Week 9

Title: What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

Bibliography:

Gee, James Paul (October 2003). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. ACM Computers in Entertainment, 1 (1).

Summary:

This article discusses the learning aspects and teaching strategies employed by creators of video games. The author addresses how being pleasantly frustrated is very motivating for some people. The author claims that software engineers specifically design software that comes with the game to build new scenarios, maps, or episodes and suggests that beginning levels of the video games are in fact a tutorial about how to play the game. Then the player must build on already obtained knowledge to face new but sometimes similar problems in order to advance through the levels in the game. The author suggests by looking to video games educators can learn how to motivation is created and sustained.

Reaction:

I thought this article really complimented the article from week 1 in how to reach digital natives. One of the statements in the article that stood out to me is “ [t]he more a player can manipulate a game character and make decisions that impact on the character, the more the player invests in the character and the game at a deep level. To me this seemed to be where we could find the roots of self-directed learning. The more the knowledge obtained affects our lives the more interested we are in obtaining more knowledge. This seems to start the cycle of lifelong learning. The ‘characters’ that adults invest in through higher education is themselves.

Title: Left Out Online

Bibliography:

Carlson, Scott (June 11, 2004). Left Out Online. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50 (40), A.23.

Summary:

This article addresses those issues that people with disabilities face when trying to complete a course online. The article starts by explaining the situation of Mr. Berry Cuffee; he is a paraplegic looking to complete a graduate degree with a concentration in assistive technology. Next the article talks about how slow progress is being made as far as institutions of higher education making better use of assistive technology even though more adults with disabilities are attending college than in the past. The article then discusses some assistive technology such as voice-activated technology and screen readers. The author of the article makes note that often faculty members do not know how to accommodate students with disabilities enrolled in their course and stresses it is important to have a written policy on how such situations should be handled. Some schools are trying to make their websites more accessible to screen readers, but the author reports that screen readers have a hard time with animated menus and graphics that haven’t been properly coded by web developers. The author feels that strong activism is needed to make other more aware of the issues faced by students with disabilities enrolled in online courses.

Reaction:

I enjoyed this article as I feel assistive technology is the right thing to provide to all students. I am also a big supporter of universal design. Faculty members are hired for their expertise and should be allowed to access departments and disability support services in order to partner with other employees of the institution who what hired for their expertise in making accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

Like this article stated not including people in the policy making process, can end in disaster. e.g. staff work on the policy for two years and the administrations shot it down. I feel in developing the policy it is important that the group developing the policy is diverse. That is it should included staff members, administrators, faculty, community members, and students. Also having group members with disabilities would be beneficial since they could share first had experience of what worked and what didn't work.

As faculty members become more familiar with what types of accommodations can be made, they may find new strategies for teaching all students.

Week 8

Title: Exploring Qualitative Methodologies In Online Learning Environments

Bibliography:

Bianco, Mary Beth, & Carr-Chellman, Alison (2002). Exploring qualitative methodologies in online learning environments. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 3, 251-260.

Summary:

This study looks to explore issues involved with conducting qualitative inquiries in online settings. Specifically the authors discuss how interviews and observations can be administered in an online environment. The authors hope to convince readers that online learning environments should be seen as an ‘electronic field.’

They discuss next how interviews have traditionally been conducted in research studies. Not only have interviews been conducted face-to-face before the electronic field emerged, but interviews were also completed over the phone. The fact that interviews could be done over the phone saved the researcher the cost of traveling to several different sites that may have been many miles apart. The authors do site Fontana and Frey (1994), in saying that ideal interview situations are personal, face-to-face context where the interviewer and the interview have the opportunity to interact in an open atmosphere and establish rapport. (paragraph 15)

The authors introduce the concept of computer-mediated interviewing (CMI). Synchronous chat, email, and discussion forums are examples of media used to conduct CMIs, and the authors argue that by implementing these tools little doubt is left regarding the data collected as it is necessary to ask for continual clarification from the participant throughout the CMI. The authors include a table to clearly compare the aspects of face-to-face, telephone, and computer-mediated interviews.

The authors also discuss observations and ask how one actually observes an online class. Should researchers observe online class participants in their homes at their computers or do they only need to observe the virtual environment of the online class?

