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Real Problems, Virtual Solutions: Engaging Students OnlineAuthor(s): A. Fiona PearsonSource: Teaching Sociology, Vol. 38, No. 3 (JULY 2010), pp. 207-214Published by: American Sociological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27896530.
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Articles
Real
Problems,
Virtual
Solutions:
Engaging
Students
Online
AMERICANOCIOLOGICALSSOCIATION
Teaching Sociology
38(3)
207-214
)
American
Sociological
Association 2010
DOI: 10.1177/0092055X10370115
http://ts.sagepub.com
-
8/10/2019 Virtual en Gang Ement
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208
Teaching Sociology 38(3)
introductory
sociology
courses,
one
that
used
mul
timedia and
online
technologies
nd
one
thatdid
not,
Kroeber
(2005)
found
that tudents
responded
more
favorably
to
the
set
of
classes
inwhich tech
nology
was
used.
Although
students'
grades
in the
sections where
PowerPoint
and
Blackboard
were
used
were
not
any
higher
than
the sections
where
such
technology
was
not
used,
class
evaluations of
the
perceived
value of the
course
and the
profes
sor's effectiveness
were
higher
for the
set
of clas
ses
using
technology.
ltimately
Kroeber
(2005)
argues
that such
integration
of
technology
may
be
a
non-significant
gesture,
as
there
is little
definitive evidence
that it
increases
learning;
how
ever,
introducing technology
does
serve
as a
sig
nificant
symbol, demonstrating
to
students
a
professor's willingness
to
engage
with
emerging
technologies
on
their behalf.
In
an
earlier
study,
Dietz
(2002)
likewisedetermined hat
using
tech
nology
may
not
always directly
increase
student
learning
but
may
increase student
investment
and academic
integration,
an
integral
predictor
of
college persistence (Astin
1997;
Tinto
1993).
Although
most
instructors would
acknowledge
the
importance
of
student
perception
and
persis
tence,
they
are
more
immediately
concerned
with
increasing
student
learning.
Writing assignments,
either short
papers
or
journals,
that
focus
on
current
issues and
events have
long
been
cited
as an
effec
tive
means
of
attracting
students'
attention and
facilitating
students'
understanding
of
abstract
sociological
theories
and
concepts
(Malcolm
2006;
Reinersten and DaCruz
1996;
Unnithan
and
Scheuble
1983).
Furthermore,
such
assignments
require
students
to
develop
and
fine-tune
necessary
communication, organizational,
and
analytic
skills.
Malcolm
(2006),
who relied
on a
guided
weekly
written
analysis
of
current
news
articles,
found
that
students'
general
writing
and
analytic capabil
ities
improved ignificantly
ver
the
course
of the
semester.
n the
end,
Malcolm
(2006)
found
that
the
regularity
f
the
writing
ssignment
as
partic
ularly important.uring
terms
hen
she
required
rather
than the usual 10 written
analyses,
students'
writing
and
analytic performance improved
nly
marginally.
Importantly,
Malcolm's
findings
reveal
that for students' learning to increase, writing as
signments
must
be
required
consistently
throughout
the
term.
Although
most
researchers of
writing
effec
tiveness
have
analyzed
their
experiences
with
traditional
papers
and
journals,
a
growing
num
ber
of
researchers
using digital technologies
have
begun
to
analyze
their
experiences
with
on
line
writing assignments.
Ammarell
(2000)
argued
that online
news
groups,
small
groups
of
students
that
participate
in
asynchronous
discus
sions
online,
could be used
to
advance
radical
pedagogy
in
the
sociology
classroom.
These
on
line
newsgroups
facilitated
dialogue
between
stu
dents and
provided
a
context
where
they
were
simultaneously
teaching
and
learning
course
material
to
each
other.
Ammarell
(2000)
found
that
participating
in the
online
news
groups
improved
students'
writing
and
critical
thinking
skills
and
involved
students
more
actively
in
the
learning process.
In
addition,
Valentine
(2001)
found that ist
serv
discussion boards
were
a
particularly
useful
means
of
covering potentially
controversial
or
sensitive
subject
matter.
These
listserv
discussion
groups
provided
students
in
a
human
sexuality
course
with
a means
of
discussing socially
taboo
or
politically charged topics
inwhat
came
to
be
viewed
by
students
as a more
safe virtual
envi
ronment.
