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HOW CAN BLOGS FACILITATE COHERENT AND CONCISE COMMUNICATION OFIDEAS AMONG ELEMENTARY STUDENTS?byKim McCalmont

Statement of the Problem

Our society is constantly evolving. The advent of new technologies, such as Web 2.0, thatpromote communication, collaboration, and connectivity, require effective communication skills.In order for students to live and compete in a modern, evolving society, they must learn how tocommunicate effectively. To communicate effectively, they must learn how to formulate theirideas in a cohernet manner and communicate those ideas concisely. It makes perfect sense for usas educators, to use the same technology that our students will use in their adult lives, to teachthe skills required to formulate ideas into coherent thought and to communicate those ideasconcisely. A tool that is available to educators, and is readily available throughout the Internet, isblogging software. Blogs are a structured environment that requires the writer to lay out ideasthat others will read and comment on. Although blogs have potential, I am not sure whatchallenges integrating them into the curriculum are going to exist.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to understand the effect blogging has on students’ abilities toformulate ideas and write succinctly.

Primary Research Questions

How can student blogs facilitate coherent and concise communication of ideas among mythird grade students?

McCalmont 2

Significance of the Study

Educators are constantly looking for ways to engage their students in the learning process. If blogs can facilitate active participation in written communication, even among students that maybe otherwise reluctant to write, it will enable the educator to both model and teach the skills of effective communication and will become a powerful learning tool.By studying the manner that students use blogs, and how receptive they are to feedback from others who have read their material, educators can use this information to decide if theincorporation of blogs into their elementary curriculum will enhance the learning of theirstudents.Literature ReviewA study that most resembles the research I plan to conduct, involves clear and concisewriting through the use of e-mails. Janice Ramsey, a middle school teacher in Atlanta, used e-mails to teach her students effective writing skills. Ramsey’s students wrote more accurately andconveyed their thoughts more precisely when they communicated via e-mail (Torres, 2006).This project seems to support the idea that students pay more attention to their writing when theyshare it with their peers. Scott Hossack, an international teacher in Shanghai, implementedstudent blogs with his fifth grade students.

Hossack (2007) noticed the writing produced by hisstudents improved when they started blogging. Students seem to realize the significance of writing conventions when they have an audience. Further evidence that supports these claimscomes from Anne Davis, one of the first educators to study the use of blogs in elementaryeducation. Davis (2006) feels students are willing to put forth more effort when they know otherscan read and respond to their writing. This leads me to conclude, that a wider audience, otherthan just the teacher, encourages students to produce their best work.

McCalmont 3Will Richardson, another pioneer in educational blogging, believes students who blog areinspired to reflect on the significance of their writing (Richardson, 2005).Professors at The University of Florida conducted an empirical research study to find outif partnerships between third graders and preservice teachers through blogging had an effect onstudents’ writing behaviors. The results of this study found that students who used blogs to work with others were able to arrange their thoughts and sharpen their writing skills (Dawson, Drexler,& Richard, 2007).I was unable to find other empirical research that focused on the effects of bloggingamong elementary students. This leads me to believe that more studies of the use of blogs at theelementary level need to be conducted for the effective use of blogs to be fully realized.I think Stephen Downes summarizes the potential of blogs in education appropriatelywhen he states, “The process of reading online, engaging a community, and reflecting it online isa process of bringing life into learning” (Downes, 2004, p. 26). From what I have read, itappears that other educators have had success with the incorporation of student blogs to supporteffective writing practices.Study Design and Methods

Context

The participants of this study will be third graders at Valley Ranch Elementary, located inCoppell, Texas. Coppell is a suburb in the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex. According to the AEISdata (2007), Valley Ranch Elementary has a high population of Indian and Korean students,45.5% total. The ESL population is the highest in the district with 26.7% of the schoolpopulation. The school has a low percentage of disadvantaged students at 15. 7% and 33% of thestudent population is considered at risk. Class sizes are limited to 22 students in grade K-4.