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Blogging as a social medium in undergraduate courses: Sense of community best predictor of perceived learning
Internet and Higher Education 15 (2012) 24–28
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Internet and Higher Education
Blogging as a social medium in undergraduate courses: Sense of community best predictor of perceived learning Ercan Top ⁎ Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Available online 12 February 2011 Keywords: Social media Sense of community Collaborative learning Perceived learning
a b s t r a c t The purpose of the study was to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning. Fifty pre-service teachers from two undergraduate ICT courses which incorporated blogs participated in this study. The data were obtained via three online questionnaires (Collaborative Learning scale, Sense of Community scale, and Perceived Learning scale) administered throughout Fall 2009–2010. The research questions were answered by using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and multiple linear regressions. Results indicated that the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning and perceived learning; also, they had moderate feelings related to sense of community in the classes which incorporated blogs. Additionally, to a great extent sense of community and to a much lesser extent of computer knowledge level were the predictors of explaining their learning perceptions. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Over the past few years there has been an increasing interest in the new generation of social media, especially Web 2.0 technologies. The users play a more active role in Web 2.0 technologies than in the previous social web based environments. These technologies including blogs and wikis help people to create, communicate, and publish online content more easily. Due to the ease of use, functionality and flexibility, they have become much more commonplace throughout the online environments. These attributes of Web 2.0 technologies are also well suited to be used as social teaching and learning media in higher education (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). 1.1. Blogging in the classroom The new social media have disrupted traditional communication and learning methods in the classroom in the last years (Ellison & Wu, 2008). Today's college students spend lots of time on the internet and engage instant messaging, blogging, using Facebook or Twitter, downloading audio and video files, and online games in their daily lives. In other words, today's college students have grown up with these tools (Roberts, Foehr & Rideout, 2005). The dichotomy used for these kinds of students in the literature is “digital natives” (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Pascu, 2008). Therefore, educators have tried to ⁎ Computer Education and Instructional Technologies, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey. Tel.: + 90 850 345 87 34. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1096-7516/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.02.001
incorporate these online technologies into the classroom environments to increase student satisfaction and learning. Blogging, one of the emerging technologies, is often employed by educators in the classroom to overcome the weaknesses of current CMC technologies, such as, causing difficulty in the management of communication, failing to provide a sense of ownership, causing anxiety, being instructor-centered, or having no archive capability (Kim, 2008). Blog is short for web log that is one of the most appealing Web 2.0 tools. It basically allows users to create personal journals and resource sites to share with their community (Makri & Kynigos, 2007). Since its breakthrough among other online social media, the number of blogs has been increasing rapidly every day (Pascu, 2008). With its increasing popularity, blogs have come out in a variety of fields including business, travel, sports, and also education. Educational applications of blogs include writing, researching, interpreting, interacting, reflecting, problem solving, cooperating, sharing ideas, and expressing individual or group voice (Brescia & Miller, 2006; Goktas, 2009). Similarly, several researchers agreed on a number of interesting possibilities for the usage of instructional blogs in educational environments (Brescia & Miller, 2006; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Makri & Kynigos, 2007). For example, educators and students can use blogs in order to publish news and information about the course; collect learning resources and share ideas and experiences; develop interaction like in an online forum; improve researching and writing skills while preparing individual assignments; and develop collaboration and social skills in discussions over group assignments and projects (Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Fessakis, Tatsis & Dimitracopoulou, 2008). However, students' blog usage will not improve their learning without applying suitable content, scaffolding,
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and strategies in the learning environment (Ellison & Wu, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). Several researchers showed that blogs can be used as effective social teaching and learning media in the classroom. For example, Williams and Jacobs (2004) investigated the potential of blogs in the higher education and came up with the idea that blogs have the potential to provide students with a high level of independence while simultaneously providing opportunity for a deeper interaction with peers. Another study was conducted by Ellison and Wu (2008) who analyzed student perceptions of blogging in the classroom and they found that students enjoyed certain aspects of blogging. Also, reading other students' blogs was believed to be most helpful in understanding course concepts. Furthermore, Goktas (2009) analyzed preservice teachers' perceptions and experiences in blog-supported ICT courses incorporating the seven principles of good practices. According to the results, pre-service teachers believed blogs can be used as an effective instructional tool in learning environments. To sum up, Efimova and Fiedler (2003) defined learning characteristics of blogging environments as synergies of self-organized and community learning (Beldarrain, 2006; Hall, 2008; Yang, 2009), distributed apprenticeship (Du & Wagner, 2006; Oravec, 2003; Williams & Jacobs, 2004), support for the development of meta-learning skills (Farmer, Yue & Brooks, 2008; Rockinson-Szapkiw & Walker, 2009; Yang, 2009), and learning from multiple perspectives (Xie, Ke, & Sharma, 2008; Xie & Sharma, 2004). 1.2. Collaborative learning through blogging Collaborative learning strategies, when designed and applied appropriately, can provide learners with opportunities to experience numerous perspectives of other learners, and can enhance their critical thinking skills through the processes of evaluating, assessing, supporting, or opposing different viewpoints (So & Brush, 2008). Blogs are social software media and also they can support both active and social learning by providing environments and technologies that promote collaborative activities (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Yang, 2009). Researchers agreed that blogging supports collaborative learning by enhancing learning performance in both individual knowledge development and group knowledge sharing. For instance, Yang (2009) investigated the use of blogs as a reflective platform in the training processes and found that participants actively discussed their opinions about the topics through blogs. Participants also stated that blogs provide a useful platform for reflecting and communicating with each other. In another study, Makri and Kynigos (2007) analyzed the integration of group blogging in a postgraduate course. Blogging was integrated as a medium of asynchronous communication and reflection. According to the researchers, a long lasting warm or informal dialog and non-monolog narration emerged collaboratively from the preliminary data analysis. Further, the discussion patterns represented structured cohesive and interactive presence, and they revealed a significant evidence for the learning value of blogging. 1.3. Sense of community through blogging Blogs could be implemented to facilitate discussion and interaction among students (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Ellison & Wu, 2008). Blogs could also increase the level of students' participation and create a greater sense of community, which is essential for students in online settings (Bold, 2006), different from the conventional classroom settings (Williams & Jacobs, 2004). Sense of community can be defined as “a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members' needs will be met through their commitment to be together” (McMillan & Chavis, 1986, p.9). Through blogging, a sense of community could be developed by enabling students to share and
