By Liam Murray.
Reading Time: ~9 mins.
Featured Image Source: Photo by author.
In this post:
Introduction and Video
In the below video, produced as part of the Sharing Open Education Practices Using Technology (SHOUT4HE) Erasmus+ project, I describe the pedagogical impact, effectiveness and viability of using blogs to enhance both student learning and peer collaboration in a literature class with final year learners of French. By encouraging students to use a blog, I aim to create a progressive reflexion and critical approach to a literary novel through weekly blog posts, as the students need to reflect on the topics and themes covered week-by-week, building up to a final critical appreciation of the novel submitted in essay form for evaluation. A good number of students commented that leaving comments in their peers’ blogs made the whole blog writing task meaningful and full of purpose. The learners felt that the collaboration was real and it awarded a type of authenticity to the whole process.
Supported Tools at UL
A variety of tools and technology resources are referred to in the SHOUT4HE video library which are intended to place the focus on the pedagogical approach and the transferability of the educational practice to other contexts. This does not imply endorsement of tools used and UL staff who teach are encouraged to use supported tools when possible.
Some of the choices available at UL include:
- Using Sway for student blogs and e-portfolios
- Using Lesson pages as student portfolios
- Blog tool in Sulis
About the Author
Dr Liam Murray is a Senior Lecturer in French and Language Technologies, and current Head of the School of Modern Languages & Applied Linguistics at the University of Limerick, Ireland and teaches courses on CALL, digital games-based language learning, French civilization and media, cyberculture, e-learning and evaluation at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Areas of research interest include CALL, Games-Based Learning and the application of Social Media and blog writing to second language acquisition. He is the software reviews editor of the international journal ReCALL.
References/Further Reading
Giralt, M., & Murray, L. (2019). Reflexion, Analysis and Language Practice: From Individual Critical Thinking to Collaborative Learning Using Blogs in a Literature Class. In (pp. 277-293). DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-1358-5_15. Available online at https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-981-13-1358-5_15