April 2012 Volume 15 Number 2 - Educational Technology & Society

Knowledge sharing refers to the process by which knowledge from one individual is transformed, understood, and
used by others (Ipe, 2003). While knowledge sharing has been explored in detail at the level of business
organizations and task orientations, other forms of knowledge sharing occur over the Internet, such as blogs (Hsu &
Lin, 2008). While effective information and knowledge sharing can be facilitated by a diverse range of Internet
technology such as email and asynchronous discussion forums, blogs provide an environment that is relatively more
advanced (Ferdig & Trammell, 2004). In contrast to a discussion forum that is shared by many, a blog provides full
ownership to the user over his/her online content which may not fit neatly within a hierarchical or topic-based
discussion forum.
Blogging in education
Interest in blogging as an educational resource has been fueled by its capacity for individual self-expression and
social connectivity (Burgess, 2006). Blogs have been suggested to be more efficient than traditional pedagogical
tools as they are portable, have automatic time and date stamps, can avoid misinformation due to time lag, and are
economical if one has access to a computer and Internet connection (Gleaves, Walker, & Grey, 2008). The use of
blogs as pedagogical tools has been documented with parents of first grade students (Clyde, 2005), with high school
students (Downes, 2004), among librarians in higher education settings (Buffington, 2007), and in foreign language
classrooms (Ducate & Lomicka, 2005).
Characteristics of blogging appear to support its use in the constructivist learning paradigm. Constructivist learning
facilitates individuals to actively interpret and process information (Ally, 2008) in an emergent manner through their
own inferences and discoveries (Villalba & Romiszowski, 2001). Social constructivist principles underpin the use of
collaborative interactions among students to promote deep learning through exposure to alternative perspectives
(Brett & Nagra, 2005). Two or more people learn something together through communication, negotiation, and
production of materials (Gros, 2001). Recent studies indicate that collaborative learning is successful in online
learning environments (Chu & Kennedy, 2011; Curtis & Lawson, 2001; Woo, Chu, Ho, & Li, 2011), and allows
students to widen their knowledge base through interactions with other learners (Chu, 2008; Tyran & Shepherd,
2001). While collaborative learning emphasizes social and intellectual engagement (Smith & MacGregor, 1992),
blogs have also been put forward as tools of social interaction and subsequent exploration among students through
the mechanisms of comments and critiques.
Ellison and Wu (2008) have also proposed that blogging encourages critical and analytical thinking as it allows
students to develop wider perspectives by interacting with their peers and even with a wider audience on the World
Wide Web. Some findings revealed that peer feedback not only encourages learning among students but also leads
them to engage in a higher level of understanding (Ertmer et al., 2007). Such a peer feedback system may be
described as being inherent in blogging: some studies have found that the most effective aspects of maintaining a
blog for students are reading others’ blogs, and reading feedback on one’s own blog (Ellison & Wu, 2008). The
ensuing feedback mechanism may provide different perspectives from peers and encourage individual reflection
(Lin, Hmelo, Kinzer, & Secules, 1999).
Reflection, which is an integral component of professional learning (Dietz, 1998), allows a learner to examine
responses, beliefs, and context of experiences to gain new understanding (Rogers, 2001). It has been suggested that
written records facilitate better recall and reflection than face-to-face discussions (Wells, 1999) such as the case of
reflective journals. Blogs have been promoted as online forms of reflective journals (Richardson, 2005) and a
number of studies have found blogs to be efficient reflective tools (Lin et al., 1999; Stiler & Philleo, 2003).
Furthermore, blogs have also been shown to be good motivational tools that encourage students to engage in
interactive discussions (Chu, Chan, & Tiwari, 2012; Downes, 2004; Flatley, 2005).
Internship has long been recognized as an important method to prepare students for professional careers. Hands-on
experience, informal apprenticeships with active professionals, and exploration of learning through other institutions
(e.g., business, community associations) are fundamental ways of refining students’ skills and helping them attain
new insights on their professions (Weinberg, 1986). Since internship is an effective transitory phase towards
professional development, a significant body of literature has focused on the theories of design and experience in its
implementation (Lloyd & Bristol, 2006). Murray-Harvey (2001) investigated sources of student support from
teachers during a training program; the findings revealed that students placed a high value on emotional support from
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