogs.
31 Day Comment Challenge--example of using blogging to run a month-long learning event. Model could be adapted for shorter periods of time and for a variety of learning objectives.
Creating an Organizational Culture of Reflective Practice--ideas and exercises for encouraging organization-wide reflection.
After the Conference Learning--have people summarize what they learned at a professional conference to share with co-workers.
Communities of Practice
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