ECEL 2010 Porto: Students and Blogging

Monika Andergassen
David Moore
Andrea Gorra
Reinhold Behringer
m.andergassen5699@student.leedsmet.ac.uk

Students and Blogging: How to Map the Informal Learning Process?
ICEL 2010 04-05 November, Porto, Portugal Leeds Metropolitan University
2
Presentation Overview
1 Context of Study
2 Research Questions
3 Model of Learning
4 Empirical Study:
Qualitative Interview Analysis
5 Results and Discussion

3
(1) Context of Study
Source: Andergassen (2009), adapted version
Learning
Davies‘ (2008) Model of
Experiential Learning
MotivationBlogs
Empirical Study:
Participation
1 Quantitative Survey
Why do students
(not) blog?
Participation
Motivation
Learning
How many
Students blog?
2 Ethnographic
Decision Tree Modelling
How does blogging
link to learning?
3 Qualitative Interviews
Informsselection
ofsamplesfor2and3
CaseStudy: Informal blogging of students at the blog service of the
University of Technology Vienna (TU Vienna)

4
(1) The Case
Picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knihovna_TU_Wien.jpg. By Dezidor
University of Technology
Vienna:
• Around 23 000 students (2009)
• Blogs for informal use
since 2004
• Blog service „twoday“

5
(1) The Case
Picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knihovna_TU_Wien.jpg. By Dezidor
Vienna University of
Technology:
• Around 23 000 students (2009)
• Blogs for informal use
since 2004
• Blog service „twoday“
Motivations to Blog
• To publish
• To complement the
communication channels
• To receive information
 other than learning
Students and Blogs

6
(2) Research Questions
(1) Can the learning processes of the students be
mapped to a model of learning?
(2) What, if anything, do the students learn?

7
(3) Model of Learning
1 Context of Study
2 Research Questions
3 Model of Learning
4 Empirical Study:
5 Results and Discussion

(3) Can Learning be Measured?
(1) Students might not blog
with the intention to
learn.

(3) Informal and Incidental Learning
Formal Learning Non-Formal Learning Informal Learning
provided by training
institution
structured (in terms of
learning objectives, time or
support)
leading to certification
intentional from the
learner's perspective
not provided by a training
institution
structured (in terms of
support)
typically does not lead to
certification
intentional form the learner's
perspective.
resulting from daily life
activities
not structured (in terms of
support)
typically does not lead to
certification.
may be intentional but in
most cases it is non-
intentional
European Commission (2001):

(3) Informal and Incidental Learning
individual
external conditions
learning
formal
educational arrangement
certification
approved public regulations
non-formal
educational arrangement
certification
informal
no educational arrangement
explicit
incidental
implicit
explicit
incidental
implicit
Source: Straka (2004,p.12): „Types of Learning combined with formality of external conditions“

learn.
Informal and incidental
learning

learn.
(2) Learning might occur
beyond the cognitive
dimension.
learning

learn.
dimension.
(3) Cause and effect in the
learning process cannot be
traced.
learning

(3) Cause and Effect in Learning
Reinmann (2005)
14
“Learning means a change of
perceptional structures
(with cognitive, motivational and
emotional properties),
which expresses itself in a
changed behaviour, thinking,
problem solving, perception or feeling.“

(3) Cause and Effect in Learning
Reinmann (2005)
15
“Learning means a change of
perceptional structures
(with cognitive, motivational and
emotional properties),
which expresses itself in a
changed behaviour, thinking,
problem solving, perception or feeling.“
• Implies a ‚before‘ and ‚after‘ which need to be compared
• A comparison of ‚before‘ and ‚after‘ cannot be made
with informally blogging students through observation
• Students‘ reflections of possible learning effects
can be elicited from them through interviews

16
(3) Davies‘ Model of Experiential Learning
Source: Davies (2008)
Davies (2008):
• We constantly learn from
experience.
• By learning “we convert
experience into lessons,
concepts, or generalised ways
of behaving which we can use
in the future”.
• Elements refer to cognitive,
emotional, social dimensions.

learn.
dimension.
traced.
learning
Multidimensional model of
learning

learn.
dimension.
traced.
learning
Measurement strategies
focussing on students‘
perceptions
Multidimensional model of
learning

19
(4) Empirical Study

(4) Semi-Structured Interviews
• Reflective questions to encourage the students to reflect
on their blogging;
• Starting with students’ concrete experiences, and
reflection about how the various elements, such as
emotions or expectations, influenced these experiences,
and how new insights unfolded from there;
• Questions based on Davies' (2008) Model of
Experiential Learning.
20

(4) Interviewees
• 6 Students:
– Active Bloggers
– Blog at the blog service of the TU Vienna
– Blog for at least 6 months
Int 1 Int 2 Int 3 Int 4 Int 5 Int 6
Age of blog
(days)
414 816/
1039
1047 173/
170
1483 1487
No of
entries
256 34/
20
131 63/
43
118 183
No of
comments
115 18/
7
89 5/
21
87 49

Experience
22
(4) Codebook
The time devoted by the interviewee
to consider an experience further
Example
„[W]hile I make an entry or re-structure a bit,
I think about what was good or not“
Expectation
Emotion
Opportunity
Learning Orientation
Observation
Knowledge /Abilities
Reflection / Insight
Credibility Check