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exchange their opinions and collaborate on learning activities (Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006; Zhu & Baylen, 2005). However, not every blogging environment has resulted in a stronger sense of community among students (e.g. Dickey, 2004; Nardi, Schiano, Gumbrecht & Swartz, 2004). Indeed, while trying to build up a sense of community on the one hand, various factors might actually be weakening the process, on the other hand. Such factors may include authoritative tones of some students, demonstration of mistrust, competition among students, threat of privacy, or exclusion of some students (Rovai, 2001, 2002; Xie & Sharma, 2004). With respect to producing a sense of community, Yang (2009) and Halic, Lee, Paulus, and Spence (2010) stated that, blog-used educational environments could produce a stronger sense of community among participants as users are more involved than they do in other web based environments. In a blog-used educational environment, students could visit one another's blogs to provide feedback and encouragement, reducing feelings of isolation often felt in online courses, to force one another to critically think, and to establish a sense of community (Rockinson-Szapkiw & Walker, 2009). To establish a sense of a community, blogs should be used to foster interpersonal communication and to be able to possibly reduce isolation and alienation of the students, rather than leading users just to complete the task for grade (Cameron, Morgan, Williams & Kostelecky, 2009; Dickey, 2004). As a summary, blogs can be used to enhance collaborative activities, sense of community and student learning in the classroom. However, previous research provides limited guidelines and strategies on how blogging can be integrated into instruction to support students and educators (Brescia & Miller, 2006; Ellison & Wu, 2008). Furthermore, there is limited research with regards to the effectiveness of social media to enhance communication among students and to contribute to the learning activities and outcomes in the classroom environment (Ellison & Wu, 2008; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Kim, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning in a class which incorporated blogs. The following main research questions guided this study: • What are the pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning? • Is there any relationship between pre-service teachers' gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning? • What is the extent to which selected variables (gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, and perception of collaborative learning) account for pre-service teachers' perceived learning? 2. Method This study was designed based on basic correlational research design principles. The correlational research design is used to help explain important behaviors; analyze relationships between variables; and predict probable outcomes or predict the score on one variable if a score on the other variable is known (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006). Similarly, this research examined the relationship between various pre-service teachers' perceptions and their perceived learning in two undergraduate ICT courses which incorporated blogging. 2.1. Description of ICT courses Course-I (Web Design) and Course-II (Internet Based Programming) are two similar undergraduate courses taught to 3rd year preservice teachers and 4th year pre-service teachers respectively in
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E. Top / Internet and Higher Education 15 (2012) 24–28
Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department at Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey. The goals of these ICT courses are to help pre-service teachers become knowledgeable/competent in the fundamental concepts and functions of the web design and programming and in the principles of using internet applications in education. Blogs were integrated as social and educational media into both courses in order to facilitate document sharing, peer-to-peer discussions, and reflection. Also, blogs helped the course instructors monitor and assess students' learning process. 2.2. Participants The participants were 50 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in two undergraduate ICT courses, Course-I (N = 25) and Course-II (N = 25). The number of male students (58%) was greater than the number of female students (42%) (Table 1). Most of the students (42%) reported having used blogs for less than six months or having no previous experience with blogs (22%). With respect to students' computer skills, almost all students (96%) rated their skills as average or higher.
preferences to individual versus group work, and preferences to face-to-face interaction versus online interaction, amounts of collaboration, and overall satisfaction with collaborative learning. The reliability of the original scale was determined to be high, 0.72. Sense of Community scale (SC), and Perceived Learning scale (PL) was developed by Halic, Lee, Paulus, and Spence (2010) to test perceived learning and sense of community in a blogging environment. The SC scale has six items and was developed to identify attitudes related to community building via blogs. The reliability of the original scale was determined to be high, 0.87. Finally, the PL scale has seven items to record student perceptions of learning as facilitated by the blogs. The reliability of the original scale was determined to be high, 0.87. All of the instruments were adapted from the original versions. To evaluate the clarity and relevance of the items, two experts in instructional technology field and the course instructors reviewed the adapted Turkish questionnaires. In this study, the Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient was reported in Table 2 (0.79 for CL, 0.79 for SC, and 0.84 for PL). 2.5. Data analysis
2.3. Procedure Two ICT courses were taught throughout the spring semester of the 2009–2010 academic year. At the beginning of the courses, the course instructors mentioned the study and introduced the scope and requirements of the class project which included student blogging. As part of the course requirements, students were asked to choose project groups and each group was required to complete an instructional project with five major phases. A total of 18 project groups consisting of 2 to 4 students were formed. Each group created their own blog space and posted a few messages for testing purposes. In the weeks that followed, students completed their course projects while at the same time posting their plans and documents for each phase of the project on their blog spaces. After each project phase, course instructors gave feedback to the students. Each week, groups were instructed to write at least one post in their group blogs about each project phase. They were also expected to write individual posts weekly to the blog spaces of other groups. At the end of the courses, students were evaluated based on group blog postings, individual posts to other groups' blog postings, completed group projects, and midterm and final exams. 2.4. Data collection Data were collected through online surveys at the end of the courses. The following online instruments helped to collect relevant data: Collaborative Learning scale, Sense of Community scale, and Perceived Learning scale. Collaborative Learning scale (CL) was developed by So and Brush (2008) with eight items to measure student perspectives on Table 1 The characteristics of pre-service teachers.
