** My Intellectual Flakes **

OK, I have to admit, my study is kinda stuck. Basically, this group of PGDE students seem not into blogging. I know since blogging is voluntary, it will inevitably be put at the lower priority in students’ busy life. But I still believe that students can benefit from it. And the benefit will be more meaningful if the participation is voluntary. Nowadays, I began to wonder, am I too idealistic?

I know making blogging part of course assessment will be an effective way to increase and motivate students’ participation. But at the same time, I believe blogging is not for everyone. So giving students’ the control and freedom can ensure more meaningful use of the technology. (It just occurred to me that I once saw a study that showed that required and voluntary online participation didn’t have much difference in terms of students’ performance.) But I still believe the beauty of blogs is to give students the freedom to explore personal meaning and social value.

But inevitably, more students’ control means less teacher control. That is to say, how the students use and benefit from it will be somewhat out of control or unpredictable. In a sense, it can be called accidental learning. Then if the teachers want to use blogs to achieve certain learning objectives, it seems a risky thing to do by giving students too much control.