Although
students' identities
were
not
anonymous,
Valentine
(2001)
found that tudents
felt
more
free
to
express
their ideas online than
in
the classroom. Students also valued the collabo
rative
learning
that took
place
online
in the
con
text
of the discussion
group.
Unlike
individual
class
journals,
which
Valentine
(2001)
had used
previously,
the
discussion
group
allowed for
a
level
of
semi-public
exchange
as
students col
lectively
made
sense
of
complex
and
challenging
topics.
Valentine
(2001:51)
also
discovered
that
these
computer-mediated
discussion
groups
pro
vided instructors with
a means
of
assessing
class
concerns, anxieties, confusion,
and
con
flict.
In
response
to
needs
expressed
within
the
context
of
these online
discussions,
instruc
tors
could
clarify
concepts
and
address misunder
standings
during
regularly
scheduled
class
meetings.
Overall,
this
research
reveals
the
potential
individual
and
institutional
enefits?in terms f
student
learning,
engagement,
and
persistence?
when
faculty
collectively integrate
into their
instruction
current
issues/events
and
regular
writ
ingassignments,while using technologicalpeda
gogical
tools. In
the
following
sections,
I
describe
how I used
current
event-based
writing
assignments
on
blogs
in
an
introductory
class
room
as a means
of
engaging
students' interest
and
increasing
students'
learning.
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209
INTEGRATINGLASS BLOGS
The
regional
state
university
where
I
teach
serv
ices
just
under
10,000
undergraduate
students,
approximately
40
percent
of whom have
parents
who
have
not
received
a
four-year college
degree.
Over
two
years
ago,
I
sought
to
alter
my
approach
to
teaching
the
introductory
course
Social
Problems,
a
standard
offering
in
many
sociology
departments
across
the
country.
Most
semesters,
I teach
two
sections of
Social
Problems,
which
meets two
or
three times
a
week,
with 35 students
enrolled
in
each class. Since this
course can
be
used
to
fulfill the
university's general
education
requirements,
most
of
the students
are
not
sociol
ogy
majors.
In
an
attempt
to
involve students
more
actively
in
the
process
of
applying
and
creating
knowledge,
I
began
by considering
ways
that
I
might
increase student
engagement
and allow
students
more
opportunities
to
practice
express
ing
their ideas and issues
of
concern.
I
then
decided
to
organize
the
course
around
current
events
and locate
sociological readings
that
lent
insight into the social dynamics of those events.
For
example,
I
had students
examine the 1999
Columbine
murders
(I
have since
replaced
that
event
with
the
2007
Virginia
Tech
murders),
first
using
Hilgartner
and
Bosk's
(1988)
public
arenas
model
as a means
of
analyzing
how
individuals,
groups,
and
organizations
framed
public
under
standing
of this
event.
I
then had studentsread
a
chapter
fromNewman
et
al.'s
(2004)
book
Rampage:
The
Social Roots
of
School
Shootings
and
an
article
by
Kimmel
(2002),
Gender,
Class and Terrorism. Both readings contain
a
rich
sociological analysis
of
the connections
between
violence,
gender, sexuality,
and social
class that
we
discuss
in
the
context
of
this
current
event.
Other
topics
that
I
have included
in
the
past
were
the
abuses
at
Abu Ghraib
Prison,
the
fall of
Enron,
and
childhood
obesity.
Students
worked
in
small
groups
to create
brief
pre
sentations
on
these various
events
or
issues and
I
would
then
ead
discussion,
including
some
lec
ture,
on
the
sociological
articles
paired
with each
issue/event. In addition to using Blackboard,
the
campus
course
management
system,
and
PowerPoint?technological
resources
that
I
had
regularly
relied
on
in
the
past?I
also
chose
to
integrate blogs
as a means
of
extending
and
ex
panding
the breadth
and
depth
of
our
class
dis
cussion
on
the articles
and
events.
I
chose
a
blog
over
a
traditional written
jour
nal for
two
reasons.
First,
as
Valentine
(2001)
and
Ammarell
(2000)
both
note,
unlike
most
journals,
online written
work
is
public
and
stu
dents
are
provided
with
an
opportunity
to
read
each others'
ideas
regarding
the
readings
as
they
post.