Gender Female Male Previous experience with blog None 1–6 months 7 months–1 years 1–2 years More than 2 years Computer knowledge level (out of 10) Low (1–3) Average (4–6) High (7–10)
N
Percentage (%)
21 29
42 58
11 21 5 8 5
22 42 10 16 10
2 47 11
3.3 78.3 18.3
The data gathered through online instruments were analyzed initially by descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations). Then, using the statistical analysis software SPSS 16.0, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted on the data. For example, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was run to determine the relationship between pre-service teachers' gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning. Also, Linear Stepwise Regression analysis was run to assess how well pre-service teachers' perceived learning can be explained in terms of selected variables (gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, and perception of collaborative learning). 3. Results 3.1. Descriptive statistics Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) of the pre-service teachers' perceptions regarding learning, sense of community and collaborative learning. The pre-service teachers' overall mean scores related to the variables were M = 3.7; M = 3.3; and M = 3.5 respectively. 3.2. Regression and correlation among variables The second aim of the study was to examine the relationship between pre-service teachers' sense of community, and perception of collaborative learning and perceived learning. According to Table 4, there is a statistically significant correlation between pre-service teachers' perceived sense of community and pre-service teachers' perceived learning (r = 0.71) at a significance level of 0.05. As seen in Table 5, two variables (sense of community and computer knowledge level) had statistically significant contribution in explaining the variance in perceived learning (R2 = 0.549 adjusted R2 = 0.53, F(2,49) = 28.65, p = 0.00). Approximately 55% of the variances were explained by these variables. Sense of community Table 2 Reliability scores of translated surveys. Surveys
Original Cronbach's alpha
Study Cronbach's alpha
Collaborative Learning scale Sense of Community scale Perceived Learning scale
0.72 0.87 0.87
0.79 0.79 0.84
E. Top / Internet and Higher Education 15 (2012) 24–28 Table 3 Descriptive statistics of the pre-service teachers' perceptions.
Table 5 Results of linear stepwise regression analysis.
Perceived learning
N
The blog discussions help me to share my knowledge and experience with my peers. I believe that incorporating blogs with teaching can enhance my learning experience in general. Other students' comments on my blog posts are important. Blog discussions help me understand other points of view. Blog discussions have made me think about project development concepts outside of this class. My point of view has been acknowledged by my peers and/or discussion leader in this course. Overall using the blog has helped me learn. Average
50 3.9
0.9
50 3.1
1.2
50 3.8 50 3.8 50 4.0
0.8 0.9 1.0
50 3.6
0.8
50 3.6 3.7
1.2 1.0
Sense of community
N
I visit our group blog more than required by my instructor. The blog helps me feel connected to other students in this course. Due to class blog, I feel that I am an important part of our classroom community. I have been stimulated to do additional readings or research on topics discussed on the blog. In comparison to my other classes, the amount of interaction with other students in this class has increased due to the blog. In comparison to my other classes, the quality of interaction with other students in this class has increased due to the blog. Average
50 3.7 50 3.6 50 2.8
1.1 0.9 1.0
50 3.5
1.1
50 3.3
1.1
50 3.1
1.1
3.3
1.1
Mean SD
Mean SD
N
Collaborative learning experience in the blog supported environment is better than in a face-to-face learning environment. I felt part of a learning community in my group I actively exchanged my ideas with group members I was able to develop new skills and knowledge from other members in my group. I was able to develop problem solving skills through peer collaboration. Collaborative learning in my group was effective. Collaborative learning in my group was time consuming. Overall, I am satisfied with my collaborative learning experience in this course. Average
50 2.4
1.2
50 3.9 50 4.3 50 3.8
1.1 0.8 1.0
50 3.8
1.1
50 3.6 50 3.1 50 3.2
1.2 1.4 1.3
3.5
1.3
Mean SD
was the strongest significant predictor of perceived learning, accounting for 50.6% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 change = 0.506, F(1,49) = 49.24, p = 0.00). Computer knowledge level accounted for an additional 4.3% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 change = 0.043, F(1,49) = 0.45, p = 0.04). The other variables (gender, previous experience with blogs, and perception of collaborative learning) were excluded from the equation of predicting perceived learning because they did not have a significant contribution to the variance in perceived learning (p N 0.05). 4. Discussion There has been a movement in recent years towards the use of information and communication technologies in educational environments. These technologies, especially social media technologies, Table 4 Correlations among variables (N = 50). 2
3
4
5
6
1. Gender −0.005 −0.27 −0.03 −0.09 −0.07 2. Computer knowledge level 0.37 0.14 0.09 0.27 3. Previous experience with blogs −0.03 0.14 0.13 4. Perception of collaborative learning 0.28 0.26 5. Sense of community 0.71⁎ 6. Perceived learning 1 ⁎ p b 0.05.
