Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the EFL Classroom: Hosting a Student Blog Project
著者 フルーゲル ジェフ
journal or
publication title
Journal of Research and Pedagogy
number 1
page range 137‑146
year 2015‑03‑26
URL http://id.nii.ac.jp/1160/00000847/
UsingInformationandCommunicationTechnology(ICT) intheEFLCIassroom:HostingaStudentBlogProject
JeffFlugel
Abstract:Havingstudentscreateandmanagetheirownblogisonepotentialmethodtoincreasethequality andfluencyoftheirwriting,generalvocabularyandwordusage,aswellasenhancestudentinterestthrough theuseof"NewMedia"toolsandinteractivefeedbackandcommunicationbloggingcanprovide.Thisarticle focusesprimarilyonthebasiccomponentsofsettingandrunningastudentblogproject,aswellasofferinga
generaloverviewofthebenefitsanddrawbacksoftwocommonapproaches,collatedfrompersonalexperience intwoESLcoursesattwoseparateJapaneseuniversities:the"lndividual"blogprojecttype,whereinstudents
designtheirownblogandaretotallyresponsiblefbritsthemeandcontent;andthè℃ollaborativeラ ラblogpr(ゴect
type,whereinstudentslinktheirindividualworkinteamsintoasingleblog,focusingonasetthemeand subtopics.Bothapproachesoffereddistinctadvantagesanddisadvantages,anditisthehopeofthispapertonot onlyrecommendtheefficacyofblogsasanadjuncttoregularwritingcurricula,buttohighlightsomepossible classroomproblemsandpitfallsthatmightoccurinimplementingsuchaproject,andsuggestsomepossible solutions.
Keywords:Classroomblogging,EFLwriting,collaborativelearning
要 約
学 生 に プ ロ グ を立 ち 上 げ 管 理 させ る こ とは 、 作 文 能 力 や 語 彙 数 、 語 法 の質 向 上 につ な が る。 さ らに は 、道 具 と して の 「新 しい メ デ ィア 」 を 駆 使 し、自身 の プ ロ グサ イ トを もつ こ とが 対 話 型 フ ィー ドバ ッ クや コ ミュ ニ ケ ー シ ョン を 実 践 す る こ と に つ な が り、 学 生 自身 の 関 心 も高 ま っ て い く。
本 論 文 で は 、 ま ず は じ め に 、 プ ロ グ プ ロ ジ ェ ク トの 設 定 と運 用 に お け る基 本 要 素 に焦 点 を あ て る。
同 時 に 、 一 般 論 と して 、 二 つ の ア プ ロー チ の利 点 と欠 点 に 触 れ る。 そ れ らは 、 日本 に あ る2つ の 大 学 でESLク ラス を教 え た 個 人 的 経 験 と照合 す る も の で あ る。
「個 人 」 型 プ ロ グ プ ロ ジ ェ ク トで は 、学 生が プ ログをデザ イ ン し、プ ログのテー マや 内容 全 てにお い て 学 生 が 責 任 を 持 つ 。 「コ ラ ボ レー シ ョ ン」 型 プ ロ グ プ ロ ジ ェ ク トで は 、 学 生 は 自分 が つ く っ た プ ロ グ を 協 同 プ ロ グ の 中 に位 置 づ け な が ら、 自身 の テ ー マ と副 題 に 焦 点 を あ て る こ とに よっ て 固有 性 を も た せ る も の で あ る。 そ れ ぞ れ の方 法 に は利 点 と欠 点 が あ る。 本 論 文 で は 、 プ ロ グ を 通 常 の 作 文 ク ラ ス の 補 助 と して利 用 す る 効 果 を推 奨 す る の み な らず 、授 業 内 で起 こ り うる 問題 や プ ロ ジ ェ ク トを 遂 行 す る 際 の 落 と し穴 な らび に 解 決 策 に つ い て も触 れ て い る。
キ ー ワ ー ド:授 業 に お け る プ ロ グ 利 用 、EFLに お け る 英 作 文 ・共 同 学 習
Introduction
Teacherstodaywhoareusedtomoretraditionalmethodsandtypesofteachingmaterials,and whoarelookingtodosomethingdifferentintheirlessonsbyusingmoreofthetechnologicaltools attheirdisposal,canfindanumberofoptionsoutthere,rangingfromtherelativelysimpletomore complex.Oneoptionistoassignstudentsablogproject.Whilesuchaprojectdoesinvolvesome basicfamiliaritywiththeInternet,somewordprocessingandlayoutskillsaswellasacertainfacility withnavigatingthetypeofbloggingsoftwarechosen,themainfocusofwritingablogisjustthat:
writing.Asthereareavarietyofeasy‑to‑usebloggingsoftwareprogramsavailableforfreeonthenet, thetimeinvestmentrequiredtogainbasicskillsinusingsaidsoftwareisminimal.Therefore,teachers withexperienceinteachingtraditionalcompositioncoursesmightfindthisaworthwhiletooltoadd somevisualinterestandafreshangletotheclassroomenvironment.Itcansparksomecreativityand enjoymentwithinthestudents.
