Sergio Luján-Mora. A Suvery of Use of Weblogs in Education. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Multimedia and Information and Communication Technologies in Education (m-ICTE 2006), p. 255-259: Formatex, Seville (Spain), November 22-25 2006. ISBN: 978-84-690-2469-8.
Using weblogs (or blogs) for courses, as an enhancement to the traditional class or for a fully online course, is becoming more and more important and popular. In this paper, we describe the technology behind weblogs, we present the basic functionality of weblogs, and we discuss the different roles weblogs can play in teaching and learning: instructor blogs and student blogs. From the instructor's point of view, a blog can be used to share knowledge, to provide instructions for students (course announcements, tips, and resources), to publish a list of annotated links, and to review and check students' work. From the student's point of view, a blog can be used as a group work tool, to share course related resources, and to submit assignments and home work. Blogs can help to change the academic discourse and to achieve a real student centered learning. Finally, we also present some case studies of use of weblog.
Sergio Luján-Mora, Susana de Juana-Espinosa. The Use of Weblogs in Higher Education: Benefits and Barriers. Proceedings of the International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED 2007), p. 1-7: IATED, Valencia (Spain), March 7-9 2007. ISBN: 978-84-611-4517-1.
Weblogs are personal web pages written in chronological order and maintained through a specific software that helps their administration. From an educational point of view, weblogs are the development of traditional learning logs for students and teachers, whether as a complement to traditional lectures or as a e-learning tool. The importance of these applications has increased due to the changes in the classroom dynamics that Bologna will bring shortly to the European Higher Education Area, which entail the substitution of conventional education for autonomous learning. Also, the number of Open Universities and virtual.environment courses offered by traditional Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), potential users of weblogs, has boosted in the last decade. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the scarce knowledge that HEIs have regarding the functionality of weblogs as tools for enhancing the teaching-learning process, specially in terms of identifying the barriers and benefits that the deployment of these tools may present. To do so, both a theoretical and practical approach have been employed. First, the paper establishes an explanation about the anatomy of weblogs. Second, possible uses of weblogs in HEIs are discussed and classified according to the users. perspective. Finally, from these experiences, the main benefits provided by weblogs are shown, as well as the possible barriers that may jeopardise its use.
Sergio Luján-Mora, Susana de Juana-Espinosa. Analysing Weblogs in University Teaching. Proceedings of the International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED 2008), p. 1-8: IATED, Valencia (Spain), March 3-5 2008. ISBN: 978-84-612-0190-7.
University lecturers are relying on the publication of blogs for complementing traditional lectures or as an e-learning tool. However, the usefulness of blogs is still unclear. Therefore there is a need for studies that may show the real value of blogs in university education. In this paper, several studies regarding this topic are reviewed, and their conclusions will be contrasted with the findings of a research carried out among the students of the University of Alicante. This research is based on a double perspective analysis. On the one hand, a qualitative assessment was conducted to evaluate the perceived satisfaction and usefulness of the students when faced with blogs, both as writers and readers. On the other hand, a quantitative survey was passed to the same students in order to estimate their level of participation and to refine the qualitative perceptions aforementioned. The conclusions show that, even though most students had not used a blog before this experience, they are motivated and consider this tool as an enhancer of their learning processes. Moreover, the students have increased their implication level in the teaching-learning dynamics by using blogs.