Multiple R R2 Adjusted R2 Standard error
Regression Residual Total
0.741 0.549 0.53 3.32 df
Sum of squares Mean square F
p
2 47 49
631.591 518.089 1149.68
0.000
β Standardized t
Perception of collaborative learning
Variables
27
Sense of community Computer knowledge level
0.69 0.21
7.04 2.12
315.79 11.03
28.06
p
R2 Change p 0.00 0.04
0.506 0.043
0.00 0.04
support the teaching and learning environment and offer new opportunities for students and instructors. Especially, Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs, have been found to be beneficial tools for education as well as providing social interactive environments (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Brescia & Miller, 2006; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). There is a growing need to integrate social media into the classroom (Ellison & Wu, 2008; Kim, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). Therefore, this study was designed to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning in two classes which incorporated blogs. Blogs as tools of social media in the classroom could make several positive contributions to the improvement of students' perceived learning, sense of community, and collaborative learning (Churchill, 2009; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006). In this study, the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning and perceived learning; also, they had moderate feelings related to sense of community in the classes which incorporated blogs. For example, the pre-service teachers mostly agreed that these social media helped them to share their knowledge and experience, and allowed them to discuss the course topics with their peers outside of the class. In the literature, these results were consistent with the findings on student blog experiences in class (i.e. Goktas, 2009; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Williams & Jacobs, 2004). In addition, students exchanged their ideas and felt part of a learning community within their group through blogging in the class. They were generally satisfied with collaborative learning experiences even though they valued face-to-face learning environment. In the statistical results of the study, Table 4 displayed the correlations among the selected pre-service teacher characteristics and perceived learning in the courses. Pre-service teachers' sense of community was in significant positive correlation with pre-service teachers' perceived learning. In addition, according to the regression analyses in Table 5, pre-service teachers' sense of community and their computer knowledge level were the two variables to enter the regression equation in the multivariate analyses. That was accounted for about 54.9% of the variance in pre-service teachers' perceived learning. In the literature, research stated that one of the best predictors of perceived learning appears to be sense of community in a class which incorporated blogs (i.e. Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006; Yang, 2009). For example, Halic, Lee, Paulus and Spence, (2010) investigated whether the use of blogs in a lecture class would enhance students' perceived learning. Similar to the findings of this study, they found that sense of community and computer knowledge level were identified as significant predictors of perceived learning. Yang (2009) explored the use of blogs as a reflective platform in the training processes of English as Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers. Yang also mentioned that the blogs were considered great social media for these student teachers and they improved their learning
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process and perspectives in a systematic way as well as building a learning community. Petersen, Chabert and Divitini (2006) analyzed blogging to support interaction, collaboration, participation and a sense of community among a class of students. They stated that it could facilitate better collaboration, enhance the interaction between the students and the teacher, foster a sense of community among students, and finally, improve student learning. Even though the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning experiences during the courses, they did not rate this experience as a significant effect for their perceived learning. In collaboration activities, groups were required to complete an instructional project with five major phases and to publish these phase reports on their group blogs in this study. After they were published on the blogs, these phases were investigated and criticized by other classmates. It was seen that this whole class exchange of ideas affected their perceived learning more strongly than the group project development process. Based on the results of this study, it could be recommended that pre-service teachers' feeling of belonging by incorporating blogs into learning can improve their learning experience (i.e. Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006). In addition, instructors should also consider that pre-service teachers' onset computer knowledge level had influence on their perceived learning. 5. Conclusion Blogs are popular social media that have powerful potential and used commonly in higher education recently. There are many studies that show the advantages of using blogs in educational environments (Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Yang, 2009). Similarly, the results of this study approved blogging as social media for learning about yourself and developing interactive connections with others. Several pre-service teacher characteristics and perceptions correlated with their perceived learning, but, sense of community was the main predictor of explaining their learning perceptions. To improve students' learning experiences, creating a classroom community and increasing students' computer expertise could be the focus of instructors. Some potential limitations of this study should also be taken into consideration while discussing the results since pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning were examined in two undergraduate classes. The participants of this study were taking courses relating to the topic at hand, which might have caused biases in that these students might have been more inclined towards using ICTs than pre-service teachers taking not specifically ICT-related classes. In addition, the model could have been inflated due to the limited number of participants (50 students) in the study. Extending the population and comparing findings for various courses, several graduate levels, and universities could produce different results. In the study, students' computer skills were defined by selfreport scales; however, as Hargittai (2005, 2009) pointed out, self-report instruments include the risk of misreporting. In this respect, in further studies, some kinds of tests could be performed to get a better picture of students' computer skills. Another possible study might be conducted about relationships of other variables (i.e. attitude, satisfaction, learning style, and achievement). The experimental approach can be used to identify causal relationships among variables. In addition, students had moderate feelings about the sense of community which was directly correlated with students' perceived learning in this study. For that reason, as Xie and Sharma (2004) stated ways to increase students' sense of community could be investigated to increase their perceived learning to a further level. References Ajjan, H., & Hartshorne, R. (2008). Investigating faculty decisions to adopt Web 2.0 technologies: Theory and empirical tests. Internet and Higher Education, 11(2), 71−80.
