This week was blog week - it feels like being in some sort of educational bake off! A new medium to get our heads around and a new way to present our discussions. I couldn't be more proud of the way in which my students have embraced this and the discussions they have produced. Last week at the end of the collaborate session when I asked for feedback I mentioned that there were no comments on the blog posts I was posting each week and I was hoping that the blog weeks would help people to feel more comfortable to add comments or write their own posts. This provoked some discussion about the blog and it became apparent that some students were reading the posts and following up on the links to additional resources. This made my heart sing! It also became apparent that following the sessions students were continuing the discussions but using their cohort Facebook page to do this. This is something that I had not considered before embarking on this project. One of my aims was to encourage students to engage with wider reading and external resources to help them develop their arguments and their critical thinking skills. It didn't occur to me that students may already do this but it is a currently 'hidden' activity. When I asked if it would be better to have a Facebook page for the module rather than a blog on the VLE this met with a lot of positive comments. This may mean that using the VLE is too restrictive and that engagement isn't the issue, the way in which we expect people to engage is the difficulty.
Last week I posted instructions for the blog week session (including the skills I thought it would help develop) and the scenarios for discussion in each of the group's VLE group rooms. The scenarios didn't relate to the key lecture this week so groups could decide when and how they wanted to undertake the task. Once they had discussed the scenarios they needed to write a group post and add it to the blog. Once this has been done each individual is expected to comment on another groups blog. I have now read all but one blog post - one group's seems to be lost in the ether somewhere - and I have been incredibly impressed with them. Groups have chosen how to present their work and some have added links to other resources or included a copy of their chat. The scenarios have clearly created debate and the groups have produced posts that highlight the difficulties the dilemmas posed, linked to ethical theory and law and demonstrated critical thinking skills. The depth of the discussions displayed exceeds that created in previous years face to face sessions. I have commented on all of the blogs and given links to some additional resources or posed questions that arise from their discussions. I have also read a blog post from an individual student and responded to some comments about previous weeks posts. So what have I learnt? (positive)
I am pleased with the way the session worked and am looking forward to the second blog session where the students will be posting comments on podcasts.
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AuthorKirsten Huby Lecturer Child Nursing interested in blended learning, educational technology and improving student engagement. Archives
September 2017
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