(4) Individual Interview Analysis
Tom‘s Interview
Well, I mean, if you are confronted with a [software] problem,
of course you also search on the internet.
Opportunity:
Software problem
And when you find the solution, Experience:
Finding of a solution
You are happy about it. Emotion:
happiness
And perhaps it helps somebody else, when they find the
solution on my blog.
Credibility check:
Is the solution helpful
for others
When you see that a few people read along, you see this in the
page views, or in the link statistics, where you see how people
came to the page, and then,
Observation:
Some people find the
solution helpful
this builds you up, I think. Then as I said, you are happy, and
you don't want to lose this happiness any more.
Emotion:
happiness
Therefore it [the blog entry] might have been quite useful. Reflection/insight:
positive credibility
check: blog entry
was useful

(4) Generalised Analysis: Commonalities and Differences among
Interviews
Bob Marc Jeff
Beginning of Blogging (items assigned to credibility check)
I have started [the blog]
to try out how it fits to me.
I think, at that time I
searched for a simpler way
to inform other people
through a homepage.
I started by copying a bit
how other people blog, to
post some news which they
might be interested in
Shortly after starting to blog (items assigned to observation)
[The first few days, I've
communicated that I have
this blog] now, and then,
some people have visited
the blog.
A lot of people started with
[blogging], and there were a
few friends who also wrote
different kinds of blogs.
Well, as I said, I got just
very little feedback,
just very few people.
Development over time (items assigned to reflection/insight)
It has definitely changed,
because now I don't do
[blogging] spontaneous any
more, but in some way
structured.
I'd say, I have then provided
the information which the
others wanted. And not what
I originally wanted to
transport through my blog.
Now the content is just what
interests me, and what is my
own direct output. Now I
don't adapt myself [to the
readership] any more at all.

25
(5) Results and Discussion

26
Can the learning processes
of the students be mapped
to a model of learning?
Research Question (1):
Learning processes can
be mapped to Davies‘
Model of Experiential
Learning:
- Applicable to informal and
incidental learning
- Multi-dimensional
- Interview Analysis based
on elements of model

(5) Tom‘s Learning Processes

(5) Tom‘s
Learning Processes

(5) Blogging in 5 Stages
Over Time
1. The stage before
blogging
2. The starting stage of
blogging
3. The stage of expansion
of activities
4. The stage of
consolidation
5. The stage of shifting
away

31
What, if anything, do the
students learn?
Research Question (2):
Development of
one‘s own blogging
through observation
of the audience

(5) What, if Anything, do the Students Learn?
32
Blogging as ‚credibility check‘
Careful ‚observation‘ of the
audience
‚Reflection and insight‘:
adaptation of content to the
audience
development of writing
style

33
audience
audience
style
I write something to the blog,
and of course I pre-estimate
what impact this might have
on the people who read it.
(Andrew)

34
audience
audience
style
[T]hen others write as a comment 'wow, this has helped us', and then
you are happy. On the other hand, if you get hardly any reactions in
your blog, in the sense that almost nobody writes something, then it
is a little bit frustrating.
(Tom)

35
audience
audience
style
I then provided the
information which the
others wanted to have
(...) And not what I
wanted to transport
through the blog
originally.
(Marc)
I have started with, I almost a little bit
copied how other people blog (...)
But I have migrated to just blog
about things (...) which I have done
myself, my ideas, and less to be a
news relay, well this has changed a
bit.
(Jeff)

36
audience
audience
style
I try to design it [weblog entry]
appealing for other people, so
that I make a short
paragraph, then a picture,
then a short paragraph again,
then again a picture
(Bob)
I have approached this in a very
structured and logical way, I
built it [the entry] like they
wanted to have it. An opener, a
few pictures, a picture
description, a joke, finished.
(Marc)

37
(5) Discussion
+ Blogging in informal contexts triggers various learning
processes;
+ Davies’ model supports the research of informal learning
processes by breaking them down into elements.
Limitations:
- Conducting semi-structured interviews might lead
students;
- The number of informants was small; are they typical
representatives?
- Some terms in Davies‘ model have been experienced
as ‚unsharp‘.

(5) Revision of Davies‘ Model

39
Thank You !
Monika Andergassen
David Moore
Andrea Gorra
Reinhold Behringer
m.andergassen5699@student.leedsmet.ac.uk

40
Literature References
Andergassen, M. (2009) How can Aspects of Informal Learning Through Blogging be
Measured? Presentation at Mini-Conference 2009 at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Davies, L. (2008) Informal Learning: A New Model for Making Sense of Experience. Gower
Publishing Ltd.
European Commission (2001) Communication from the Commission. Making a European
Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality, European Commission. Available at:
http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de/pdf/MitteilungEng.pdf [Accessed February 4,
2009].
Reinmann, G. (2005) Blended Learning in der Lehrerbildung. 1st ed. Dustri.
Straka, G.A. (2004) Informal learning: genealogy, concepts, antagonism and questions,
Bremen: Unstitut Technik und Bildung, Universität Bremen. Available at:
http://www.itb.uni-bremen.de/downloads/Publikationen/
Forschungsberichte/fb_15_04.pdf [Accessed March 7, 2009].

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