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Internet and Higher Education
Blogging as a social medium in undergraduate courses: Sense of community best predictor of perceived learning Ercan Top ⁎ Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
a r t i c l e
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Available online 12 February 2011 Keywords: Social media Sense of community Collaborative learning Perceived learning
a b s t r a c t The purpose of the study was to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning. Fifty pre-service teachers from two undergraduate ICT courses which incorporated blogs participated in this study. The data were obtained via three online questionnaires (Collaborative Learning scale, Sense of Community scale, and Perceived Learning scale) administered throughout Fall 2009–2010. The research questions were answered by using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and multiple linear regressions. Results indicated that the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning and perceived learning; also, they had moderate feelings related to sense of community in the classes which incorporated blogs. Additionally, to a great extent sense of community and to a much lesser extent of computer knowledge level were the predictors of explaining their learning perceptions. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Over the past few years there has been an increasing interest in the new generation of social media, especially Web 2.0 technologies. The users play a more active role in Web 2.0 technologies than in the previous social web based environments. These technologies including blogs and wikis help people to create, communicate, and publish online content more easily. Due to the ease of use, functionality and flexibility, they have become much more commonplace throughout the online environments. These attributes of Web 2.0 technologies are also well suited to be used as social teaching and learning media in higher education (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). 1.1. Blogging in the classroom The new social media have disrupted traditional communication and learning methods in the classroom in the last years (Ellison & Wu, 2008). Today's college students spend lots of time on the internet and engage instant messaging, blogging, using Facebook or Twitter, downloading audio and video files, and online games in their daily lives. In other words, today's college students have grown up with these tools (Roberts, Foehr & Rideout, 2005). The dichotomy used for these kinds of students in the literature is “digital natives” (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Pascu, 2008). Therefore, educators have tried to ⁎ Computer Education and Instructional Technologies, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey. Tel.: + 90 850 345 87 34. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1096-7516/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.02.001
incorporate these online technologies into the classroom environments to increase student satisfaction and learning. Blogging, one of the emerging technologies, is often employed by educators in the classroom to overcome the weaknesses of current CMC technologies, such as, causing difficulty in the management of communication, failing to provide a sense of ownership, causing anxiety, being instructor-centered, or having no archive capability (Kim, 2008). Blog is short for web log that is one of the most appealing Web 2.0 tools. It basically allows users to create personal journals and resource sites to share with their community (Makri & Kynigos, 2007). Since its breakthrough among other online social media, the number of blogs has been increasing rapidly every day (Pascu, 2008). With its increasing popularity, blogs have come out in a variety of fields including business, travel, sports, and also education. Educational applications of blogs include writing, researching, interpreting, interacting, reflecting, problem solving, cooperating, sharing ideas, and expressing individual or group voice (Brescia & Miller, 2006; Goktas, 2009). Similarly, several researchers agreed on a number of interesting possibilities for the usage of instructional blogs in educational environments (Brescia & Miller, 2006; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Makri & Kynigos, 2007). For example, educators and students can use blogs in order to publish news and information about the course; collect learning resources and share ideas and experiences; develop interaction like in an online forum; improve researching and writing skills while preparing individual assignments; and develop collaboration and social skills in discussions over group assignments and projects (Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Fessakis, Tatsis & Dimitracopoulou, 2008). However, students' blog usage will not improve their learning without applying suitable content, scaffolding,
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and strategies in the learning environment (Ellison & Wu, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). Several researchers showed that blogs can be used as effective social teaching and learning media in the classroom. For example, Williams and Jacobs (2004) investigated the potential of blogs in the higher education and came up with the idea that blogs have the potential to provide students with a high level of independence while simultaneously providing opportunity for a deeper interaction with peers. Another study was conducted by Ellison and Wu (2008) who analyzed student perceptions of blogging in the classroom and they found that students enjoyed certain aspects of blogging. Also, reading other students' blogs was believed to be most helpful in understanding course concepts. Furthermore, Goktas (2009) analyzed preservice teachers' perceptions and experiences in blog-supported ICT courses incorporating the seven principles of good practices. According to the results, pre-service teachers believed blogs can be used as an effective instructional tool in learning environments. To sum up, Efimova and Fiedler (2003) defined learning characteristics of blogging environments as synergies of self-organized and community learning (Beldarrain, 2006; Hall, 2008; Yang, 2009), distributed apprenticeship (Du & Wagner, 2006; Oravec, 2003; Williams & Jacobs, 2004), support for the development of meta-learning skills (Farmer, Yue & Brooks, 2008; Rockinson-Szapkiw & Walker, 2009; Yang, 2009), and learning from multiple perspectives (Xie, Ke, & Sharma, 2008; Xie & Sharma, 2004). 1.2. Collaborative learning through blogging Collaborative learning strategies, when designed and applied appropriately, can provide learners with opportunities to experience numerous perspectives of other learners, and can enhance their critical thinking skills through the processes of evaluating, assessing, supporting, or opposing different viewpoints (So & Brush, 2008). Blogs are social software media and also they can support both active and social learning by providing environments and technologies that promote collaborative activities (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Yang, 2009). Researchers agreed that blogging supports collaborative learning by enhancing learning performance in both individual knowledge development and group knowledge sharing. For instance, Yang (2009) investigated the use of blogs as a reflective platform in the training processes and found that participants actively discussed their opinions about the topics through blogs. Participants also stated that blogs provide a useful platform for reflecting and communicating with each other. In another study, Makri and Kynigos (2007) analyzed the integration of group blogging in a postgraduate course. Blogging was integrated as a medium of asynchronous communication and reflection. According to the researchers, a long lasting warm or informal dialog and non-monolog narration emerged collaboratively from the preliminary data analysis. Further, the discussion patterns represented structured cohesive and interactive presence, and they revealed a significant evidence for the learning value of blogging. 1.3. Sense of community through blogging Blogs could be implemented to facilitate discussion and interaction among students (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Ellison & Wu, 2008). Blogs could also increase the level of students' participation and create a greater sense of community, which is essential for students in online settings (Bold, 2006), different from the conventional classroom settings (Williams & Jacobs, 2004). Sense of community can be defined as “a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members' needs will be met through their commitment to be together” (McMillan & Chavis, 1986, p.9). Through blogging, a sense of community could be developed by enabling students to share and