Students
are
therefore
presented
with
an
opportunity
to create
knowledge
as
they
dis
cuss
with
each other the
meaning
of
a
text
or
idea;
they
re
not
merely
reporting
heir
solated
understanding
of
issues
or
readings
to
an
audi
ence
of
one,
the
professor.
Instead,
they
are
pre
senting
their
own
analysis
in
the
context
of
analyzing
and
evaluating arguments posted by
their
peers.
Collectively,
students work
to create
meaning
and
thereby
are
involved
more
actively
in
the
learning
process.
The
second
reason
I
chose
to
use
blogs
is
con
nected
to
the first.
Because the
blog
posts
are
public
and
because students
are
responding
to
each others' ideas
online,
my
role
as
evaluator
is
more
collaborative and holistic. That
is,
rather
than
repetitively
correcting
inaccuracies
for
a
stu
dent
audience of
one,
as
I
might
do when evalu
ating a traditional journal response, I can focus
instead
on
providing
a
summary
evaluation
of
the
entire discussion
for
that week. In this
sense,
evaluation of the
substantive
content
of
each
entry
or
post
is
a
collaborative effort that
actively
involves students
as
they
comment
on
prior
posts
and involves
me
when
I
highlight overarching
questions, arguments,
or
conclusions. When
deemed
necessary,
I
can
certainly provide
correc
tive
evaluations of
individual
responses,
either
publicly
in
class if several
students make
the
same error or one-on-one depending on the error
and
student
in
question.
However
in
using
a
pub
lic
forum,
students
are
first
challenged
to
provide
such
correctives
as
they
read,
reflect
upon,
and
respond
to
the
interpretations
and
arguments
pre
sented
by
their
peers?only
later,
during
class
discussion,
do
I
step
in
with
a
summary
evaluation.
Finally,
I
chose
a
blog
ratherthan
a
threaded
discussion
group,
a
resource
provided
on
many
campus
course
management
systems,
or a
listserv
because of the anonymity it allows students?for
the
blog,
students
create
their
own
username
that
need
not
reveal their
ctual
identity
o
other
class
members.
As
Valentine
(2001)
discovered,
online
forums
provide
an
alternative
space
for
discourse that
students
may
perceive
as more
safe,
particularly
when
discussing
sensitive
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Teaching
Sociology 38(3)
topics.
Given
the
highly
controversial
and
politi
cized
nature
of
the
topics
under
discussion
(e.g.,
prison abuse,
residential
segregation,
racial
pro
filing),
I
hoped
that the
distance
provided by
the online
format
coupled
with the
anonymity
provided by using
the
blog
would
create
a
virtual
space
where
students
who
are
generally
quiet
or
who
might
hold alternative
or
minority
perspec
tives
might
feel
more
comfortable
articulating
their
views
online
than
in
traditional class discus
sion.
As
I
explain
in the
following,
the forum is
not
fully
anonymous
because
I,
the
instructor,
know
students' actual identities
in
order
to
record
blog participation. However
in
moderating
in
class discussion of the
blog,
I
do
not
reveal
stu
dents' actual identities and
only
refer
to
students'
pseudonyms
when
referencing
their
blog
comments.
At the
beginning
of the
term,
tudents
register
on
the
blog
site where
I
have created and
am
moderating
our
class
blog
for the
term.
Most
recently,
I
have been
using
the
free
blog
site
developed by
WordPress
(http://wordpress.com).
I
prefer
this free site because
the
WordPress soft
ware is both easy to use and does not require stu
dents
to create
their
own
blog
when
initially
signing
on.
When
students
register, hey
will
be
asked
to
check whether
or
not
they
would like
to
create their
own
personal
blog
or
register
as
a
user ?I
recommend that unless
they
are
familiar
with
and
are
sincerely
interested
in
cre
ating
a
personal blog, they merely register
as
a
user. 1
When
students
register
on
the
WordPress
site,
they
are
required
to create
a
username
that will
appear
on
all their
posts.
Once students create their usernames, they sub
mit
those
names
to
me,
so
I
can
track their
partic
ipation
and involvement.
