The above picture is a perfect reflection of how I felt as I sat down to create my first ever blog. As I transition from my comfort zone of instructor facilitated discussion board posts, to a self-directed student led blog, I felt a sense of uneasy discomfort as I venture in to uncharted territory. Just as Ned Stark is continually reminding his family to brace for the impending winter (who can’t relate to a little Game of Thrones?), I too must brace for the impending blog posts and the creative expression it will surely require! All kidding and anxieties aside, this first post will focus on a few pros and cons of blogging for adult learners as well as the differences between discussion boards and blogging.

Blogging for Adult Learners: A comparative look
    First, the easy question, is blogging the same as discussion board activity? On the surface, this is a very obvious no, although there are a few similarities that I will briefly discuss. First, the obvious difference is that of personality and creative self-expression that a blog inherently possesses. Sure, one might find the rare blog with zero personality, but for the most part, each and every blog is unique to its individual creator. If there are any new bloggers out there that are anything like me, the first thing you do when you create your new blog is upload a profile picture, background picture, and a brief bio of yourself. Then you spend the next two hours fooling around with different fonts, letterheads and colors. You then search through 5 years of cell phone pictures (because no one has pictures on their computer anymore) looking for the perfect personalized background that represents you, only to find that the image is too large. You then spend the next half hour figuring out how to shrink and size the picture so that it fits perfectly, only to realize that your profile picture no longer matches. After about 2.5-3 hours of work, you finally send the blog link to your professor, only to realize that your brand-new blog looks completely blank and boring and based on its looks, should have been complete in no more than about 10 minutes! However, the point of all that is to highlight the amount of thought and personality that goes in to creating a blog. It goes beyond simply answering a question posed by a professor and providing responses to your classmates. It allows you to do what I’m doing at this very moment, narrate your lived experiences.

Blogging: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners
     Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when it comes to integrating technology in to the adult learning curriculum, a new technique using cutting edge technology might be an exciting endeavor for one learner, and an unwelcome nightmare to the next. While each adult learner has their own learning style and orientation to learning, rapid advances in technology are forcing adult learners to adapt with the change or risk getting left behind. With that said, there are many pros and cons to using blogs as a way to integrate technology in to curriculum and communicate with students on another level. Blogging can essentially create a blank canvas of self-expression through creative thought and writing. A student who is reluctant to open up and verbally share thoughts and/or emotions in the classroom, might find a new outlet in blogging. Additionally, blogging encourages learners to take control of the learning process “through the exchange of comments with individuals with similar interest, engaging in a form of social co-participation in a community of learners” (King & Cox, 2011). Not only is blogging excellent for sharing with others, it’s also an excellent way to critically reflect on learning by sharing thoughts, feelings and emotions towards lived experiences (King & Cox, 2011). Blogging can also bridge generational gaps by sharing a common communication platform commonly used by younger generations. Integrating blogging and technology in to the curriculum shouldn’t be limited to a student led BlogSpot, it can also capitalize on the use of popular social media platforms and websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and online survey programs that provide instantaneous feedback in the classroom. According to Pring (2012), 66% of adults who use the internet are connected to one or more social media platforms (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Adult learners should capitalize on that opportunity to network with students and peers, share information, and explore topics of interest (Merriam & Bierema, 2014).

     Technology can be a great thing when used properly, however, it also has a dark side which can take advantage of vulnerable unsuspecting users. Aside from the fact that many adult learners are simply intimidated by the use of new and emerging technologies, there also lies the issue of trust when you decide to put yourself out there for the world to see. Success can sometimes be a burden, and as the popularity of social media and blog sites grow, protecting personally identifiable information can be extremely difficult, especially when dealing with youth who may not fully understand the dangers and risks associated with sharing too much information online. As Witte points out in her Talkback Project Blog, the outside access to a public forum makes it difficult to monitor and regulate information which may be harmful to users and advantageous to predators (Witte, 2007). Then there’s the digital divide, which refers to those who have access to the internet and those who do not (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). This not only applies to the developing world, where internet usage is much lower than the United States, but also refers to senior citizens and adults living with disabilities in the United States, where access to the internet is much lower than the mean population (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Finally, finding accurate and reputable information can often times be difficult and confusing. In the modern age where deception, manipulation, psychological warfare, and cyber hacking seek to divide and conquer under the false pretense of truth, adult learners are forced now more than ever to seek out professional organizations and find reputable sources. There are many more pros and cons to blogging, and while I’ve only covered a few, it’s clear the benefits win the day. However, it’s important to inform and educate users on the dangers of technology and false information in order to maximize the ultimate potential of integrating technology in to the curriculum.

King, K. P., & Cox, T. D. (2011). The professors guide to taming technology: Leveraging digital media, Web 2.0, and more for learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub.

Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: linking theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley brand.

Witte, S. (2007). “That’s online writing, not boring school writing”: Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(1), 92-98.