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exchange their opinions and collaborate on learning activities (Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006; Zhu & Baylen, 2005). However, not every blogging environment has resulted in a stronger sense of community among students (e.g. Dickey, 2004; Nardi, Schiano, Gumbrecht & Swartz, 2004). Indeed, while trying to build up a sense of community on the one hand, various factors might actually be weakening the process, on the other hand. Such factors may include authoritative tones of some students, demonstration of mistrust, competition among students, threat of privacy, or exclusion of some students (Rovai, 2001, 2002; Xie & Sharma, 2004). With respect to producing a sense of community, Yang (2009) and Halic, Lee, Paulus, and Spence (2010) stated that, blog-used educational environments could produce a stronger sense of community among participants as users are more involved than they do in other web based environments. In a blog-used educational environment, students could visit one another's blogs to provide feedback and encouragement, reducing feelings of isolation often felt in online courses, to force one another to critically think, and to establish a sense of community (Rockinson-Szapkiw & Walker, 2009). To establish a sense of a community, blogs should be used to foster interpersonal communication and to be able to possibly reduce isolation and alienation of the students, rather than leading users just to complete the task for grade (Cameron, Morgan, Williams & Kostelecky, 2009; Dickey, 2004). As a summary, blogs can be used to enhance collaborative activities, sense of community and student learning in the classroom. However, previous research provides limited guidelines and strategies on how blogging can be integrated into instruction to support students and educators (Brescia & Miller, 2006; Ellison & Wu, 2008). Furthermore, there is limited research with regards to the effectiveness of social media to enhance communication among students and to contribute to the learning activities and outcomes in the classroom environment (Ellison & Wu, 2008; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Kim, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning in a class which incorporated blogs. The following main research questions guided this study: • What are the pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning? • Is there any relationship between pre-service teachers' gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning? • What is the extent to which selected variables (gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, and perception of collaborative learning) account for pre-service teachers' perceived learning? 2. Method This study was designed based on basic correlational research design principles. The correlational research design is used to help explain important behaviors; analyze relationships between variables; and predict probable outcomes or predict the score on one variable if a score on the other variable is known (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006). Similarly, this research examined the relationship between various pre-service teachers' perceptions and their perceived learning in two undergraduate ICT courses which incorporated blogging. 2.1. Description of ICT courses Course-I (Web Design) and Course-II (Internet Based Programming) are two similar undergraduate courses taught to 3rd year preservice teachers and 4th year pre-service teachers respectively in
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Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department at Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey. The goals of these ICT courses are to help pre-service teachers become knowledgeable/competent in the fundamental concepts and functions of the web design and programming and in the principles of using internet applications in education. Blogs were integrated as social and educational media into both courses in order to facilitate document sharing, peer-to-peer discussions, and reflection. Also, blogs helped the course instructors monitor and assess students' learning process. 2.2. Participants The participants were 50 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in two undergraduate ICT courses, Course-I (N = 25) and Course-II (N = 25). The number of male students (58%) was greater than the number of female students (42%) (Table 1). Most of the students (42%) reported having used blogs for less than six months or having no previous experience with blogs (22%). With respect to students' computer skills, almost all students (96%) rated their skills as average or higher.
preferences to individual versus group work, and preferences to face-to-face interaction versus online interaction, amounts of collaboration, and overall satisfaction with collaborative learning. The reliability of the original scale was determined to be high, 0.72. Sense of Community scale (SC), and Perceived Learning scale (PL) was developed by Halic, Lee, Paulus, and Spence (2010) to test perceived learning and sense of community in a blogging environment. The SC scale has six items and was developed to identify attitudes related to community building via blogs. The reliability of the original scale was determined to be high, 0.87. Finally, the PL scale has seven items to record student perceptions of learning as facilitated by the blogs. The reliability of the original scale was determined to be high, 0.87. All of the instruments were adapted from the original versions. To evaluate the clarity and relevance of the items, two experts in instructional technology field and the course instructors reviewed the adapted Turkish questionnaires. In this study, the Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient was reported in Table 2 (0.79 for CL, 0.79 for SC, and 0.84 for PL). 2.5. Data analysis
2.3. Procedure Two ICT courses were taught throughout the spring semester of the 2009–2010 academic year. At the beginning of the courses, the course instructors mentioned the study and introduced the scope and requirements of the class project which included student blogging. As part of the course requirements, students were asked to choose project groups and each group was required to complete an instructional project with five major phases. A total of 18 project groups consisting of 2 to 4 students were formed. Each group created their own blog space and posted a few messages for testing purposes. In the weeks that followed, students completed their course projects while at the same time posting their plans and documents for each phase of the project on their blog spaces. After each project phase, course instructors gave feedback to the students. Each week, groups were instructed to write at least one post in their group blogs about each project phase. They were also expected to write individual posts weekly to the blog spaces of other groups. At the end of the courses, students were evaluated based on group blog postings, individual posts to other groups' blog postings, completed group projects, and midterm and final exams. 2.4. Data collection Data were collected through online surveys at the end of the courses. The following online instruments helped to collect relevant data: Collaborative Learning scale, Sense of Community scale, and Perceived Learning scale. Collaborative Learning scale (CL) was developed by So and Brush (2008) with eight items to measure student perspectives on Table 1 The characteristics of pre-service teachers.
