Reflecting on the article "Assessing the Effects of Interactive Blogging on Student Attitudes towards Peer Interaction, Learning Motivation, and Academic Achievements" by Yang and Chang, I was struck and honestly, both surprised and not surprised by the findings. According to the authors, use of blog commenting was associated with both positive attitudes towards peer interaction and subject matter achievement. I was unsurprised given my experience over the course of this semester with blogging. I do feel like it gives me the chance to articulate thoughts on weekly topics in a way that I may feel inhibited from doing in a strictly lecture-based environment. What was surprising were the results in light of the fact that the sample was comprised of a 5:1 male to female ratio in STEM courses. I feel this really goes against the traditional belief that males, particularly those who are technologically or mathematically inclined prefer less interaction or participation in learning environments. Another study that examines this phenomenon is linked below. While the results are inconclusive and suggest that motivating factors that precipitate the level of online engagement are multifaceted, the data itself is revealing and provides quite a bit of insight into how much online engagement men prefer versus women.
One of the distinct advantages of Web 2.0 is that it has helped not only in democratizing art but also facilitating its creation. As a (former) musician, I adore that people now have the technology to create music irrespective of temporospatial boundaries and without onerous financial investments. Musicians can now live in disparate parts of the country or world and still make music together thanks to file-sharing and reasonably-priced software. Another outgrowth of this phenomenon is the culture of mash-ups. To give a brief bit of background, mash-ups are essentially additions to or the manipulation of previously recorded material. One of the earliest and most notable examples of mash-ups was known as 'The Grey Album," which was released by an artist named Dangermouse in 2004. The Grey Album combined previously recorded music by the Beatles and Jay-Z. Predictably, EMI, the owner of the Beatles recording copyrights balked and distributors of the Grey Album were sent Cease an...
That is an interesting point. I am not sure if this relates to gender, but I have found that in online discussions I get a much wider range of voices than I did when teaching face to face. It is one way that I love online teaching. I actually find ways to connect with students that I didn't before. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting. I wonder what accounts for the difference - perhaps students that are quiet or shy in front of others are less inhibited in an online environment? I don't know, might make a good study though.
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