The paper ends with a discussion of why the authors feel why qualitative methods for seeking information in an electronic field are not only appropriate but why it is also necessary to develop a greater understanding of student experiences in online courses. The authors state, “[a]ttempts to intentionally vary techniques and reflect on those data and processes is an essential next sep to a deeper understanding of the ways in which e-inquiry relates to the traditional forms of qualitative inquiry.” (paragraph 25)

Reaction:

Many good topics for discussion were raised in this article. I think as online education continues to grow as a means of educating adults, it is increasingly important that researchers and scholars of education develop an agreed upon methods for collecting and verifying data from the electronic field. I feel that students and faculty can create rapport even in a distance delivered course.

This study appeared well researched; it often sited the work of other researchers. The authors easily articulated their points through their writing and use of the comparison table.


Title: Does The Lack Of Hands-On Experience In A Remotely Delivered Laboratory Course Affect Student Learning?

Bibliography:

Tarek, A. et. al. (December 2006). Does the lack of hands-on experience in a remotely delivered laboratory course affect student learning? European Journal of Engineering Education. Vol 31:6. pg. 747-756.

Summary:

This study looked to assess “student performance in demonstrating both learning of technical concepts and the ability to describe these in an effective written laboratory report.” (paragraph 1) Some of the students completed the course via distance learning. Their access to the lab demonstration took the form of the instructor and a student completing the lab assignment. Specifically the researched measured the average sore on the final exam, the average sore on laboratory reports, overall writing performance, and technical comprehension on buoyancy experiment for both distance and on campus students.

The findings of the study were that “in comparing on campus and distance education students in a Fluid Mechanical Laboratory course, it is apparent that the performance of distance education students in the courses is equal to the performance of an campus students, both in the writing of laboratory reports and in scoring on final examinations. Analysis of the laboratory course results show[s] that the lack of hands-on experience did not negatively affect the performance of distance education students.”

Reaction:

After reading this article I began to wonder if all hands on skills are teachable via distance education. I do believe there is benefit to actually having completed the steps of a project for yourself. As a computer education instructor, I am a firm believer that the instructor should not touch the mouse or keyboard for the student as it robs them of their learning if someone else completes the task for them. However, I also believe that the instructor does not have to be present for the learning to occur. I do give my students homework that I expect them to complete on their own outside of class. Therefore, I do feel that hands on skills can be learned via distance education. In my classroom, I try to observe the students completing the skills needed to effectively utilize the software in the Microsoft Office Suite.

I would agree also that in order to be “certified” or found fit to complete the skills, a person should be physically observed completing the skills. The observer should be experienced in the skill being completed. This is especially true where the skills being completed e.g. drawing blood, brain surgery, etc. directly affect the well being of a life.

Week 7

Title: Computers use in preschool: Trixie gets a screen name

Bibliography:

Chatel, Regina (2005). Computers use in preschool: Trixie get a screen name. New England Reading Association Journal, 41, Retrieved 5/16/2007, from http://ezproxy.library.u.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdeb?did=989021701&sid=17&Fmt=4&clientld=9320&RQT309&VName=PQD

Summary:

The author points out the question used to be is it appropriate to use computers in early childhood education. Now the question is more how to use technology in early childhood education. According to a June 2004 issue of the journal Pediatrics preschool children who use a computer appear to develop better learning skills than their peers who don’t use computers. However there as no association made with how often a child uses a computer. The author asserts that children as young as three and four years old are developmentally ready to explore computers. It is important that children are given ample time to explore the computer as children learn through play.

Next the author discusses software for the early childhood education classroom. She stresses the value of computer use for children is the exploration and experimentation and not the creation of a product. She also makes certain to mention that software should be prescreened for racial and gender equity as well as violence and age appropriateness. The author discourages too much use of skill and drill programs, such as flashcards The article contains a list of websites and product descriptions. The article ends by the author urging educators to use the computers to bring children together through proper classroom configuration and an environment of shared learning experiences.

Reaction:

As an adult educator I could appreciate this article as it speaks to the fact that children are being taught differently because they are digital natives. If I were studying early childhood education, I would check the study that was conducted about computer use and obtaining learning skills. I thought the listing of websites and products would be helpful for those in the field of early childhood education.

