US-China Education Review

The first article I reviewed was a study done by the US-China Education Review. The study was entitled "Using web blogs as a tool to encourage pre-class reading, post-class reflections and collaboration in higher education", July 2010, Volume 7, No.7 (Serial No. 68). I chose this article because it focused the use of a teacher blog to encourage pre-class readings. The study consisted of five ESL graduate students in a teaching methods program and 90 software engineering students in an undergraduate information technology program.

Students were assigned to read the instructor's blog before class. They had to post questions and comments on the readings. During class they would discuss the readings and any questions or comments mentioned on the blog. Then students had to post reflections after class discussion on blog again. To gather study data, the instructor ask students to complete a survey with a series of statements about their experience on a blog. Thirty-five students responded to the survey and average a 4 to 4.5 on all questions (5 being strongly agree, 1 being strongly disagreement). Students also completed a one-page reflection on the process. The instructor found that students liked the blog process because it allowed for reflection on the readings and discussions before the class. Overall the study had positive results. Yet, the instructor found some tips for future classes. The list below is taken verbatim from the study.

1. The instructor's presence should be more apparent.

2. Timing of activity needs to be suitable.

3. Reading level should be suitable for student's to read on their own.

4. Class size is important. In large classes moderation can make the experience valuable.

The current trend to do flipped lessons in education is growing. A flipped lesson is taking the content you would normally spend class time teaching and putting into a format that students can access before class. Therefore you spend class time working on the assessment and skill development around the content instead of spending the whole time on the content. Blogs is another form of media that can help teacher's create a flipped lesson. Currently in my high school I was required to do a flipped lesson last trimester. The biggest complaint by staff members was that students did not do the reading or lesson before class. This study demonstrated that students did prefer to do the readings on the blog instead instead of traditional methods. Of course the biggest difference between this study and my personal experience is age. In a classroom of secondary level public education where you students all ability levels would flipped lessons involving blogs work as well? I would make the assumption yes. Using blogs for pre-class readings and discussions allows students time to form their opinions and thoughts around your objectives and concepts. Whether all students will use blogs and do the readings is a mute point. If the blog only helps 5% of your students understand the material better it would be an efficient use of prep time. This study inspired me to try flipped lessons using a blog. Before I read this I only thought of PowerPoints for doing flipped lessons.