Blogginghasbeenusedasalearningtoolinclassroomsforoveradecade,andasaresult, numerousstudieshavebeenconductedregardingtheeffectivenessofusingblogstoincreasestudents' writingability.Manyofthesestudiescanbefoundonline,othersinacademicjournals,andmost makereferencetoorincludedataconductedinESLclassroomenvironments.Nakatsukasa(2009), Gedera(2011),andCequena(2013)eachofferusefuloverviewsofseveralstudiesconductedwhich indicatethequantitativeadvantagesgainedfromusingbloggingintheclassroom.Suchpost‑blogging
projectbenefitsreferencedintheabovearticlesincludedstudents'increasedwordcount,fluencyand lexicalcomplexityintheirwriting;increasedfacilitywithrevisionandeditingasadirectresultof collaborativefeedback丘omotherstudents(inthefbrmofblogcomments),andincreasedhoning ofstudents'informationresearching,reasoningandcriticalthinkingskills.Thispapertakesasa
giventhatusingbloggingcanbeausefultoolwhenusedtocomplementmoretraditional,textbook‑
basedwritingandcompositioncurricula,andisdesignedasabasicoverviewofsimpletechniqueson howtouseblogginginanESLclassroomenvironment,includingananecdotalcomparisonbetween individualandcollaborativeapproaches.
Sowhatisablog?Shortfor"weblog,"ablogis,inessence,anon‑linemagazine.Articles, essays,storiesorcriticismarepublishedin"posts,"andappearindateorder,i.e.themostrecent
postisontopofthewebpage,withpreviouslypublishedpostsappearingnextindescendingorder backwardintime.Blogscomeinmanytypes,rangingfromtext‑heavyessaystomoreimage‑based content,andcoverallmanneroftopicsandsubjects.Whileitislikelythatfewofyourstudents willhavedesignedorcreatedtheirownblogsbefore,mostwillundoubtedlyhaveatleastabasic familiaritywiththeconceptofablogfromtheirtimespentontheInternet.Thisarticleaimstoprovide astep‑by‑stepguidelineforsettingupandmanagingaclassbloggingproject,aswellasabrief overviewofthevarioustypesofbloggingsoftwareavailableforgeneraluse.Italsocoverstipsfor
handlingpotentialproblemsthatmightarise,baseduponanecdotalinformationgleanedfromrecent, andpast,experience.
ThisprojectoccurredtomefirstandforemostbecauseIhaveafairlylonghistoryofnotonly readingandvisitingblogsdaily,butofwritingmyown,havingstartedandabandonedseveralblogs inthepastuntilfinallyestablishingafilmhistoryandreviewbloginearly2012,whichIcontinueto runtothisday.Thebloghasbeenbothausefultooltosharpenanddevelopmycreativewritingand basicdesignlayoutskills,aswellasprovidingadivertinghobby.Therelativeeaseofsettingupand maintainingsuchapr(ejectmadeitseemanaturalfitfbrcollegeanduniversityclasses,especially thosewithahigherlevelofEnglishability.Ihaveusedthisbloggingprojectconceptattwodifferent universities,withvaryinglevelsofsuccess.Thispiecewillprimarilyfocusonabloggingproject conductedinanEnglish&theMediacourse,anupper‑levelEFLcoursetaughtatOtemaeCollege inspringsemester,2014.Thearticlewillfinishwithacomparisonbetweenthisrecenteffortandan earlierexampleconductedatanotheruniversityseveralyearsprior,withsomethoughtsonthepros andconsofthetwoapproaches.Itishopedthiswillgiveabalancedassessmentandguideforother instructorswhomightwishtoattemptsuchaprojectinthefuture.
