Case Study in Using Blogs with College Students

This past year I have had the opportunity to teach applied theories of psychology to students at a college in Ottawa, Canada. My goal was to introduce a learning space for students that would extend their technological skills and motivate them to apply psychological theory to their own experiences. Blogging seemed like the perfect opportunity to nurture a learning community and promote psychological discourses for the purpose of deep learning.

Students in the course Applied Theories of Psychology II (PSY1774) were asked to create and present a blog that explores issues related to the prescribed course readings. They were encouraged to provide 3 to 4 significant posts of research, commentary, and probing questions, on how the reading related to their personal experience.

Students personalized their blogs by including a variety of graphics, web links, videos, polls, and audio links that represented their research findings. Blogging allowed students to both share their research findings and apply their critical thinking skills. It was important for me to emphasize that critical thinking and exploration of issues were integral components of this assignment. I chose to use Google’s Blogger tool for its user friendly interface.

Generally, the students thought the assignment was fun, engaging, creative, and helped them learn about psychological theories in an innovative way. “It was a great way to explore psychology through real-life examples,” says student Karina. “Not only were the blogs useful for studying,” says student Zak, “but now more that 100 people know how to make a blog online.”

I'd love to hear about your experiences about blogging with students!