Gender Female Male Previous experience with blog None 1–6 months 7 months–1 years 1–2 years More than 2 years Computer knowledge level (out of 10) Low (1–3) Average (4–6) High (7–10)
N
Percentage (%)
21 29
42 58
11 21 5 8 5
22 42 10 16 10
2 47 11
3.3 78.3 18.3
The data gathered through online instruments were analyzed initially by descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations). Then, using the statistical analysis software SPSS 16.0, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted on the data. For example, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was run to determine the relationship between pre-service teachers' gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning. Also, Linear Stepwise Regression analysis was run to assess how well pre-service teachers' perceived learning can be explained in terms of selected variables (gender, previous experience with blogs, computer knowledge, sense of community, and perception of collaborative learning). 3. Results 3.1. Descriptive statistics Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) of the pre-service teachers' perceptions regarding learning, sense of community and collaborative learning. The pre-service teachers' overall mean scores related to the variables were M = 3.7; M = 3.3; and M = 3.5 respectively. 3.2. Regression and correlation among variables The second aim of the study was to examine the relationship between pre-service teachers' sense of community, and perception of collaborative learning and perceived learning. According to Table 4, there is a statistically significant correlation between pre-service teachers' perceived sense of community and pre-service teachers' perceived learning (r = 0.71) at a significance level of 0.05. As seen in Table 5, two variables (sense of community and computer knowledge level) had statistically significant contribution in explaining the variance in perceived learning (R2 = 0.549 adjusted R2 = 0.53, F(2,49) = 28.65, p = 0.00). Approximately 55% of the variances were explained by these variables. Sense of community Table 2 Reliability scores of translated surveys. Surveys
Original Cronbach's alpha
Study Cronbach's alpha
Collaborative Learning scale Sense of Community scale Perceived Learning scale
0.72 0.87 0.87
0.79 0.79 0.84
E. Top / Internet and Higher Education 15 (2012) 24–28 Table 3 Descriptive statistics of the pre-service teachers' perceptions.
Table 5 Results of linear stepwise regression analysis.
Perceived learning
N
The blog discussions help me to share my knowledge and experience with my peers. I believe that incorporating blogs with teaching can enhance my learning experience in general. Other students' comments on my blog posts are important. Blog discussions help me understand other points of view. Blog discussions have made me think about project development concepts outside of this class. My point of view has been acknowledged by my peers and/or discussion leader in this course. Overall using the blog has helped me learn. Average
50 3.9
0.9
50 3.1
1.2
50 3.8 50 3.8 50 4.0
0.8 0.9 1.0
50 3.6
0.8
50 3.6 3.7
1.2 1.0
Sense of community
N
I visit our group blog more than required by my instructor. The blog helps me feel connected to other students in this course. Due to class blog, I feel that I am an important part of our classroom community. I have been stimulated to do additional readings or research on topics discussed on the blog. In comparison to my other classes, the amount of interaction with other students in this class has increased due to the blog. In comparison to my other classes, the quality of interaction with other students in this class has increased due to the blog. Average
50 3.7 50 3.6 50 2.8
1.1 0.9 1.0
50 3.5
1.1
50 3.3
1.1
50 3.1
1.1
3.3
1.1
Mean SD
Mean SD
N
Collaborative learning experience in the blog supported environment is better than in a face-to-face learning environment. I felt part of a learning community in my group I actively exchanged my ideas with group members I was able to develop new skills and knowledge from other members in my group. I was able to develop problem solving skills through peer collaboration. Collaborative learning in my group was effective. Collaborative learning in my group was time consuming. Overall, I am satisfied with my collaborative learning experience in this course. Average
50 2.4
1.2
50 3.9 50 4.3 50 3.8
1.1 0.8 1.0
50 3.8
1.1
50 3.6 50 3.1 50 3.2
1.2 1.4 1.3
3.5
1.3
Mean SD
was the strongest significant predictor of perceived learning, accounting for 50.6% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 change = 0.506, F(1,49) = 49.24, p = 0.00). Computer knowledge level accounted for an additional 4.3% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 change = 0.043, F(1,49) = 0.45, p = 0.04). The other variables (gender, previous experience with blogs, and perception of collaborative learning) were excluded from the equation of predicting perceived learning because they did not have a significant contribution to the variance in perceived learning (p N 0.05). 4. Discussion There has been a movement in recent years towards the use of information and communication technologies in educational environments. These technologies, especially social media technologies, Table 4 Correlations among variables (N = 50). 2
3
4
5
6
1. Gender −0.005 −0.27 −0.03 −0.09 −0.07 2. Computer knowledge level 0.37 0.14 0.09 0.27 3. Previous experience with blogs −0.03 0.14 0.13 4. Perception of collaborative learning 0.28 0.26 5. Sense of community 0.71⁎ 6. Perceived learning 1 ⁎ p b 0.05.