ChoosingtheRightBloggingSoftware
Mostnetusersreadvariousblogsonadailybasiswithoutpayingmuchattentiontothetypeof bloggingsoftwareused.Peoplewhowriteandmanageblogs(knownas"bloggers")haveavariety ofoptionstochooseform.ThosewhohavepriorknowledgeorskillofHTMLorcodewriting oftenpurchasetheirowndomainnameandbuildtheirowndedicatedwebpage,whichisidealbut toocostly,time‑consumingortechnicallydifficultformostcasualusers.Thankfully,anumberof softwarecompaniesexistwhichofferbothfreeandpaidservices.Thesecompanies,suchasBlogger, WordPress,Weeblyandothers,providethesoftware,basicdesigntemplatesandbandwidthhosting capabilities.Alltheenduserhastoprovideissomelimiteddesignchoicesandthecontent.
Allthemainbloggingsoftwareproviderslistedaboveoffersimple,easy‑to‑use,perfectly acceptablefreeblogoptions,andthesearethetypesrecommendedforuseintheclassroom.Students whosignupfbrthe丘eeblogoptionwillhavesufficientfreedomtoplayaroundwiththedesign elementsoftheirblog.BothBloggerandWordPressappeartobethemostpopularandcommonly‑
usedservicesonthenet.Forvaryingreasons,includingitsuser‑friendlyinterface,IchoseWeeblyfor the2014English&theMedia"lndividual"classbloggingproject;Bloggerwastheserviceusedinthe earlier"Collaborative"project.
ChoosingtheTypeofBlogProject
TherearenumeroustypesofblogspopulatingtheInternet,andasateacheryouhavetheoption ofhowmuchfreedomorrestrictionyoucaretogivethestudents.Iconductedtwodistinctblogging
projectsattwodifferentschools,thelatterandmostrecentbeingatOtemae.Theearlierprojectwas fora3rdyearuniversityessaywritingcourse,madeupofstudentswhowereallplanningtocomplete astudyabroadprograminthefollowingsemester.Theblogprojectwasdesignedtoactastheir"final essay"inthecoursegradingcriteria,andfollowedachosentheme.Eachyearalargenumberof foreignexchangestudents,primarilyfromtheU.S.andCanada,attendthatparticularuniversity,and sothetopicoftheblogprojectwastointroduceJapanesecultureingeneral,andtheKansairegionin
particular,tosimilarforeignexchangestudents.The"StudyAbroad"Compositionstudentsweresplit intoself‑chosengroups,orteams,ofapproximately5‑6members.Eachmemberwasthenresponsible fortheirown"page"onagivenfacetofthetopic,suchas"TypicalKansaiDishes,"or"Sightseeing Destinations,""PracticalInformation,"etc.Thememberswouldthenlinktheirindividualblog
pagestothoseoftheirfellowmembers,andthecoursefinishedwithagrouppresentationinfrontof theclass.Whilenotwithoutsometechnicalchallengesandsnafus,stemmingfromthelogisticsof interlinkingthevaryinggroupmembersblogs,thiswasoverallasuccessfulprojectwhich,judging fromverbalfeedbackandoverallenthusiasmontheirpart,thestudentsclearlyenjoyed.
Forthe2014springsemesterMediacourseatOtemaeCollege,Ioptedtoallowmorefreedom andcreativityonthepartofthestudents.Studentswererequiredtoproducethreedistinctpieces oftext‑"posts"‑eachonetoincludeaminimumofoneortwoimages(photos,illustrations,etc.) Thethemeandcontentoftheblogswereleftentirelyuptothestudentsdiscretion(withinaccepted limitsoftasteanddecorum).Studentswereencouragedtobuildtheirblogsaroundtheirownpersonal interests,i.esports,travel,manga,videogames,movies,food,etc.Aconsiderableamountoftime wasthenspenthelpingthemwiththetechnicalsideofbuildingtheirblogsaswellasgivingthem someadviceandideasaboutcontentthatfittheirchosentheme.Asmightbeexpected,somestudents respondedverywelltothisfreedom,whileothersstruggledwithoutamorerigidfocus,andthe ultimateoutcomeranthegamutfromverysuccessfulblogstopoororincompleteprojects.