Title: Emerging Technologies Blogs and Wikis: Environments for On-line Collaboration

Bibliography:

Godwin-Jones, Robert (2003, May). Emerging Technologies Blogs and Wikis: Environments for On-line Collaboration. Language Learning & Technology, 7, Retrieved May 22, 2007, from http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/emerging/

Summary:

In this article the author discusses online collaboration via the Internet. He begins the discussion by talking about the first-generation of web tools used for both asynchronous and synchronous tools. We are all familiar with email and discussion forums (asynchronous tools). Another tool we are familiar with is text messaging. (synchronous tool)

Next Godwin-Jones discussed the second-generation web. He states that blogs are a great tool for students to use as personal journals. Blogs also normally allow for the user to upload files for others to access. The author also points out that since blogs have the potential of reaching an audience larger than just the class participants, students are more thoughtful in the content and structure of the blog than their posts to a discussion board. Or at least this has been his experience. Another note worthy of mention is that because of the second-generation web tools, individuals do not need to have knowledge of HTML or other web authoring language in order to post information to the Internet.

RSS fees and Wikis are then next tools the author discusses. RSS stand for “really simple syndication”. This tool allows individuals access to rich meta-data about web-based resources. The term wiki is from the Hawaiian term wiki wiki meaning quick. Where blogs tend to be personal endeavor, wikis are very collaborative in nature. However, I should mention that the author points out individuals can post comments to someone else’s blog. Wikis can be used to created communities of practice. That is a group interested in the same topic can all access the wiki on that topic and make contributions to the page.

Reaction:

The author presented many concepts and defined them without bias. He pointed out how the web is evolving and its uses are changing. It used to be people accessed the web to find information, and with the entry of the second-generation web tools more individuals are able to contribute content to the web. I also found it interesting how the author compared asynchronous and synchronous tools as well as discussing the second-generation of web tools.

As educators it is important that we keep current on uses of technology so that we can implement the best tools for our students. This article was written in 2003 and yet it was just this past year that I began to hear a lot about blogs. This says to me I need to do a better job of keeping up with technology, and the IT certificate at WWU is helping me with that.

Week 6 Articles

Title: A New Methodology for Evaluation: the Pedagogical Rating of Online Courses

Bibliography: Sonwalkar, Nishikant (December 21, 2001). A New Methodology for Evaluation: The Pedagogical Rating of Online Courses. Campus Magazine, Retrieved April 6, 2007, from http://campustechnology.com/articles/38946/

Summary:

In this article Mr. Sonwalkar looks to provide a model that can be used to objectively assess online courses. He acknowledges the fact that online learning allows individuals to take advantage of asynchronous learning, but he feels it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the online course. He feels there is a need for such a tool as there are more than 1,000 corporate universities and online providers offering online courses. He introduces the “learning cube.” The learning cube looks to measure five functional learning styles, six media elements and the interactive aspects of learning. The five functional learning styles include: apprenticeship, incidental, inductive, deductive, and discovery. The six media elements include text, graphics, audio, video, animation, and simulation. Next he proposes a mathematical equation for measuring each element in the learning cube. Next he mentions that the “pedagogy effectiveness index.” This measure the richness of the course yet her feel there are several other factors needing to be measured to truly assess the effectiveness of the online course. These include content, learning, delivery support, usability, and technological factors. He also provides the reader with a summative evaluation instrument for rating online courses. He suggests using both the Pedagogy Effectiveness Index and the Summative Rating Score to assess the Overall Rating of the online course. Therefore, he concludes that Overall Rating = Pedagogy Effectiveness Index X Summative Rating Score.

Reaction:

I thought this article was well written and full of rich information. I believe Mr. Sonwalkar has done what he set out to do; he has created “[an] objective criteria for evaluating the quality of online courses based on the existing elements that represent pedagogical content (paragraph four).” His presentation of the elements in such a linier fashion made it easy for me to follow his logic in evaluating online courses. The fact that this process was very analytical made it very easy for me to comprehend. These tools can be easily applied to measure course effectiveness.

Title: Mitigating Conflict in Online Student Teams.

Bibliography: Dool, Richard. Mitigating Conflict in Online Student Teams. (2007). eLearn Magazine. Retrieved May 16, 2007 from http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=best_practices&article=36-1.