At
the end
of
each
week,
I
post
a
topic
online that
asks students
to
connect
material
from
our
course
readings
to
a
current
event
that
we
will
be
discussing
in class
the
following
week. For
example, during
a
seg
ment
examining
residential
segregation,
public
policy,
and the
events
surrounding
Hurricane
Katrina
in
2005,
I
posted
the
following topic:
Describe some of themedia images of peo
ple's experiences/interpretations
that
ap
peared
in
the
aftermath
of
Hurricane
Katrina that struck
you
most.
Go
on
to
explain
how
Wilson's and Denton
and
Massey's
analysis
of
urban
change
in
the
20th
century
might
aid
us
in
historically
situating
and
more
comprehensively
under
standing
the
many
dimensions of
the
social
disaster
we now
refer
to
as
Katrina.
All
of the
topics
sk students
o
reflect
n
their
ur
rent
understanding
of
an
event
or
issue and then
draw connections
to
the
readings assigned
for that
week. In
terms
of
basic
requirements,
students
are
expected
to:
(1) post
to
the
class
blog
once
a
week
by
7
p.m.
the
night
before
we
begin
to
dis
cuss
the
readings/issues,2)
write
a
minimum of
300 words in their
ost,
(3)
address the
topic
pre
sented, nd (4) reflectn ideaspresented yat least
one
other
blogger.
As
long
as
students
meet
these
basic
minimum
requirements
for
their
post,
they
receive
a
passing
grade
for the
assignment.
Substantive
evaluation is
provided by
classmates
during
the
course
of
online discussion
or
by
me
in
class,
when
we
integrate
content
from the
blog
into
our
class
discussion.
Although
I
encourage
stu
dents
to
feel free
to
write in
casual
prose,
as
they
might
in
a
journal,
I
emphasize
that
the
blog
post
is
an
academic
assignment
and
they
should
carefully compose their entries. We also discuss
the
importance
of
presenting
evidence
when
mak
ing
claims and
of
respecting
opposing
and/or
minorityviewpoints.
To
facilitate
the
creation of
a
safe
space
in the
classroom
and
online,
I
schedule
during
the
first
week
of
class
at
least
one
reading
that
explicitly
focuses
on
issues
related
to
the
institutionalized
dimensions of
privilege
and
oppression.
In
addition,
I
include brief
guidelines
regarding
effective
communication
in
both the
Class
Participation
and the
Blog
Assignment
sections of my syllabus; we review these in detail
at
the
beginning
of the
term. I
clearly
communicate
that
I want
students
to
be
honest
and,
when
they
feel it
warranted,
to
challenge
students'
and
authors'
conclusions;
however,
I
also stress
that
unreflective
venting
is
not
acceptable.
The
blogs
are a
place
to
ask
questions
about
complex
and
controversial
issues
and to
solicit assistance in
making
sense
of
authors'
findings
or
arguments.
If
effective
meaning-making
is
to
occur,
a
level
of
decorum and
respect
is
required.
Before each class after hich a blog assignment
has
been
due,
I
print
out
the
responses
for the
most
recent
blog
and
highlight
particularly insightful
summaries
or
claims,
inaccurate
interpretations
of
the
readings,
relevant
questions,
and/or
lively
ex
changes
of
information.
During
class,
I
refer
to
the
blog
as a
means
of
initiating
discussion
at
the
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Pearson
211
beginning
or
to
clarify
dimensions
of
discussion
already
in
progress.
In
class,
the
blog
is
treated
as
an
alternative
sphere
where
meaning
is made and
challenged. Finally,
at
the end of
the
term,
I
ask
stu
dents
to
revisit
one
blog
post
of their
hoice
and
consider how the students'
verbal
exchange
on
that
ost
shapes
their
understanding
f the
articular
social issue under discussion. This
critique
serves
as
one
part
of their
final
exam,
reinforcing
for students
the
value
that
place
on
the discussion that takes
place
online.
EVALUATION
During
the
final
day
of class each
term,
asked
students
to
answer
five
questions regarding
class
assignments
and
readings.
In
regards
to
the
blogs,
I
asked students
to
respond anonymously
in writ
ing
to
the
following open-ended question,
Did
you
find
the
blogs
to
be useful?
Briefly
explain
and
provide
any
recommendations.
Next is
a
summary
description
of the
prevalent
themes
that
emerged
from this
qualitative analysis.