Theprosandconsofbothapproacheswillbecoveredattheendofthisarticle,butatthispoint itisimportanttonotethatbothapproachesarepotentiallyquiteeffective,dependingontheparticular make‑upandinterpersonalbondsofthestudents,andtheenvironmentoftheclassesbeingtaught.
Thesetwoapproachesarenottheonlyoptions,either,andrepresentonlytwowaysofusingblogging technolog》dtshouldbenotedthatthelevelofEnglishabilityinbothcasesranged丘omintermediate tohighintermediate.Thiswouldnotnecessarilyprecludethistypeofprojectbeingusedinlower‑
levelclasses;however,thenatureoftheprojectandcontentwouldlikelyneedtobesimplifiedtobe effective.
ImplementingtheProject
Dependingonthenatureofthecoursebeingtaught‑whetheritisaonce‑a‑weekortwice‑a‑
weekcourse,thenumberofstudentsineachclass,etc.‑thelengthoftimethatseemstofitbestfor thebloggingprojecttobecompletedproperlyisbetween4‑6completelessons,frominceptiontofinal presentation.Thiscouldconceivablybeshortenedorlengthenediftheneedsofaparticularcourse dictatedsuchmeasures,butroughly4‑51essonsseemsasufficientamountoftimetogeteverything donewithoutunduehaste.Inthetwotestcasesperformed,the41essonmodelwasfollowed,which canbebrokendownintothefollowingsteps:
・
・
・
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Lessonone‐IntroducingtheBlogConcept
Lessontwo‐NutsandBolts:SettinguptheBlogandCraftinga"Look"
Lessonthree‐TweakingandPerfectingtheDesignandContentoftheBlog Lessonfour‐PresentingtheFinishedBlogtotheClass
Note,unlessyourclassroomisequippedwithmultiplecomputers,Lessonstwoandthreeneedto
beheldinaComputerLab.Thismeansyouwillneedtomakereservationsorotherarrangementsfor suchroomsaheadofschedule.
Lessonone‐IntroducingtheBlogConcept
Somepreliminarygroundworkintheclassroomisnecessarybeforethestudentsenterthe
computerlab.First,theteacherneedstointroducetheconceptofblogsandblogging,definetheterms oftheprojectandgivethestudentssomein‑classtimetobrainstormideas.TheEnglish&theMedia coursestartedwithagroupdiscussionofvariousquestionsabout"newmedia,"includingSocial
NetworkingSites,discussionboards,onlinedatingsitesandofcourse,blogsandotherrelatedcontent‑
basedwebsites.Thebasicparametersofthebloggingprojectwereoutlinedusingawhiteboard, accompaniedbyadetailed,printedhandoutthatranthroughtheparametersoftheproject.Viaan overheadprojector,studentswereshownsomeofthecontentonmyownmoviereviewblog,aswell asahandfulofothertypesofblogs,togivethemanideaofthescopeofcontentavailabletothem.
Therestofthelessonwasspentinthestudentsgeneratingpossibleblogtopicideasontheirown.The lessonconcludedwiththeassignmentofthestudentstodosomepreparationworkinchoosingalikely themeandsomepossiblecontentinanticipationofLessontwo.
Lessontwo‐NutsandBolts:SettinguptheBlogandCreatinga"Look"
Duetothetechnicaldetailsofthisstage,thesecondlessonisperhapsthemostchaoticand micro‑managedoftheprocess.Thestudentsconvenedinthecomputerlaband,throughtheuseof
theoverheadprojectorandtheexamplemonitorslocatedbetweeneachpairofPCworkstations throughouttheclassroom,weretakenstep‑by‑stepthroughtheprocessofsettinguptheirownblogs, usingWeebly'sfreeblogsoftwareprogram.First,eachstudentneededtosigninwiththeiruniversity orcollegeI.D.,thenproceedtotheWeeblyhomepage(www.weebly.com).Fromthere,thestudents hadtoregisteranaccountwiththeblogprovidercompany.Thesoftwarethenledthemthroughthe set‑upprocessinafairlysmoothfashion,thoughsomeconfusionandquestionsfromthestudents occurredduringthisstage.WhileWeeblyandothersimilarsitesdohavetheirown"blogbuilding"
onlinetutorials,itishelpfulifteachershavesomefamiliaritywiththisstageoftheprocessto troubleshootandassistthestudentsasneeded.