Multiple R R2 Adjusted R2 Standard error
Regression Residual Total
0.741 0.549 0.53 3.32 df
Sum of squares Mean square F
p
2 47 49
631.591 518.089 1149.68
0.000
β Standardized t
Perception of collaborative learning
Variables
27
Sense of community Computer knowledge level
0.69 0.21
7.04 2.12
315.79 11.03
28.06
p
R2 Change p 0.00 0.04
0.506 0.043
0.00 0.04
support the teaching and learning environment and offer new opportunities for students and instructors. Especially, Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs, have been found to be beneficial tools for education as well as providing social interactive environments (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Brescia & Miller, 2006; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). There is a growing need to integrate social media into the classroom (Ellison & Wu, 2008; Kim, 2008; Top, Yukselturk & Inan, 2010). Therefore, this study was designed to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning in two classes which incorporated blogs. Blogs as tools of social media in the classroom could make several positive contributions to the improvement of students' perceived learning, sense of community, and collaborative learning (Churchill, 2009; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006). In this study, the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning and perceived learning; also, they had moderate feelings related to sense of community in the classes which incorporated blogs. For example, the pre-service teachers mostly agreed that these social media helped them to share their knowledge and experience, and allowed them to discuss the course topics with their peers outside of the class. In the literature, these results were consistent with the findings on student blog experiences in class (i.e. Goktas, 2009; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Williams & Jacobs, 2004). In addition, students exchanged their ideas and felt part of a learning community within their group through blogging in the class. They were generally satisfied with collaborative learning experiences even though they valued face-to-face learning environment. In the statistical results of the study, Table 4 displayed the correlations among the selected pre-service teacher characteristics and perceived learning in the courses. Pre-service teachers' sense of community was in significant positive correlation with pre-service teachers' perceived learning. In addition, according to the regression analyses in Table 5, pre-service teachers' sense of community and their computer knowledge level were the two variables to enter the regression equation in the multivariate analyses. That was accounted for about 54.9% of the variance in pre-service teachers' perceived learning. In the literature, research stated that one of the best predictors of perceived learning appears to be sense of community in a class which incorporated blogs (i.e. Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006; Yang, 2009). For example, Halic, Lee, Paulus and Spence, (2010) investigated whether the use of blogs in a lecture class would enhance students' perceived learning. Similar to the findings of this study, they found that sense of community and computer knowledge level were identified as significant predictors of perceived learning. Yang (2009) explored the use of blogs as a reflective platform in the training processes of English as Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers. Yang also mentioned that the blogs were considered great social media for these student teachers and they improved their learning
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process and perspectives in a systematic way as well as building a learning community. Petersen, Chabert and Divitini (2006) analyzed blogging to support interaction, collaboration, participation and a sense of community among a class of students. They stated that it could facilitate better collaboration, enhance the interaction between the students and the teacher, foster a sense of community among students, and finally, improve student learning. Even though the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning experiences during the courses, they did not rate this experience as a significant effect for their perceived learning. In collaboration activities, groups were required to complete an instructional project with five major phases and to publish these phase reports on their group blogs in this study. After they were published on the blogs, these phases were investigated and criticized by other classmates. It was seen that this whole class exchange of ideas affected their perceived learning more strongly than the group project development process. Based on the results of this study, it could be recommended that pre-service teachers' feeling of belonging by incorporating blogs into learning can improve their learning experience (i.e. Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Petersen, Chabert & Divitini, 2006). In addition, instructors should also consider that pre-service teachers' onset computer knowledge level had influence on their perceived learning. 5. Conclusion Blogs are popular social media that have powerful potential and used commonly in higher education recently. There are many studies that show the advantages of using blogs in educational environments (Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Halic, Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Yang, 2009). Similarly, the results of this study approved blogging as social media for learning about yourself and developing interactive connections with others. Several pre-service teacher characteristics and perceptions correlated with their perceived learning, but, sense of community was the main predictor of explaining their learning perceptions. To improve students' learning experiences, creating a classroom community and increasing students' computer expertise could be the focus of instructors. Some potential limitations of this study should also be taken into consideration while discussing the results since pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning were examined in two undergraduate classes. The participants of this study were taking courses relating to the topic at hand, which might have caused biases in that these students might have been more inclined towards using ICTs than pre-service teachers taking not specifically ICT-related classes. In addition, the model could have been inflated due to the limited number of participants (50 students) in the study. Extending the population and comparing findings for various courses, several graduate levels, and universities could produce different results. In the study, students' computer skills were defined by selfreport scales; however, as Hargittai (2005, 2009) pointed out, self-report instruments include the risk of misreporting. In this respect, in further studies, some kinds of tests could be performed to get a better picture of students' computer skills. Another possible study might be conducted about relationships of other variables (i.e. attitude, satisfaction, learning style, and achievement). The experimental approach can be used to identify causal relationships among variables. In addition, students had moderate feelings about the sense of community which was directly correlated with students' perceived learning in this study. For that reason, as Xie and Sharma (2004) stated ways to increase students' sense of community could be investigated to increase their perceived learning to a further level. References Ajjan, H., & Hartshorne, R. (2008). Investigating faculty decisions to adopt Web 2.0 technologies: Theory and empirical tests. Internet and Higher Education, 11(2), 71−80.
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