It
re
flects
the
responses
of
232 students
from
eight
sections of SOC 111 from fourdifferent erms
(Spring
2007
to
Fall
2008).
Overall,
91
percent
of
the
students recommended
that
I
continue
to
use
the
blogs
in class and 9
percent
recommended
that
I
discontinue their
use.
Benefits f
Using Blogs
Like
a
journal,
the
blogs
were
a means
of
assuring
that students
kept
up
with
readings
and
engaged
with the ideas presented. Wrote one student, The
blogs
were
useful
and ensured
people
in the class
are
doing
the
readings
and
participating.
A
major
ity
f the tudents ikewise ommented
n
the ffect
of the
blogs
on
their
reading
habits,
reflecting
n
the fact that
they
were
required
to
keep
up
with
the
readings
if
they
were
to
complete
the
blog
as
signments
successfully.
As
one
student
honestly
at
tested,
I feel that
ithout
them, ,
or
the
rest
f
the
class,
would
not
have
kept
up
with
the
readings;
so
truth be
told,
the
blogs
were
very
useful.
Beyond keeping up with the readings, stu
dents also
frequently
ommented
on
the
learning
benefits of
the
blogs,
both
in
terms
of under
standing
course
content and
improving
their crit
ical
thinking
and
writing
skills.
One student
stated,
Some
people
knew
more
information
about other
topics
which
helped
to
clarify
any
misunderstandings
that
ou
might
have had about
the
topic.
It
also forces
you
to
go
online
and
learn
more
about
the
topic.
Another student
affirmed,
The
blogs
were
extremely
useful.
If
you
didn't
understand
the
readings,
someone
on
the
blogs
would
definitely
clear
it
up
forme. Confessed
another
student,
It
helped
me
to
understand
the
articles better.
Importantly
students acknowl
edged
the
importance
f
not
only
the
writing
but
also
the
reading
required
of this
assignment:
Writing
he
blogs helped
me
to
retain nformation
from the
readings.
Also
reading
the various
blogs
proved
useful in better
understanding
the
overall
blog topics.
These
comments
collectively
attest
to
students'
perceived gains
in
terms
of
content.
The
blogs
also
provided
me
with
a means
of
determining
students'
understanding
of
an
issue
before
we
arrived
in
class
to
discuss
it in
more
detail.
I
could
then
use
class
time
more
produc
tively
to
address
confusion
and/or
substantively
build
on
the
ideas
presented
in
the
blog
discus
sion. For
example,
a
student
responding
to
a
book
chapter
on
moral
panics,
which
we
had
read earlier
in
the
term
in connectionwith
another issue, identified the
events
surrounding
Hurricane
Katrina in 2005
as
indicative
of
a
moral
panic.
Students
in
subsequent blog
posts
supported
or
challenged
such
an
interpreta
tion.
During
our
next
class,
I
took
the time
to
review
the criteria used
to
define
moral
panics
and
we
discussed
at
length
whether
or
not
the
events
surrounding
Hurricane Katrina
would
constitute
a
moral
panic
as
defined
by
the
chapter's
authors.
This
experience
illustrates
how students
can
make
productive
use
of
a
virtual
space where they are encouraged to make con
nections and draw
distinctions,
revealing
the
deep
learning taking lace
as
they ollectively
work
to
make
sense
of
complex concepts.
As
a
result of students'
reading
and
writing
about
these
issues
on
our
blog
site,
they reported
feel
ing
more
confident
in
their
knowledge
of both
the
readings
and the social issues under discus
sion.
Furthermore,
the
content
in
the
blogs
pre
pared
them
for
class
discussion?wrote
one
student,
They
were
useful
because
they
gave
me a good understandingof the topicbeforewe
talked about
it in
class. As Ammarell
(2000)
likewise discovered
in his
use
of
asynchronous
online
discussion,
students
actively engaged
with the
material
and with each
other,
improving
their skillswhile
empowering
them
to
articulate
their
understanding
of
or
position
on an
issue.
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212
Teaching
Sociology
38(3)
Importantly,
many
students
acknowledged
that
this
empowerment may
have in
part
resulted
from
the
perceived
reedom fforded
by
their
anonymity.
One
student
expressed,
The
blogs
were
extremely
useful and
were
a
good
way
to
anonymously
voice
opinions
when
being
too
afraid
to
speak
up
in
class
on
the
topic.
