Blogging in a Participatory Culture: The Pedagogical Potential of Blogs in a High School English Classroom
Abstract
This study is a qualitative, interpretive exploration of how students experience blogging in a high school English course. To understand how participants use technology to communicate, their out-of-school digital practices are first briefly considered. The study then follows participants’ experiences on the blogosphere and in the classroom, and explores any pedagogical potential of blogging. Technology’s ubiquitous presence increasingly affects communication, making it simpler for one’s voice to be heard, and to connect with others. As blogging enables this type of participation, it is explored in relation to the notion of participatory culture. Qualitative, interpretive methods were used to understand participants’ experiences. Findings suggest common themes that resonated throughout their experiences. Blogging created a heightened awareness of audience, enabled participants to find and use their voices, and fostered peer-based learning. It also developed new, personal understandings for participants as they recalled seeing both their peers and themselves differently.
Description
Keywords
Education--Curriculum and Instruction, Education--Language and Literature, Education--Technology
Citation
Simon, S. (2016). Blogging in a Participatory Culture: The Pedagogical Potential of Blogs in a High School English Classroom (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25149