Algumas perspectivas sobre blogues e teorias da aprendizagem

Pedagogy

With little exception, the promise of Web 2.0 tools for education has been described in terms of a Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivist theory: knowledge or “meaning making” develops through the social process of language use over time (Ferdig &Trammell, 2004). Constructivism emphasises the conversational nature of learning, requiring opportunities for reflection and feedback (from self, peers, teachers) (McCoughlin & Lee, 2007). In a constructivist learning environment, opportunities to interact with other learners and to actively participate in the learning process are essential – both of which are hallmark features of social software.

Going beyond constructivism, Siemens (2004, cited in Mason & Rennie, 2008) emphasises the importance of connectivism - moving from learning as an internalising, individual process to a shared, collaborative construction of knowledge.

Other commentators have also highlighted the relevance of blogging to Lave and Wenger’s (1990) situated learning theory based on participation in a community of practice (e.g., Farmer & Bartlett-Bragg, 2005).

Within this landscape, the use of blogs in education seems to tick all the right boxes:

» encourage self-reflection
» provide opportunities for feedback
» promote critical and creative thinking
» increase access to information and connections between sources
» exposure to diverse perspectives
» encourage making connections
» support interaction (with peers, teachers and community)
» promote active learning
(Duffy & Bruns, 2006; Ferdig & Trammell, 2004; Minocha, 2009)

Or, to put it more plainly: – “Despite obvious appearances, blogging isn’t really about writing at all; that’s just the end point of the process, the outcome that occurs more or less naturally if everything else has been done right. Blogging is about, first reading. But more important, it is about reading what is of interest to you: your culture, your community, your ideas. And it is about engaging with the content and with the authors of what you have read – reflecting, criticizing, questioning, reacting.” (Downes, 2004, p. 25).

Downes’ analysis highlights the use of blogs to support and encourage higher order thinking skills, reflection, critical thinking, evaluation. A contemporary revision of Bloom’s taxonomy (Andrew Churches, Sept 1, 2008 posted on http://www.techlearning.com) to reflect digital technologies in learning also aligns the use of blogs with different levels, depending on the way the blogs are used:

Understanding – E.g., Blog Journaling (writes a journal entries that show basic understanding. Blog can then be used to support higher order thinking through discussion and collaboration.

Analysing – E.g., Linking (building links using web connections).

Evaluating – E.g., Blog/vlog commenting and reflecting (facilitates reflective practice, students reply by posting comments that require evaluation of material in context).

Creating – E.g, Publishing (involves publishing in text, media or digital formats).
in https://blogs.monash.edu/blog-teach/why-use-blogs/

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