Just
over a
quarter
of the
students
surveyed
ighlighted
he
benefits f
anonymity
n
their
evaluation
of
the
blogs.
Students'
statements
also
revealed that he
blogs provided
a
virtual
pace
where
many
students felt
more
comfortable
pre
sentingminority
standpoints
n
issues that
might
have otherwise
gone
unacknowledged.
Wrote
one
student,
I think
they
are
great
for
everyone
to
express
their
opinions
without fear of
teasing
or
other
negative
consequences.
Another student
stated,
[The
blog]
allows honest
opinions
and
expression
that
might
not
be
heard/seen. As
Valentine
(2001)
likewise
discovered,
students
e
ported feeling
more
comfortable
confronting
ster
eotypes
and
addressing
controversial issues
online
than
theymight
have
in
the classroom.
It
is
not
fully
clear
whether
or
not
students
n
my
classes
experienced
this
freedom
olely
due
to
theiranonymity ith peers or due to thephysical
distance
resulting
from
communicating
in
writing
online.
Anecdotally,
I
can
recall several
students
who
were
quiet
in
class but
who
participated
in
the
blogs
at
length, writing
strong,
well-articulated
arguments
regarding
issues under
discussion.
These
students
were
clearly
engaged
with
the
course
material
but
felt
more
comfortable
expressing
their
ideas
to
their
peers
in
writing
than in
face-to-face
class discussion.
For
them,
the
blog provided
an
alternative
sphere
for
public
discourse and
provided
ameans of public participation unavailable inmost
traditionally
structured classrooms.
It
is
possible
that
knowing
others' identities would
not
have
sig
nificantly
ltered the
feeling
of
a
safe
space
for
some
of
those
students nd
that
t
was
the online
writing
dimension
of
the
interchange,
not
the
ano
nymity,
that
provided
a
sense
of
freedom.
However,
one
student,
who
specifically
cited
ano
nymity
as
being important,
xplained quite
insightfully,
Without
our
usual
preconceived
no
tions
and
expectations
of
how
our
classmates
are
going to act, it's far easier to analyze the angles
of each issue. For
this
student,
anonymity
pro
vided
a
way
to
bypass
the
effects f
personality
that
can
shape
interpersonal
communication in
the
classroom.
In
addition,
anonymity
may
have been
particularly mportant
or
students
ith friends
or
acquaintances
in the
same
class,
with
whom
they
were
fearful of
disagreeing.
Such
a
perspective
is
revealed
by
a
student who
claimed that
anonymity
was
important
because
nobody
the
next
day
would
say
anything
to
you
like
'why
do
you
not
agree
with
me?'
Clearly,
for
some
students,
anonymity
was
perceived
as
integral
to
creating
a
safe
space
where
interpersonal
communica
tion
was
somewhat
freed from
the effects
of
stu
dents' classroom
personalities
or
personal
relationships.
Finally,
it
was
clear that
students
appreciated
being
introduced
o
blogs
and
viewed
my
use
of
them in
the
classroom
as a
significant
symbol
(Kroeber2005).Many students ere well versed
in the
use
of
MySpace
or
Facebook,
but
had
not
ventured
into the
blogosphere. They
liked
being
able
to
include links to
relevant
Web
sites
in
their
responses
and
as one
student
wrote,
They
left
room
to
be
creative.
Another
student
com
mented,
I liked
the
use
of
something
different,
and
yet
another
stated,
They
were
useful and
made the
class
more
interactive. Those
students
who
were
already
very
familiar
with
blogs
and their
uses
were
genuinely
excited
to
share
theirblogging knowledgewithme and otherstu
dents.
Collectively,
these comments
make
clear
that
most
students
appreciated
being
more
involved in
the
process
of
meaning-making
and
felt
a
level
of
empowerment
as a
result.
Points
of
Complaint
As with
all
technology,
user error
and site
mal
functions
can
create
tension
and
stress.
Although
registering
on
and
accessing
the
blog
is
relatively
straightforward, at least one or two students a term
would
complain
about the
difficulty
f
using
the
computer.