Studentswillneedtochooseabasictitleoftheirblog,aswellastheURLfortheirblogatthis stage.Thisinformationcanbeeasilychangedlater,butitisimportanttoremindstudentstowrite downandkeeparecordoftheirWeeblypasswordandID,aswellastheirfinalURLdomainname
(which,sinceitisafreesite,willalwaysendwithweebly.comattheend‐i.e.:www.myblogpage.
weebly.com).Students'failuretorecordtheaboveinformationtendedtobethebiggestproblem encounteredduringthe"TeacherReview"and"Presentation"segmentsoftheproject.
Studentsthenwillarriveatalargeselectionof̀SlogThemes"(designtemplates)tochoose from.ThesefreetemplatesweredesignedbyeitherbyWeeblystafforotherbloggers,andthereare asufficientnumberofthemtoallowagooddealoffreedominchoiceofcolorscheme,designand layout.Itishelpfultoremindstudentsthattheyarenot"lockedin"toaparticulartemplate,butcan alwayschangeitlaterifsodesired.Atthispoint,moststudentswillhappilyplayaroundwithall mannerofdifferentthemesuntiltheyfindonewhichsuitsthem.Toallowforstudentstopersonalize theirblog,itisimportantthatsometimeshouldbeallottedinLessontwoforthis.Itishelpfulto encouragethemtodecideonatemplatebeforetoomuchtimepasses,assometimealsoneedstobe spentinsearchingthewebforvariousimagestoincorporateintothe"header"or"banner"oftheir site,aswellasimagecontentfortheirblogposts.
Atthisstage,teachersareadvisedtouseWeebly's"hotblogdesigns"pagetoshowthestudents, viatheprojector,justhowcolorful,variedand"cool"ablogcanlookifpresentedproperly.Itisalso recommendedtoshowstudentsthe"Pages"option,whichallowsthemtolinkadditionalblogsites orpagestotheirmainblogpage,underanyheadingstheychoose(defaultheadingsusuallyinclude an"About"page,wherethestudentscanpostapersonalphotoiftheychoose,orlistsomegeneral informationaboutthemselves).
Next,studentsshouldtrytoatleaststarttopostapieceoftext,usingthe"Post"function.Weebly hasasidebarontheleftofthescreenwhichincludesthesevariouspostingoptions,whichcanbe
"draggedanddropped"intothepostandrearrangedbothbeforeandafterthepostis"published
."
Studentsneedtoberemindedthattheymust"publish"theirpostbeforeitwillbeaccessibleas awebpage.Theycaneditandsavetheirpostcontentaslongastheywouldlikepriortopublishing, butotherswillnotbeabletoreadthepostuntilithasbeenpublished.Oncepublished,apostcanbe edited,re‑arranged,deleted,etc.atthewriter'sdiscretion,usingthe"Edit"function.
Lessonthree‐TweakingandPerfectingtheDesignandContentoftheBlog
Sincemostofthebasicset‑upoftheblogshouldhavebeencompletedbytheendofLessontwo, timeinLessonthreeshouldbedevotedtoworkingoncontent.Ideally,studentsshouldhavedone agooddealofworkontheirblogsathome,butinactuality,thisrarelyhappens,asmanystudents tendtoprocrastinateuntilclosetothedeadline.ThatmeansthatmostoftheclasstimeinLesson threeshouldfocusonmakingsurethestudents'haveaclearidentityandpointofviewfortheirblog, haveitslookanddesignmostlyfinalized,andthattheyhavesomedirectionorideasrelatedtopost content.FortheOtemaeclass,Iaskedthemtoproducethreedistinctposts,eachtobeapproximately 2‑3paragraphsinlength.Thisprovedtobeatallerorderforthegroupthanatfirstexpected,as manystudentsseemedtostrugglewithprovidingsufficienttextcontent.Thethirdlessonisthus importantnotonlybecauseitfocusesonthestudents'blogcontent,butalsobecauseitisthelast timeyouastheinstructorwillbeabletoprovidefeedback,guidanceandtechnicalhelppriortotheir classpresentation.Youwilllikelyreceivemanyquestionsatthisstage,anditishighlyadvisablefor teacherstostrollaroundthePClab,goingfromstudenttostudent,notonlyinquiringiftheyhaveany questionsorneedanyhelp,butcheckingtheirprogress,givingthemsomedesignorcontentfeedback.The timecanbeusedtoconfirmthatstudentsunderstandtheprocessandaremovingtowardsthecreation ofafun,informativeandvisually‑attractiveblogs.
