Featured Student Profiles

Although blogs have been used in online learning environments with optimistic expectations, the distributed nature of blogs can pose some challenges. Currently, we do not have a robust collection of tested blogging strategies to help students interact more effectively with each other when blogs are used as a primary form of engagement in an online class. Prior studies have illuminated the need for effective strategies that will lead to greater active engagement on student blogs. Thus, the purpose of the study was to test an early iteration of an instructional blogging strategy, “Featured Student Profiles,” which is designed to help students become acquainted with each other better and encourage them to visit and comment on each other’s blogs. Eighteen undergraduate students who were enrolled in an online course for pre-service teachers in which student blogs are the primary medium of peer interactions, participated in the study. Using a case study design, seven students participated in interviews and all student blog interactions were analyzed. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the interview data and identify salient themes of students’ blogging experiences overall under the study strategy. The findings indicated that students took the most direct and efficient path they experienced to complete the blog task. Their peer interaction patterns varied, but several shifted from random to targeted relationships as the semester progressed. Although all students perceived the strategy as a positive approach to peer awareness, there was no clear evidence of its effect on student interactions. This study provides three suggestions that are needed to achieve more effective use of the strategy.