Wrote
one
student,
I
did
find
the
blogs
useful
when
sparking
classroom
discussions
but
had
extreme
difficulty
ith
the
site. In
attempt
to
alleviate
stress,
I
tend
to
give
students
two
to
three
eeks
at
the
beginning
f the
term
o
register
and
practice
posting
on
the
blog.
I
also allow
stu
dents
one
freebie ?a week
that
they
are
excused from
posting?anticipating
that
they
will
encounter
problems
with
computer
or
online
access ( my Internet was down or my login
wasn't
working ).
For
those
students
who
have
difficulty
ith
home
computers
nd
general
com
puter
access,
I
direct them
to
the
campus
computer
labs
(the
primary
computer
lab
on
the
campus
where
this
study
was
conducted
contains
over
230
computers
and
is
open
seven
days
a
week).
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213
Another
frequent
informal
complaint regarded
the due date and time. Some students claimed that
they
had
difficulty emembering
o
post assign
ments
or
that
a
7
p.m.
Monday
deadline
was
diffi
cult
to meet
if
they
were
working
or
out
of
town
over
the weekend. For that
reason,
I
attempt
to
reg
ularly
post
topics
on
the
blog
by
Thursday
after
noons,
giving
students
Thursday evenings
and all
day Friday
to
post
if
they
re
working
or
planning
a
trip
out
of
town
that weekend.
They
therefore
have
a
minimum
of
four
full
days
to
post
their
assignment.
Most
often, however,
I
would
find
that
most
students end
to
post
on
the
day
thatthe
assignment
is due.
I
have
not
found students' wait
ing
to
the inal
day
to
be
a
problem;given
my
learn
ing objectives
for the
assignment,
as
long
as
students
are
reflecting
on
and
writing
about
the
readings
and
their
peers'
comments
outside of
class,
I
am
less concerned
withwhen
they
ost
as
long
s
they
post
by
the
stated
deadline.
I
do
warn
them,
however,
that because
I
give
them
four full
days
to
post,
I
do
not
accept
any
excuses
regarding
tech
nological
failures,
articularly
f
they
shouldwait
until the last
day
to
complete
the
assignment.
A
more
substantive
problem
stems
from
the
public
nature
of
this
assignment. Although
stu
dents
enjoy
being
able
to
read other's
posts,
by
the time
studentswho
post
later
get
to
the
blog,
some
feel
as
if there is little
left
to
say
and that
they
are
merely
repeating
what
others have
posted.
Students
with
strong
academic
skills
and/or
vibrant online
personalities usually
found
something
new
to
say
about the
readings
or
the
discussion,
but weaker
or
less involved students
tended
to
stunt
the discussion.
To
encourage
dif
ferentiation between the blog posts, I have begun
to
ask students
to
include
personal
reflections
in
their
analyses (e.g.,
see
the
aforementioned
dis
cussion
prompt).
I
have
yet
to
assess
the effects
of this
change,
but
my
preliminary
impressions
are
that the
posts
are
less redundant
in
content.
Finally,
there is the issue that students
can
potentially
take
advantage
of their
anonymity
o
engage
in hateful
or
offensive
discourse.
Perhaps
because
I know all students'
actual
identities
and
set
very
clear
guidelines
regarding
esponsible
is
course at thebeginningof the term, have rarely
experienced
any
problems
with students
using
ano
nymity
with their
peers
as
a
means
of
espousing
hateful
viewpoints
or
using inappropriate
anguage
in the online discussion.
If
an
issue
should
arise,
in
structors
are
then
presented
with the
opportunity
to
use
those
moments
to
explore
transgressions
and
discuss
them
as
a
means
of
enhancing
students'
sociological understanding.
For
example,
when
one
student
unwittingly
used the
phrase
colored
people
in
her
post
to
refer
generally
to
racial
minorities,
we as a
class used that
opportunity
to
discuss
the
history
f
the
phrase
and
therole of lan
guage
and
power
in
shaping
our
social understand
ing
of
concepts.
Only
once
have
I
had
to
approach
a
student outside
of
class
to
discuss
an
inappropri
ate
post.
In
that
case,
the
student
fully
understood
my
concerns,
issued
an
apology
to
me,
and
the
sub
sequent
week issued
a
public apology
to
the class
on
the
blog
under
his
pseudonym.
In the
post,
he
more
accurately explained
his
position
in less
explosive
language
and
apologized
for
any
offenses
incurred.