Summary:

This article was written by a professor that facilitates online courses. He starts the article by explaining that when online students are asked to work as part of a team they aren’t usually overly excited about the idea. That is they don’t like having other people’s actions or lack of action influence their grades. However, he defends his choice of making students complete group work as he sees it as a necessary job skill. He defines several student roles that become apparent in a group. First he talks about the “Martyr.” Students in this role are quick to point out that they have done much more of the work than everyone else on the team because the other team members don’t take their role seriously. Next he addressed students that take the “Excuse-meister” role. He states that these students have a lot of creative energy, but they usually use the energy to get others in the group to do their work. The students that take on the “Breathless in insert name of city here” role tend to cry wolf, but Mr. Dool suggests using these students as an early warning system that there is trouble in the group. Lastly, there are students that take the “Silent Partner” role. These students stay silent and don’t participate in the group much but of course want the same grade as other group members. He notes that the “Silent Partner” is the number one source of conflict in the team projects. The second biggest source of conflict in group work seems to be quality. Some students are unhappy about the quality of work submitted by other group members. The third biggest complaint about group works is accusations of plagiarism.

The author then moves the conversation of the article to cover the topic of setting the stage for group work. He posts articles early on in the quarter about team work and member roles. He also clearly defines in the course syllabus the purpose and the expectation of the team assignment. He also addresses the issue of plagiarism and academic integrity. The next tool he addresses is the team charter. This is the first deliverable he expects from the teams. The team charter is based on a template he provides. The template includes role assignment, skills inventory, contact and meeting information, and the process to mange conflict within the team. His experience has been that if he, the instructor, assigns the teams there seems to be less conflict. As far as instructor participation after the teams are formed he feels his role shifts to monitoring and encouraging. He utilizes virtual team rooms and asks that the team use this space for their work. This allows the instructor to monitor the team. He does ask if the team utilizes email for communicating that they please copy him on the message. These strategies seem to keep most of the work out in the open where he can monitor the team's work.

Next the author addresses some interventions. He has three; soft, hard, and shock & awe. The soft interventions are gentle reminders that teams should try to work out conflict on their own. Implementing hard interventions includes him making specific recommendations to help resolve the team’s conflict. When it comes to shock & awe, he implements a live conference call, and he becomes much more direct about how the team will operate and overcome this conflict.

So how does one grade group assignments? He does not suggest implementing a one grade fits all system. Instead he utilizes a team evaluation method. In this method the team members are areas to asses their own and their teammates’ contribution to the assignment.

While the instructor admits it is an increased workload to implement these suggestions, it has been his experience that by implementing these suggestions the team conflict in his classes has been reduced by 70 percent.

Reaction:

This article was great. Thanks, Gayle, for sharing it. I agree that as we prepare students for the work world, they must be able to function in a team environment. I think there may be more student roles than those he discussed, but generally speaking he hit the problem areas as he defined the roles in the article. I was a bit troubled by his use of only the masculine pronoun. I began to fear that only men enrolled in his courses; I don’t think this is a fact, but he makes no mention of she when describing students.

I am familiar with the team charter concept in that I used in while completing my undergraduate program. While developing the charter, the teams can really look at skills of individual members and this increases peer to peer learning. That is to say if we had someone in our group who was not a strong power point user, we would partner that person with someone that did have that as a strong skill.

Overall, I think the author offered very good advice and many helpful suggestions if we choose to engage our online classes in group work.

Week 5

Title: Virtual Legality: Unions and Home Schoolers Attack Internet Education

Bibliography: Dunn, Josh (2006). Virtual Legality: Unions and Home Schoolers Attack Internet Education. Retrieved May 7, 2007, from LookSmart Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0MJG/is_4_/ai_nl16832465.

Summary: The author of this article talked about how in the past schools have tried to bring technology to the classroom and how now technology makes it possible to take the student out of the classroom. This would be the virtual classroom. In this program the students learn in their own homes presumably under adult supervision. A certified teacher facilitates the online class and assigns grades. The schools usually provide resources to the students that include textbooks, a computer, a printer, and sometimes an Internet connection. The author then went on to cover recent lawsuits that were brought against school districts that offer virtual classroom programs. Teacher unions brought the suit forward. The unions argued that the school district had broken the law by enrolling students that were not physically attending their schools. To date no court of law has found in favor of the teachers’ unions that the author knew about. The author notes that the union’s concerns most likely go beyond the legal concerns they claimed in court and probably more realistically have to do with work security. It is logical to think that if more children learn at home fewer students will be in the schools and therefore the need for teachers would decrease.

