Use of Blogs in Education

Blogs gives students their own voice and creates a learning community, where students can share their opinions and thoughts with each other.

I think it can also result in feedback from peers and teachers, giving them motivation to think and form a good opinion.

As well as teaching students how to form an opinion and create a discussion, blogs can also teach a number of different skills. It can encourage the development of research skills and improve digital literacy, where the student learns to review, interpret and evaluate online resources. 

Web 2.0 and the Social Constructivist theory

Web 2.0 allows users to interact, collaborate and network with each other on the web, through tools such as blogs, social networks, Wikis, podcasting, etc. The implications that Web 2.0 has in education have many links to the social constructivist theory of teaching and learning:

Social constructivism, “meaning that the student joins a know­ledge-generating community and in collaboration with others solve real problems as part of their study”.

(Haugen, H., & Ask, B. Pedagogical Approaches to e-Learning).

Web 2.0 has transpired as a practical teaching and learning tool for educators, creating social constructivist learning environments which are engaging, student-centered and active learning environments.