As the
previous experiences
demonstrate,
instructors who
are
committed
to
creating
a
safe
space
must
be
willing
to
regularly
monitor dis
cussion
and address
potential
indiscretions
when
they
arise. When instructors deal
with
such
breaches
openly
and
honestly, powerful
teachable moments
emerge,
providing
oppor
tunities
to
discuss
important
issues and
more
gen
erally
reflect
pon
the
benefits
and
challenges
of
online
interpersonal
communication. Such dis
cussions
may
become
increasingly
useful
and rel
evant
as
students'
personal
and
professional
use
of
language-based
online
resources
and social
networking technology
continues
to
evolve.
CONCLUSION
In
sum,
logs
can
be
a
helpful
ool that
rovides
stu
dents
with
a means
of
addressing complex
or con
troversial
issues
in
a
safe
forum where
they
can
test out their ideas and practice the skills of summa
rization and
argumentation
in written
form. The
anonymity
ith
peers
afforded
y
the
blog
allows
students
to
express
ideas and
viewpoints
without
the
pressure
of
having
to
conform
to
peers'
expect
ations and
provides traditionally quiet
students,
who
are
nonetheless
highly engaged
with
the
course
material,
with
an
alternative
means
of
publicly
par
ticipating
in
class.
It is
also
an
easy way
to
increase
the time that students communicate their ideas in
writing
on a
regular
basis
throughout
the
term,
which researchers have long determined can signif
icantly
ncrease student
learning.
dmittedly,
the
qualitative
evaluation used for this
study
cannot
pro
vide
a
definitive
assessment
of actual
gains
in stu
dent
learning
when
a
blog
is
regularly
sed
as
a
means
of
analyzing
course
content.
However,
it
is
clear
from these
evaluations
that
students
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Teachingociology8(3)
overwhelmingly
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
hone
their
nalytic
nd evaluative
skills
on
the
blog
as
they collectively
make
sense
of
course
concepts
andmaterials.
Effectively valuating
riting
s labor
intensive
and,
in
an era
of
increasing
class sizes and
teaching
oads,
integrating
egular
writing
assign
ments,
such
as
journals
that
are
evaluated
solely
by
the
instructor, may
not
be
a
realistic
option.
However,
with
public
online
assignments,
evalua
tion is collaborative and
part
of the
meaning-making
process.
Students
provide
substantive feedback
within
the
ontext
f the
blog
discussion,
nd based
on
their
responses
instructors
provide
generalized
or
focused feedback
in
the
context
of
class
discussion
or,
when
necessary,
individual
conferencing.
More
than
a
symbolic
gesture, blogs provide
a
means
of
engaging
students,
encouraging
them
to connect
with
the
readings
and,
even more
importantly,
with each
other.
NOTE
An
earlier
version of this article
was
presented
at
the
Pacific
Sociological
Association's
2009 Annual
Meeting in San Diego, CA. Iwish to thank Scott Ellis
for his
conceptual inspiration
and
insight regarding
this
project.
In
addition,
I
thank the
anonymous
reviewers
and the
editor,
Kathleen
S.
Lowney,
for
their
thoughtful
responses
and recommendations
on
earlier drafts.
Reviewers
for this
manuscript
were,
in
alphabetical
order,
Lawrence
Neuman
and Caroline
Perseli.
1.
WordPress contains
a
number of
features
that
allow
blog
moderators
to
control
who
can
post
to
their
respective
blog
sites.
Although
blog
moderators
can
individually
invite and
approve
posters,
I have
found such
processes
time-consuming;
instead,
I
merely
restrict my
blog
to
registered
WordPress
users
and
in
the
past
three
years
have
never
had
an
individual
not
enrolled
in
my
class
post
to
my
blog.
If
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cussion thread.
REFERENCES
Ammarell,
Gene.
2000.
Network
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as
a
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Nancy
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BIO
A.
Fiona
Pearson is
an
assistant
professor
of
sociology
at
Central
Connecticut State
University
in
New
Britain.
Her research and teaching interests include sociology of
education,
public
policy,
consumer
culture,
and
social
inequality.
She is
currently
at
work
on a
project analyz
ing
the effects of
policy
and institutional culture
on
the
experiences
of
college
students
balancing parenting
and
schooling
responsibilities.
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