Blogging Final

Developing Guidelines in Blogging as a Writing Assessment
An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of
School of Arts, Sciences, and Education
St. Dominic College of Asia
City of Bacoor, Cavite
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Secondary Education
Dimaano, Leihf Ahlean C.
Marticio, Jordan Austin O.
Remollo, Janelle T.
Rosillon, Marichu C.
2021
Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

APPROVAL SHEET
The study:
“Developing Guidelines in Blogging as a Writing Assessment prepared and submitted
by Leihf Ahlean C. Dimaano, Jordan Austin O. Marticio, Janelle T. Remollo, and
Marichu C. Rosillon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Secondary Education has been examined and recommended for acceptance
and approval.
PROF. KAREN D.
MOSENDE
Adviser
Approved by the Research Panel with the grade of ______ on the __ day of ______ 2021
DR. TERESITA PEDRAJAS

Chair, Thesis Defense
PROF. EVALYN C. CAZEÑAS

Panelist Panelist
Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of
Secondary Education.
DR. PHILIP C. QUIZON
Dean, School of Arts, Sciences, and Education

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In today's competitive environment, there is a race to see who will be the first to
succeed. This type of research paper serves as a link between theoretical and practical
work. First of all, we would like to thank our Almighty God who is the one that guide us
to our work on the right path of life. Without His grace this research could not become a
reality. Next to Him, our parents whom we are grateful for the love and support that they
gave us in the time that we are hopeless in our academic life. We are also sincerely
thankful to St. Dominic College of Asia for giving us a chance to write a research paper,
and contribute something that could be useful to the institution. We would like to take
this opportunity to sincerely thank our thesis adviser Prof. Karen D. Mosende for her
continuous support throughout the journey of writing this research paper. We would like
thank Prof. Reynald Garcia Sy, Prof. Justine Alas Wong, and Dr. Teresita Pedrajas for
sharing their expertise in developing our research paper. At last, we are thankful to all our
professors and friends who have been always supportive and gave us full encouragement
throughout our journey in writing this research. There are no enough words to describe
and express our gratitude to the people who are behind in this successful journey.

DEDICATION
As a student, it is a memorable achievement. We are indebtedly dedicated this

research to all those people who inspired and encouraged us to reach this level of
success.
This research is wholeheartedly dedicated to:
Our friend, Louise Anne Claronino, who have always been a constant source of
support in doing this research.
Our beloved partners in life, Jeffrey Sarabusing, Police Lieutenant Evon Ray N.
Rosillon, Shammah Jireh Ramos, and Cherryrose Dollyreina Testigo, who give us
inspiration and motivation to continue our passion, and to dedicate our precious time on
finishing this research.
Our official venue, Luminous Tea House, which give us a comfortable study area
and provide stable internet connection which we need to accomplish this research.
Our family, Dimaano, Marticio, Remollo, and Rosillon, who give us moral
support and gave us strength to finish this study. Their continuous support motivates us
to finish our research.
Those students who will read this research and use it as their reference to their
study.

ABSTRACT
Academic blogs give a decent environment for literacy cycles of different

sorts. However, since teachers are new to this kind of platform. There is still no
available rubric nor guideline in assessing academic blogs, the way teachers use blogs in
English language classes and how do teachers use blogs as a writing assessment. With
this research, it is hoped that the researchers can develop a guideline for academic
blogging as a writing assessment to provide evidence that a guideline can help teachers
to have a basis in creating a systematic lesson plan leading to better develop the writing
skills of the students. The researcher utilized the qualitative research method as research
design. The researcher also utilized thematic analysis to interpret the given data by 20
teacher respondents. The findings show that most of the teacher respondents have been
using blogs in their English classes, and seem to identify guidelines in giving blogging
as a writing activity. However, most of the teachers do not follow guidelines appropriate
to the practice of evaluating “blogging”, which involves online considerations. Since the
researchers assume that most teachers have no specific guidelines in using blog as a
writing assessment method, the researchers therefore, formulate a guideline that will
serve as a reference for the teachers in using blog to effectively evaluate the writing
skills of the students. The researchers believe that this Guideline is an essential
assessment tool that all teachers should have, especially during the time of pandemic,
when most teachers ask students to write, research, and publish their work online.

RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE (REC) CERTIFICATION

STATISTICIAN CERTIFICATION
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
This is to certify that Leihf Ahlean C. Dimaano, Jordan Austin O. Marticio,
Janelle T. Remollo, and Marichu C. Rosillon, fourth year students in the School of
Arts, Sciences, and Education at St. Dominic College of Asia, submitted their
completed thesis/capstone/feasibility study with the title: “Developing Guidelines in
Blogging as a Writing Assessment”.
The statistical tools used were Percentage, Ranking, Weighted Mean, and Chi-
square Test, which were found to be in order. The statistical interpretation was properly
done based on the data gathered and presented in table forms in the completed research
manuscript.
Done this ___ of ___ 2021 at SDCA Complex, Bacoor City, Cavite, Philippines.
Statistician
Noted:
DR. BELINDA A. LIWANAG

Research Development Officer
TURNITIN CERTIFICATION

GRAMMARIAN CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that the study “Developing Guidelines in Blogging as a
Writing Assessment” written by Leihf Ahlean C. Dimaano, Jordan Austin O. Marticio,
Janelle T. Remollo, and Marichu C. Rosillon, has underwent Grammar and Content
Editing (syntax, sentence structure, and logic) and has adopted the APA Citation and
Referencing Style, 7th Edition, which was validated by the undersigned. The study is now
ready for final binding.
Prof. Karen D. Mosende
Grammarian, SDCA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Approval Sheet ………………………………………………………………….. ii
Acknowledgment ………………………………………………………………... iii
Dedication ……………………………………………………………………….. iv
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………..
Research Ethics Committee (REC) Certification …………………………….. vi
Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) Certification ……………… vii
Turnitin Certification …………………………………………………………... viii
Research Commercial Value Certification ……………………………………. ix
Grammarian Certification…………………………………………….………...
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………….. xii
List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………. xiv
Chapter I: Introduction and Background of the Study ……………………….. 1
Introduction …………………………………………………………………... 1
Background of the Study……………………………………………………... 3
Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………….. 4
Significance of the Study …………………………………………………….. 5
Theoretical / Conceptual Framework ………………………………………… 6
Scope and Limitation of the Study …………………………………………… 8
Definition of Terms …………………………………………………………… 9

Chapter II: Review of Related Literature and Studies …………………..…. 11
Chapter III: Methodology ……………………………………………………. 15
Research Design ……………………………………………………………. 15
Research Sample and Population …………………………………………….. 16
Sampling Design ……………………………………………………………... 16
Research Locale and the Respondents of the study…………………………... 17
Instruments for Data Gathering ………………………………………………. 17
Data Collection Procedures ….……………………………………………….. 17
Data Analysis Procedure ……………………………………………………... 18
Chapter IV: Presentation, Interpretation, Analysis of Data / Discussion of
Results ...……………………………………………………………………... 19
Presentation, Interpretation, and Analysis of Data …………………………… 19
Chapter V: Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations …... 48
Summary of Findings ………………………………………………………… 48
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………... 52
Recommendation ……………………………………………………………. 58
References ………………………………………………….……………………… 60
Appendixes

Appendix A: Letter to Respondents ….…………………………...………….. 63
Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire ….…………………………...………….. 64
Curriculum Vitae ……………………………………………………………….. 70
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1
Table 2

CHAPTER I
Introduction
With the rise of technology in the 21st century education, the modern-day
classroom teachers are expected to possess pedagogical competence and performance.
They must employ teaching strategies that cater the individual differences of the
students. Innovations in teaching methodologies have been supported by the
development of increasingly sophisticated but user-friendly technologies that helps
motivate students to learn and allows teachers to reinforce learning concepts. In the era
of technology and digitalization, Valenzuela (2021), the SEAMEO secretariat director,
encouraged the education sector to maximize all of these innovations in technology to
help each other find solutions being faced in the present situation.
Hence, with this technological advancement dominating globally, it is imperative
that the teaching of English, specifically writing, must be interactive to make it more
challenging and meaningful to the learners. The interactive nature of the Web makes it a
good platform for the teaching of writing. Today, educators can utilize social networking
sites as Blogger, Tumblr, Face book, and Multiply as platforms in honing students‟
writing skills. Among these sites, blogger is the most widely used domain in writing
classrooms. In blogging, students can create their own weblogs (blogs) where they can
post their essays, poems, and other creative works arranged chronologically in reverse
order, where the recent post appears first. That is why Campbell (2003) defines a weblog