Lessonfour‐PresentingtheFinishedBlogtotheClass
Thefinalstageis,ofcourse,wherethestudentsshowtheresultsoftheireffortbypresenting theirblogtotheclass.Teachersshouldhavegivenstudentsthebasicguidelinesandformatforthe presentationinapriorlesson,sothestudentshavesufficienttimetoprepare.Instructorswillalso
needaccesstoacomputerandoverheadprojectorintheclassroomtofacilitatethepresentations.
Studentsmayneedsomeinitialassistanceingettingtheirblogpagesset‑uponthePCpriortogiving theirspeech,sotimeneedstobebuiltintothescheduletopermitsuchtransitions.Forthepurposesof theOtemaeblogproject,eachstudentwasresponsibleforcreatingandpresentingtheirownblog,so mostspeechescouldbecompletedwithinaboutsminutes.Ifyouhavealargegroup,youmayneedto allow11/2to2fulllessonstogetthroughallthepresentations.
IntheOtemaegroup,students'workwasassessedintwoareas:blogcontentandpresentation quality.Notesweretakentocritiqueeachstudent'sperformancealongbasicpresentationsskills guidelines:propervoicecontrol,clarityofmessage,eyecontactandaudienceinteraction,useof visualaids,etc.Theblogcontentportionoftheirgradewasdeterminedpost‑presentation,byvisiting eachstudent'sblogpageandcritiquingthedesign,contentandbasicEnglishwritingskillsfoundon theirblog.(Tothispurpose,itisrecommendedtohavesomesortofasign‑upsheetthatcanbepassed aroundtheclass,wherestudentscanwritedowntheirnameandtheURLwebsiteaddressoftheir blog.)
Onepossibleproblemwhichwi111ikelyoccuristhatanumberofstudentswillneglecttopublish thefinalizedversionoftheirblog,andtheinstructorthuswillbeunabletoaccesstheirwebsiteafter thepresentation.Stillothersmightmisprintormisremembertheirblog'sURLaddress,sowhenthe teacherattemptstovisitthesestudents'siteslaterforcontentassessment,heorshemaynotbeable tofindoropenthecorrectpages.Therefore,itisveryimportanttoremindstudentsto1)properly publishtheirpostsbeforecomingtoclassonthepresentationday,and2)keepclearrecordsofthe correctURLaddressforthefinalversionoftheirblog,andtoprintoutsaidURLaddressincomplete andcorrectformonthesign‑upsheet.Clearandconsistentreinforcementofthesepointswillmake foramuchsmootherexperiencefortheinstructorandthestudents.
FinalAnalysis
Aspreviouslymentioned,thetwoblogprojects‑theearlier"Collaborative"typeconductedat anotheruniversity,andtherecent"lndividual"typeconductedatOtemaeinSpringsemester2014
‑metwithvaryingdegreesofsuccess .The"Collaborative,"linkedgroupprojectprovedthemost successful,forseveralreasons.One,studentsgenerallyenjoyedtheprocessofworkingontheproject together,meetingandcoordinatingbothinsideandoutsidetheclassroom.Thissocialaspectisan
importantfactor,especiallyinclasseswherethestudentsareparticularlyclose‑knitandfriendlywith eachother.Anotherreasonisrelatedtothefirst:thesenseofbelongingengenderedbybeingpartof agroupexperience,andtheconcomitantfeelingoffidelityandresponsibilitytofellowmembers(in otherwords,notwantingtolettheirpeersdown).Thisseemedtoincreasethelevelofeffortinnearly allthegroups.Atthesametime,ifacertainstudentoptedtonotattendthelessonsfully,ordidn'tpu11
theirownweightinthegroup,thefinalresultonlyimpactedthatstudent'sownassessment,andnot thegroupasawhole.Afinalcomponentinthesuccessofthis"Collaborative"projecttypewaslikely tiedtotherestrictionsplacedonthestudentsbytheparametersoftheassignment.Sincethestudents weregivenaclearsetofguidelinesastothegeneraltypeofblogandcontentrequired(i.e.,providing
generalinformationabouttheKansaiareatoforeignexchangestudentsattendingthesameuniversity), therewaslessroomforconfusionintryingtofindafocusfortheirblogs,suchaswasencountered inthe"lndividual"project.Theonlyrealdisadvantageofthe"Collaborative"typeprojectwasthe technicaldifficultiesinlinkingallthegroupmembers'pagestogether,butthishasbeensubstantially mitigatedintheinterveningyearsasvariousblogsoftwareproviders'interfacesandtoolshave improved.
