Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Are Blogs the same as Discussion Boards?
Blogging Pros and Cons: Are Blogs the same as Discussion Boards?
Discussion boards have been popular in online learning management systems (LMS), sometimes called course management systems (CMS) . Discussion boards are still popular, but blogs are growing in use as well (Oravec, 2002, p616). Many LMS now have blogging tools incorporated along with the discussion board tools (King and Cox, 2011, p93). While blogs have some similarities with discussion boards, there are differences as well, in both methodology and purpose.
Discussion boards are typically used similar to a classroom discussion time. A person can create a new topic by posting a question or making a statement. The rest of the class then has the chance to reply with comments, answers or more questions to expand the topic. Many times, just as in class, the instructor initiates the discussion with a question or statement, but the students also have the chance to start a discussion as well.
Blogs are more like a class presentation. A student can post a blog entry sharing their research, review, idea, or opinion. Once the initial post is made, the rest of the class can add questions, comments, or responses to the initial post. This is similar to a student giving a presentation in class then giving the other students opportunities to react.
The two tools are similar in a few ways. Both tools allow for asynchronous communication. With both, the initial post is generated by an individual, either the instructor or a student. Also, all participants can respond or react to the post.
One difference is that with a discussion board, the responses to the initial post and subsequent posts are threaded. This makes it easy to follow who is responding to what statement. With a blog, the posts are simply in reverse chronological order. This is less conducive to a discussion, but is excellent for keeping the topic on focus.
The two tools can provide benefits to education if used correctly. If not used correctly, they are simply time wasters much like busy work in a face-to-face class.
References
King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Oravec, J. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45, 7
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Hi rlbeachksu
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I have noticed during this course is that no one had really focused on the differences between all of these great technological advances in learning and the way we communicate in an old fashioned classroom. I think that there are some advantages for the more introverted people who are more comfortable writing down their thoughts than meeting face to face. The lack of personal judgement that comes with writing words on a screen is great too. But, what about the students who do not learn as well just reading other’s opinions all day long in a never ending stream of other’s conscience? This is where I think blogs and discussion boards fail the most and where wiki’s can make all the difference in education. The ability to be creative and provide videos, pictures, and have an interactive page is way above and beyond what either of the other two options can provide.
This is a good point. I believe each tool has it's place and should be carefully considered during the selection process. For those who prefer to put their ideas down on paper, maybe that is a good way to start. Then when the thoughts are all down and organized, start posting them to the wiki ro blog tool. At that point, the creative work of finding supporting videos, pics and other pages can be added.
DeleteThanks for your thoughts.