(or 'blog') “as an online journal that an individual can continuously update with his or
her own words, ideas, and thoughts through software that enables one to easily do so”
(para. 1).
With this shift in pedagogical patterns, blogging slowly gains popularity among
other platforms being used as a learning tool. This innovation is alluded to by many
educators as the "digital revolution" stands out (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2016). Since
teachers integrate technology in education, Blogging nowadays has been utilized in
teaching since it has a weblog that keeps sections of blogs that work well for the
instructive purposes that can be sorted and provide innovative exercises through
correspondence. Most online websites have mechanical means that might be coordinated
in a multi-perspective way as an approach to utilize blogging in the teaching and
learning process. Blogs having interactive multimedia features support teaching and
learning since it provides data and experiences of the blogger. Blogging indeed have
fundamentally transformed the way people interact on the Internet. They have changed
users from consumers to contributors of information (Stanley, 2011).
Moreover, Blog has recently gained considerable interest among teachers and
students as another way to deal with educating writing in the classroom. The blog's place
is an extraordinary spotlight on students' composing mechanics, empower them, and
give them more prominent study hall composing elements. Contributing to a blog is a
magnificent way for students to speak with each other in a socially based setting through
innovation. What is good about utilizing blogs in writing classes is that they present the
utilization of outside school rehearsals of literacy (Pahl and Rowsell, 2005). As

indicated by sociocultural hypothesis, education is as a socially based practice and is
intervened by an individual's way of life (Larson and Marsh, 2005). On the other hand,
Blogging tends to be upgraded through discourse, conversation, and narrating. This
makes self-articulation and assists understudies with talking about their thoughts and
afterward sets them up as a written record either independently, two by two, or in a
gathering. In this sense, contributing to a blog essentially is not innovation; rather, it is
education, which underscores the qualities of valid composition.
Furthermore, Blogging additionally gives learners an individual purpose that
makes writing more captivating than the academic critical thinking received by most
educational plans. Academic blogs give a decent environment for literacy cycles of
different sorts, for example, basic reasoning, reflection, addressing, demonstrating,
social practices, conversation and advancement, when instructors embrace it for
classroom practices. Writing academic blogs is viewed as a muddled undertaking by
understudies and their appraisal is additionally a difficult cycle for instructors.
Interestingly, the issues in evaluating composing are accepted to outnumber the
arrangements.
However, since teachers are new to this kind of platform. There is still no
available rubric nor guideline in assessing academic blogs, the way teachers use blogs in
English language classes and how do teachers use blogs as a writing
assessment. Because of this, teachers utilize a traditional scoring rubric that assesses
different talk and linguistic highlights along with explicit principles of academic writing.

With this research, it is hoped that the researchers can develop a guideline for
academic blogging as a writing assessment to provide evidence that a guideline can help
teachers to have a basis in creating a systematic lesson plan leading to better develop the
writing skills of the students.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
The purpose of this research is to explore the existing practices of English
teachers in using blogging as one of their writing assessments, and propose a guideline
where teachers can make as a reference to regulate writing assessment specific to
blogging.
Specifically, this study attempts to seek answers to the following questions:
1. What are the existing practices of the teachers in terms of integrating
“blogging” as a writing assessment?
2. How do these practices affect the students’ writing performances?
3. What specific guidelines can be proposed to aid the teachers in using
blogging as a writing assessment?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study may humbly benefit the following:

