Blogging and College Reading

 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19388070903509177

This was a very interesting study on the use of blogging in a college developmental reading course. The goal was to introduce and integrate new literacies into a traditional literacy learning environment. There were three factors addressed in this study. One was the question “does the use of blogging affect reading performance?” The answer seems to be no. The second question, and perhaps the most indicative of the effects of blogging was whether or not blogging affects the student’s motivation in a developmental reading class. Though motivation did not seem to differ in the two settings, the blogging students expressed more confidence with using the computer for communicating versus the traditional learners.

The most surprising result of this study was related to retention rates. Blogging students are more likely to stay in school. The retention rate, according to this article, among blogging students is 97.5%, compared to 86.2% among traditional classroom students. This can be due to the increased interaction among the bloggers and feeling part of a group as well the positive effects of having your voice be heard.  

Blogging seems to create an environment where students feel more comfortable sharing ideas and critiquing the work of their peers. Teachers play a different role as well in a classroom that blogs. They can provide feedback in such a way as to participate in the discussion instead of always leading a discussion. In addition I feel that in a blog you can offer more to the readers. You can link to pertinent information, include graphics and other multi-media components and you can participate at any time of the day or night. This type of asynchronous learning is conducive to the participation of learners who are working full time and hence perhaps the higher retention rates.

Both professors Hsu and Wang seem to have made great contributions to the teaching of new literacies.