Reaction: I thought this article was interesting and relevant to higher education even though its focus is on the K-12 educational system. It is relevant because the court seems to endorse online education in the K-12 system where student are less likely to be self-directed learners than students of higher education. The article did not address the completion rate for students enrolled in the virtual classroom programs. I also wonder if the argument about the teacher’s union is valid. Someone would have to teach the students whether they are online or in the classroom.

Title: Employers warm up to online education: Online Degree Programs Offer Flexibility and Cost Advantages That Are Becoming Increasingly Popular

Bibliography: Merriman, Kimberly (2006). Employers warm up to online education: online degree programs offer flexibility and cost advantages that are becoming increasingly popular. Retrieved May 7, 2007, from LookSmart Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_1_51/AI_16045106.

Summary: In this article, Ms. Merriman interviewed training professionals from several large corporations. The professionals said that they had seen, in the recent years, an increase in employees seeking degrees that could be completed via online or blended classes. Many large corporations participate in a tuition reimbursement program because they hope to attract and retain the best employees. Some schools that offer online programs have begun to partner with big corporations to offer specific programs for the employees of certain corporations. The schools offer the employer reduced tuition costs. The employers benefit by employing a more knowledgeable workforce, increased hiring and retention, cost savings, customized programs, and convenience. Students do not have to commute to a campus in order to complete a degree. The author states, while online education often carried a stigma in the past, a majority of college and university leaders now believe that the quality of online courses is equal or superior to face-to-face instruction. The author does mention that some online programs are better than others and suggests checking the website of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation for a database of schools and programs that have accreditation through agencies recognized by the council or the U.S. Department of Education.

Reaction: The article was well written and relevant. I felt the author had done extensive research on the topic before writing the article; she interviewed corporate training professionals. Before reading this article I was unaware of the council’s searchable database. I fear that too often individuals assume that online degree programs are not as rigorous as face-to-face programs. It is the consumer’s burden to research schools and programs to asses the value of the program.

Week 4 Articles

Title: Podcasting in Education

Bibliography: Podcasting in Education. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from Apple Web site: http://www.apple.com/education/products/ipod/podcasting.html.

Summary:

This webpage dealt with how an Apple product, the ipod, is being utilized in education. Audio and video files can be delivered over a network via free subscription. Therefore, instructors can tape- or video-record their lectures and make them available to students that were unable to attend or who need the material presented again in order to best retain the information. Instructors are also using podcasts to share best practices with their colleagues. Podcasts are created on Macintosh computers by using the Mac’s free integrated iLife applications. The article specifically suggested GarageBand to create podcasts. Both faculty members and students are using ipods. Podcast files can be attached to blogs as well.

Reaction:

I have heard about podcasts being used in broadcasting before reading this article, but I hadn’t given much thought to using them in education. It may be interesting to take an informal survey of college (or highschool) students to see how many of them already own an ipod. This may be an inexpensive way of utilizing technology in order to deliver educational content to students if they already own the hardware. I also plan to look into the program GarageBand so that I can create a podcast!

Title: The Nontraditional Undergraduate And Distance Learning: Is Higher Education Providing a Portal or Just A Keyhole to Social and Economic Mobility?

Bibliography: Carriuolo, Nancy (2002). The nontraditional undergraduate and distance learning: is higher education providing a portal or just a keyhole to social and economic mobility?. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from LookSmart Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1254/is_6_34/ai_94129286.

