April 2012 Volume 15 Number 2 - Educational Technology & Society

Chu, S. K. W., Kwan, A. C. M., & Warning, P. (2012). Blogging for Information Management, Learning, and Social Support
during Internship. Educational Technology & Society, 15(2), 168–178.
Blogging for Information Management, Learning, and Social Support during
Internship
Samuel K. W. Chu, Alvin C. M. Kwan and Peter Warning
Faculty of Education, Division of Information and Technology Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong //
samchu@hku.hk // cmkwan@hku.hk // pwarning@hku.hk
(Submitted August 9, 2010; Revised February 28, 2011; Accepted July 15, 2011)
ABSTRACT
The functions and possibilities afforded by blogging have been suggested to be relevant to learning and
information management. Its increasing use in the business and education sectors is documented, but currently
its use in professional education or internship is limited. The social nature of blogging appears to support the
applicability of blogs to facilitate learning and communication between student interns. To contribute to the
empirical evidence supporting these propositions, this study investigated the use of web logs to facilitate
information management, learning, and mutual support for internship students. Undergraduate information
management students (N=53) formed three cohorts who used three different blogging platforms in the course of
their internships. They evaluated the use of blogs through an interview questionnaire that included close-ended
rating scales and open-ended probes. The results revealed that students generally have positive perceptions on
blogging as a tool to facilitate information management and mutual support. Blogs were also perceived to be
useful in terms of self-reflection and communication. This study also showed that the blogging platform does
not seem to have an impact on the students’ perceptions on the use of the blogs, whereas the communication
between students and supervisors through the blog comments needs to be improved.
Keywords
Blogs, Internship, Information management, Reflection, Communication
Introduction
Blogs have existed since the 1990s, but their application to educational settings is a relatively recent phenomenon
(Tan, 2010). A blog (abbreviation of “web log”) is a journal presented in reverse chronological order that consists of
a person’s thoughts and ideas posted on the Web for multiple viewers (Flatley, 2005). It is a database containing text
entries and other forms of content, including pictures and sound files which can be created, edited and published to
the Web in a flexible manner. It has been suggested that blogging has attributes that are relevant to knowledge
management [KM] (Levy, 2009). For instance, blogging has been identified as another means of storytelling, which
is an established KM method.
Blogs have been effectively administered in higher education, as well as in distance learning settings (Buffington,
2007; Downes, 2004). Additionally, the application of blogs appears to have potential beyond classroom education.
For instance, blogs may be a suitable tool for professional education or internship, since they are simple and
accessible personal diaries that allow a community of users to interact and communicate with each other (Levy,
2009). The main purpose of an internship is to facilitate the application of theoretical concepts learned in classroom
settings into professional practice, and in a manner, shifts an individual mind to a social setting (Gonczi, 2004). The
social aspect of blogs seem to fit this perspective of internship; however, empirical evidence to support blogging for
students during their professional education is still scarce.
Blogging and knowledge sharing
Knowledge is viewed as an output that emerges from active social construction (McDermott, 1999). The application
of blogging for knowledge management has gained rapid recognition in business organizations, largely due to its
potential as a channel for imparting knowledge, soliciting comments and links, and options for classifying and
archiving entries (Ojala, 2005). Blogs have been found to be effective in organizing information, articulating,
developing, and sharing ideas (Mortensen & Walker, 2002). Blogs can also act as tools for developing community
relationships and conversational learning (Fiedler, 2003). Essentially, individuals can establish and maintain a
personal network, and organize the information exchanged through blogging.
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