April 2012 Volume 15 Number 2 - Educational Technology & Society

from the students’ ratings appeared to support this proposition. No significant differences were noted between the
ratings of the frequent and infrequent users. Previous studies have shown that learners who use an online technology
for learning more frequently tend to give lower ratings for its effectiveness (Chu, 2008). This has been explained by
the higher chances of noting the technology’s limitations as a user becomes more familiar with the technology. In
this current study, the frequency of blogging did not seem to influence the interns’ perceptions on the effectiveness
of blogging for learning. In the preceding section, the number of blog entries per student (M=45.8) has been reported,
indicating that a substantial amount of blogging has been done by the interns. This may explain the generally
consistent perceptions of students, regardless of their blogging frequency.
Table 2. Students’ ratings on the effectiveness of blogging for information management and mutual support
Variables measuring the
effectiveness of blogging
Overall ratings
Mean 1 (SD)
Median
2.8 (0.62)
3.0
3.1 (0.53)
3.0
2.8 (0.70)
3.0
Frequent users
Mean (SD)
Median
2.93 (0.48)
3.0
3.29 (0.47)
3.0
3.0 (.056)
3.0
Blogging facilitated
knowledge sharing
Blogging facilitated
information sharing
Blogging facilitated mutual
emotional support
Note. 1 Using the 4-point Likert scale as discussed in the methodology section.
Infrequent users
Mean (SD)
Median
2.6 (0.84)
3.0
3.0 (0.56)
3.0
2.64 (0.50)
3.0
Sig.
Mann-Whitney
It has been suggested that by accessing blogs of others with similar interests, bloggers can obtain information that
may serve as useful resources (Efimova, 2004). In this study, the main benefits of blogging for information sharing
reported by most students include free mutual reading allowing them to know what the others are doing, obtaining
information regarding other job fields, and easy access to research-related information. One example of students who
share information on blogs is extracted below:
“The seminar will be held again on 23 August, if you are interested, go to the Census and Statistics
Department’s website for more details: http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/statistical_literacy/course_and
_seminars/scientific_sample_survey/index_tc.jsp”
Blogs provide a virtual personal space, while at the same time allow online communities to form (Glogoff, 2005).
Bloggers are able to share knowledge and express their personal styles (Nardi, Schiano, Gumbrecht, & Swartz,
2004). It appears that blogging provided a venue for interns to share knowledge based on their personal experiences.
Probing questions in the interviews revealed further the participants’ explanations of their perceptions of blogs’
usefulness for information and knowledge sharing (see Table 3). Blogging has been reported to be useful for interns
in terms of sharing information and knowledge on their respective work assignments. Interns also appreciated the
ability to upload multi-modal forms of information (e.g., photos, videos) on the blogging platform. The potential of
learning from their peers’ problem-solving experiences was noted by only two of the participants. Problem-solving
that is shared in a community has been described as a representation of knowledge exchange and serves as a means
of knowledge building (Yang, 2009). The varied nature of the organizations to which the interns were assigned
resulted in disparities in their tasks. This may have resulted in interns’ limited perceived usefulness of the problemsolving
experiences of their peers.
Table 3. Students’ opinions on blog as a suitable tool to facilitate information management and mutual support
Positive Feedback Negative Feedback
Provides knowledge on what others are doing (13)
Most blog entries are unimportant and routine (6)
Provides free mutual reading (9)
Most entries are personal and are not useful
Provides information on other work fields (8)
comments (4)
Enables sharing of information on research, photos, videos (8) Students just write little in order to complete the
Allows sharing of experiences (5)
assignment (4)
Provides access to information everywhere, anytime (4) Face-to-face communication is necessary (2)
Serves as a source for problem-solving mechanisms (3)
Provides opportunities to learn from others’ experience and
analysis (2)
Note. Students were asked to comment on the effectiveness of information and knowledge sharing by blogging
0.61
0.26
0.17
172