Blogging as a Facilitator in the Learning Process:

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Blogging as a Facilitator in the Learning Process
Student Reflections on Their Information Seeking
During Assessment Dr. Crystal Fulton
Scoil an Léinn Eolais agus na Leabharlannaíochta
UCD
UCD School of Information Library Studies
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What is a Blog?

• An online diary
• May range from personal introspective to business
  enterprise

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Blogging as an Educational Device

• Opportunity for student reflection
• Flexible format, allowing for creativity
• Easily linked to weekly learning objectives in
  module

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Student Bloggers

• 98 students from UCD programmes
• All enrolled in IS20010 Finding Information in
  Everyday Contexts
• 2nd stage module
• Nearly all were new to blogs blogging

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And so it began

• Training (for me too!)
• Software
• Pathfinder
• Technology learning lab
• Dual access Student Instructor
• Privacy settings
• Periodic customization
• Ongoing technical support
• Continuous teaching support

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Student Blogging Included

• All things information
• Personal selections of colour, templates, etc.
• Text
• Visual items, e.g., Photos
• Favourite URLs / RSS feeds

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Sample Student Blogs

• Students talked about
• Emotion (aka Affective Behaviour)
• Pathways to Answers
• Extended Information Seeking Beyond Module (e.g.,
  everyday lives, other assessment)

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Sample Student Blogs

• Student Reflections on Their Information Seeking
  Experiences
• I found it easier this time around being in the
  National Library, more comfortable and less
  anxious as is often the case!
• As opposed to searching through the Irish Times
  and Irish independent a second time, I decided to
  expand and broaden my search for the article .

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Sample Student Blogs

• Dearest Blog
• ok so its been a while since i last wrote to my
  blog...it must feel neglected! i have been very
  busy with projects and exams! but the good news
  is that me and my group completed our group
  project without a hitch! all went well!

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Sample Student Blogs

• Using Google for Diagnostic Medicine?
• I found it to be an interesting idea. While
  google could be considered looking for a needle
  in a haystack, it's an fascinating concept that a
  doctor could just type in symptoms into a search
  engine and receive a reliable diagnosis.

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It's also a little bit disconcerting as it could
mean that the standard of medical practitioners
could slip and they could rely too heavily on
Google as their diagnostic tool and not actually
have the information themselves. It reminded me
of The Simpsons episode when the teachers lose
all their answer books and are shown to be simply
reading from the book instead of having the
knowledge themselves!
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What We Learned Students

• Positive Learning Outcomes
• Facilitated technological adoption
• Helped students reflect on Information Hunt
  assessment information seeking overall
• Helped students work through problem solving
• Provided forum for self-expression, especially
  for introverted students
• Encouraged information sharing
• Made learning FUN!
• Potential Drawbacks
• Initially remembering passwords
• Remembering to maintain blogs weekly throughout
  semester

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What We Learned Staff

• Positive Learning Outcomes
• Students strongly identified with diary format
• Graders able to trace cognitive processes more
  easily
• Instructor able to identify more quickly problem
  areas in individual learning experiences
• Potential Drawbacks
• Lack of filters Be prepared for an emotional
  outpouring!
• Time required

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Blogging Mad!

• Postgraduate data collection tool opportunity
  for reflection on professional service
• MLIS supervisee support
• Research
• The future?

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Continuing Work
Well keep you posted in our ongoing blogs! In
the meantime, please do get in touch Email
Crystal.Fulton_at_ucd.ie Telephone [phone]