Conversely,the"lndividual"blogprojectmetwithcomparativelymixedtonegativeresults.
Whileafewstudentsthrivedinsuchanindependentenvironment,producingstrongblogswitha clearsenseofdesign,purposeandinterestingcontent,nearlyhalftheclassturnedinincompleteor substandardwork.Ahandfulofstudentsevendroppedoutoftheprojectentirely,duetoalackof directionordisinterest.Thisbecameespeciallyapparentonthepresentationday,thesubduedattitude ofthestudentsindicatingnotonlytheusualnervousnessaboutgivingaspeechinfrontoftheclass, butthegeneralmoodofapathyandperhapsevenembarrassmentaboutnotdeliveringworkuptotheir usualstandards.Whiletheseresultswereoveralldisappointing,Ithinktheprojectwouldhaveturned outquitedifferentlyhadIfollowedthe"Collaborative"groupformatoftheearlier,moresuccessful
project.JudgingfromanearliergrouppresentationprojectconductedinthesameOtemaeclass,this particulargroupofstudentsgenerallyexhibitedextremelytightbondsoffriendship,andworking togetherprovidedamuchhigherlevelofmotivation丘omthemtoturninbetterwork.Theyalso respondedstronglytoaseparateprojectwhichgavethemacertainlevelofcreativefreedombutwas doneinclear,well‑establishedparameters.
Therefore,inutilizingtechnologyandbloggingintheclassroom,itisrecommendedthatteachers keepacloseeyeonthemake‑upandgeneralmoodoftheirclasses,tobestdeterminewhichtypeof
projectisideallysuitedtothestudents,beforedecidingthetype,directionandguidelinesofsucha project.SomeotherchallengesinusingblogginginESLclassrooms,suchasstudents'lackoftime, lackofwritingskillsandpassivityinparticipationarediscussedbyYunus,TuanandSalehi(2013).
Overcomingthesechallengesrequiresproperplanning,tightercontrolsandcontinualmonitoringon thepartofinstructors.Keytothesuccessofsuchaprojectliesinmaintainingstudents'enthusiasm andinterestlevel.Theseperhapsareeasiesttomaintaininamore"Collaborative"typeenvironment.
Anadditionalsuggestiontoaddamore"Collaborative"aspecttothe"lndividual"blogapproach wouldbetorequirestudentstovisit,readandleavefeedback(intheformofcommentsonindividual
posts),aswellasrequiringthemtorespondtocommentsleftontheirownblogs.Thiswouldadd aninter‑classcommunicativeaspectwithinthe"lndividual"projectparameters,hopefullyresulting
instudentsfeelinglessisolatedandmoremotivatedtoassist,andbeassistedby,theirpeers.This feedbackrequirementcouldalsobeusedinthe"Collaborative"approach,encouraginggreater communicationandassistancebetweenvariousbloggingteams.
Inconclusion,conductingaclassbloggingprojectprovedaworthwhileexercise,givingstudents achancetoflextheircreativemuscles,usecurrentmediainafunandslightlychallengingway.Ablog canactasarefreshingchangefromtheconfinesofthesameclassroomandtextbook.Thevarietyand flexiblenatureofblogginglendsitselfwelltoallmannerofsubjectsandcourses,and,ifthecriteria andcontentarewell‑matchedtoaparticularclass'sneedsandaptitudes,shouldproveausefuland divertinglearningtool.
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