Enhancing Classroom Learning Experience by Providing Structures to Microblogging-Based Activities

Microblogging tools such as Twitter have been frequently adopted in educational settings to facilitate learning in recent years. Although the original purpose of microblogging tools is to connect with others in a wide network and instantly share what is happening to them with the rest of the world, educators have vigorously attempted to repurpose the utilization of the tool and integrate it into various educational settings to promote student learning. The purpose of this study is to examine student learning experience under a set of structured microblogging-based activities and to identify the affordances and constraints of the technology. Students participated in the structured microblogging-supported collaborative and reflective activities during the class and reported their learning experience afterward. The analysis of in-class discussion transcripts, microblogging posts, pre- and post-survey results, and the after-class blog posts suggested that the structure provided by the instructor in these microblogging activities, allowed students to focus on the learning content and participate in an effective manner. The students\u27 in-class participation and engagement were elevated by the microblogging-based activities, and they had an increased positive attitude towards the educational use of microblogging after the class activities. This research suggests that providing structure to microblogging activities is critical to maximize the affordances and minimize the constraints of microblogging tools in a classroom setting. Specific structuring strategies employed in this study, such as presetting a code of conduct for tweeting, providing scaffolding to each tweeting activity, and setting a limited time frame, are worth considering for a successful microblogging application

Blog-assisted language learning for collaborative learning in a second language extensive reading program

Generally, English as a second language (ESL) students avoid using English during face-to-face interaction. In-class discussions often do not provide equal opportunity for them to participate as these discussions are dominated by active and competent students. In extensive reading program, students use journals to write reflection and the audience is merely their teacher. However, the literature shows that there are limited studies on the use of blogs as a group journal in L2 extensive reading program. Thus, this study used blogs as a platform for students to collaborate, discuss and share their knowledge on a given topic. The objectives of this study are to explore the nature of students’ interaction and their interactional patterns in their blogs when they were supervised face-to-face and virtually. The participants consisted of 20 secondary school students from a suburban school in Kelantan, Malaysia. They read the reading materials, held group discussions and posted comments in their respective group blogs. The students chose the reading materials from the library during face-to-face interaction whereas during virtual interaction, they searched for their own materials and from the blogs outside the school. The students’ blog posts were analyzed using Florida State University Online Assessment Tool and Bales Interaction Process Analysis in 2002. A survey and interviews were administered to elicit the students' responses on the use of blogs in an extensive reading program. The findings indicated that the students participated more during virtual supervision compared to face-to-face supervision. However, they easily diverged from the task during virtual supervision. The use of blog encouraged the students to interact in English. The findings also indicated that students’ personalities influenced their participation in blog discussion. This study provided evidence that students’ involvement in choosing their own reading materials and the use of blogs as a platform to learn collaboratively created opportunity for them to share ideas in English freely. These findings have pedagogical implications on the use of blog for teaching and learning English as a second language