Research Article
Gema Sánchez Medero, Gema Pastor Albaladejo, Pilar Mairal Medina, María José García Solana
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 4, Article No: ep393
ABSTRACT
A number of university educators decided to implement an experience “pilot”: the co-creation of a blog with students in which they disseminated some topics of the subject “Spanish political system”, taken as part of a joint honors degree in law and political science from the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology of the Complutense University of Madrid. Four professors and 42 students participated in this experience. In the first phase, the students, under the supervision of the professors, collaboratively developed each of the assigned topics. To do so, the professors explained the dynamics, provided them with a series of resources, trained them in collaborative work techniques, supervised the whole process, and resolved all their doubts. In a second phase, they jointly evaluated one subject to see the possible deviations that had occurred with respect to the initial model, in order to be able to correct them in the rest. In addition, the professors conducted a student survey to measure teamwork and the impact of the blog, the results of which were shared with the participants and at specialized conferences. Thanks, this pilot program has shown that blogging is an important technological tool for the transformation and improvement of teaching and learning processes, and that it encourages the active role of students and promotes their collaborative learning, generating knowledge with and for students.
Keywords: university innovation, blogging, co-creation, collaborative learning
Research Article
Barbara Freeman, Kristina N. Higgins, Mark Horney
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 281-313
ABSTRACT
This article reports the findings of a study designed to examine the influence of multimodal
writing on the communication of mathematical ideas. Elementary school students (ages 8-13)
were required to write mathematics notes using two digital writing technologies, a personal
digital notepad and a social mathematics blog, in the context of a formal intervention. Fortytwo
students participated, across three schools. The study showed that when students wrote
notes that could be assessed for correctness, their answers were predominately right,
indicating that mathematical sense-making was taking place. It also showed that the digital
notepad and blog were used differently and that the type of technology influences the writing
content. Moreover, students’ mathematical writing were understandable by their peers and
students collaboratively explored solutions. Younger students were more likely to draw
pictures to represent their ideas than older students. These findings show that writing can
help students acquire mathematical understanding, and suggest that multimodal writing may
help them surmount difficulties often associated with learning math. Although this research
demonstrated that writing can help teachers gain an awareness of their students’
mathematical understanding, it also revealed that writing environments need to be monitored
and students require close guidance to bring about systematic improvement.
Keywords: mathematics education, instructional technology, elemantary education, digital writing tools, blogging
Research Article
Heather M. Ross, Ryan Banow, Stan Yu
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 126-139
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this two-year quantitative study was to determine the usefulness of the micro-blogging tool Twitter in large classes for improving the students’ sense of community and belonging. Three instructors of large classes were recruited to test the outcomes of using Twitter as a learning tool, one each from the Departments of Geography and Psychology, and the College of Nursing. Twitter was used as a learning tool to allow students to engage in discussion and ask questions in real time during class as well as outside of class. The method used by the authors included surveys that measured students’ perception of their sense of community and belonging, their engagement with the Twitter portion of the course, and their thoughts on the use of Twitter for academic purposes in a higher-education classroom setting. Data about students’ use of Twitter was further collected using the Twitter Archiving Google Spreadsheet tool. The authors conclude this study showed that Twitter, if integrated into the course and supported by instructor and/or assistants who are familiar with the use of Twitter, improved the sense of community reported by students.
Keywords: Microblogging, Twitter, Learning technologies, Community, Large classes, Higher education
Research Article
Kun Li, Niamboue Bado, Jamie Smith, David Moore
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 3, pp. 172-186
ABSTRACT
Blogs have been widely used in education since their emergence. Educational researchers and practitioners have integrated blogs into teaching and learning in different subject areas, but does blog use encourage critical thinking? This paper presents a study, which explores peer commenting for critical thinking in blog writing. In order to discover blogging for skill development, survey method and focus group were employed in this study. Results of blog content analysis indicate levels of critical thinking remain constant with or without peer commenting. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided for effective use of blogs for instruction.
Keywords: Blogging, Critical thinking, Attitude, Experience, Pre-service teacher