Summary:

In this article, the author explored online learning and its ability to advance nontraditional student socio-economically. She critically analyzed the college life of students attending electronic classes not physically visiting classes. She addressed that there is a disagreement in the online learning discourse group. Some researchers say that online students miss out on services available to them on campus counterparts. For example, many schools have librarians that review literature to make certain it is appropriate for academia. The author notes that students completing research via the world wide web do not have this service available to them. On the other side of this discourse are those professionals that believe online learning seems to offer convenient and plentiful opportunities for interaction. e.g. online threaded discussion, email, and electronic chat rooms. The author offers her own experiences as support for those that feel online courses do not provide students ample opportunity to interact with classmates. She provided the example of a classmate in her face-to-face class commenting that she had a classmate mention that she would love to have a suit similar to the one the author wore to class. During this interaction, the author was able to personally speak to her classmate and refer her to the appropriate retailer in the area. The author commented that this exchange would not have taken place if it were an online course, as students do not see each other in person typically. The author also suggests that a relationship between an online student and a professor would be harder to establish and maintain as there would be less opportunity for the student and faculty member to personally interact. The author did mention that proponents of online learning suggest that online faculty members can reach students that don’t learn well from a traditional lecture courses since there is active learning accompanied by continuous feedback and review in a well facilitated online course. Ultimately, she feels that “we should not fool ourselves into thinking that nontraditional undergraduate enrolled in online courses necessarily will enjoy the same type of social and economic access as they might have gained from traditional undergraduate experiences.”

Reaction:

I felt the author really tried to present both sides of the discussion as well as add her own personal experiences to support her points. However, I was sort of confused how she was tying in all of her points to the one addressed in the article title. There was a lot of food for thought in this article, and the author cited the works of many other professionals. I feel that this conversation goes back to the article from week one regarding how human resource managers view the quality of education from online programs. Both articles deal with online education and whether or not the participants will achieve upward movement in socio-economic status.

Week 3 Articles: Blogs

Title: Blog Overload

Bibliography:

Dawson, Kara (2007, February 2). Blog Overload. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53, Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1229861321&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=2507&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Summary:

The author of this article gave examples of how blogs are used by agencies to disseminate information as well as by students and others in academia in an effort to share thoughts. The author of the article is a college professor. In the past she had required her students to blog as part of the curriculum in her class. She felt students were “blogged down and blogged out.” She talked about how the blog site would be idle until a flurry of blogs started appearing within a 24 hour period before the assignment was due. This in turn made it difficult for her to read and respond to the postings given the compressed time in which the activity was taking place. She is not giving up on blogs, but she is going to redefine their uses in her classes. In her opinion, blogs are a difficult tool to use for an extended conversation, and she prefers using the threaded format for online class discussions.

Reaction:

Kara Dawson does a nice job of explaining what a blog is and what their primary purpose is. Before this class, I had not ever blogged. I found the author’s opinion of value since she is an instructor and she has used blogs in her class. However I took it as just that: one person’s opinion. I feel there is further research to do on this topic. The author herself feels blogs have value; she is just not sure how they fit into education. I am thinking that the next time I teach the entry-level computer course at GRCC, I will introduce my students to blogs. I find them easy to use. In my opinion introducing a computer concept/technological tool is different than using it to facilitate learning. Blogs are new to academia and have not yet found their place.

Title: Academics Give Lessons on Blogs

Bibliography:

Adenekan, Shola (2005, Jan. 23). BBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from Academics give lessons on blogs Web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4194669.stm

Summary:

The author of this article introduces ways that the academic world is utilizing blogs. She even discusses how Esther Maccallum-Stewart, a professor at Sussex University, uses the technology to teach and carry out research. The ability to post to the Internet so easily makes blogs a convenient place to store ideas, links and other references. The author notes that a different university is granting students and staff room on the university’s server to start their own blogs. Some students use blogs for school and personal communications. Some faculty members also practice the intermingling of personal stories with educational ideas. The author warns against this practice, as blogging is a new concept not yet clearly defined. Therefore, the ideas posted on the blog of a faculty member if found to contain inappropriate/inaccurate postings, could put the institution’s reputation at stake.

Reaction:

After reading the first article this week, I longed for a better understanding of how academia could fully utilize blogs. This article helped fill in those gaps. Blogging has huge potential for being used as a tool in facilitating knowledge acquisition. The author of the article also offered the notation that blogging, like most new technologies, is evolving quickly with little or no regulations. Who can blog what? From what I’ve seen anyone can blog anything. Is this a good thing? I think as instructors, our job of teaching students to think critically about the information that is presented to them just got harder yet more important than ever. Blogs allow individuals to post their ideas in what appears to be a very professional and concise manner. It would be easy for a student of little experience to be impressed by a blog’s appearance and be more accepting of the information that is presented on the website (blog).