Students: This study will guide the students in writing academic blogs in
developing their writing skills.
Teachers: This study will guide the teachers in creating a systematic lesson plan
that may help them address the learning needs of the students, and evaluate their
writing skills.
School Administrators: This study may help the school administrators to have
other alternative guidelines that may be used effectively in the academic
community.
Curriculum Developers: This study may help the Curriculum Developers to
integrate blogging as one of the suggested techniques for classes, which requires
writing.
Future Researchers: This study may help the future researchers to conduct
further studies relevant to blogging practices and how it improves students’
writing, or even digital skills.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION:
The study interviewed 20 of Grade 11 and 12 English Teachers of Southville
International School and Colleges (6), APEC School Las Piñas (8), and Far Eastern
University Cavite (6%). In this study, Blogging refers to the activity of the students as
part of evaluating their writing skills and not blogging as an instructional material used

by teachers in teaching a particular lesson. The researchers did not include the origin and
history of the blog, the specific academic blogging sites to preserve privacy of the
students and the teacher, and not to promote any blogging sites.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Assessment -is the evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone
or something
Blog -is an online journal wherein you share your thoughts about a specific
subject with per users.
Blogger - is someone who writes journals consistently in online websites.
Blogging - is a process of writing journals/articles in social media platforms.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
It can be conceptualized that Blogging is a process that occurs through
social and environmental interactions, and emphasizes that knowledge exchange between
the bloggers and the teachers must happen in a mutually created social context. From the
constructivist position, knowledge is constructed by humans, validated by use in society,
and so maintained by social institutions. In an academic setting, knowledge is indeed
constructed by the teachers for the students, being maintained by the institution, however,
the students validate this knowledge through the society, which is represented by the
social media. This has led the researcher to propose that social constructivism can be a

useful theory to support in understanding why and how individuals integrate and apply
new knowledge in the teaching and learning process and how practice behaviors may
change as a result of interventions grounded in the core tenets of this theory.
Indeed, language and culture play essential roles both in human intellectual
development and in how humans perceive the world, since humans’ linguistic abilities
enable them to overcome the natural limitations of their perceptual field by imposing
culturally defined sense and meaning on the world. Language and culture are the
frameworks through which humans experience, communicate, and understand
reality. (Vgostky, 1978). This concept agrees that learners are integrated into a broad
knowledge of different activities wherein they will learn from it. So, the basic tenets of
social constructivism apply when students acquire their knowledge by doing rather than
observing. The fundamental premise of this theory is that knowledge is a human
construction and that the learner is an active participant in the learning process (Vgotsky,
1978).
In blogging, the role of language has been important especially that the written
blog can be read not only by the teacher, but even by everybody online. True enough,
Social constructivism tells that knowledge is built as a development of cognitive skills
by demonstrating the importance of language in learning with learners. As what
Vygotsky (1978) describes as the ‘zone of proximal development’, it can be achieved
when the teacher recognizes the individuality of each student. This is the area in which
the student is challenged but not overwhelmed and can remain unthreatened and yet
learn something new from the experience. Vygotsky also articulated the notion of

‘scaffolding’, meaning that teaching must start with what the student already knows and
building a further framework which will support further knowledge, and typically this
involves proceeding from the concrete to the abstract. This metaphor ties in nicely with
constructivism.
Thus, this present study takes into account applying the Social constructivism as a
theory of knowledge that supports how individuals come to construct and apply
knowledge in socially mediated contexts, since it best describes the teaching and
learning process that involves Blogging.
Conceptual Paradigm
To express the concept, Figure 1 illustrates the interplay of the variables presented
in input-process-output model.
Input. These are the existing practices of the English teachers in using Blogging
as a writing assessment tool. With these practices, the researchers will be able to
determine if the teachers follow guidelines specific only to evaluating “blogging” as a
writing assessment.
Process. To properly determine the existing practices of the teachers, the
researchers conducted an interview with the Grade 11 and 12 English teachers. These
interview questionnaires were sent to the respondents through Google form with consent
forms.

Output. The desired result is a proposed Guideline to help the teachers regulate
their rules in using blogs to effectively evaluate the writing skills of the students. The
researchers believe that this Guideline is an essential writing assessment tool that all
teachers should have, especially during the time of pandemic, when most teachers give
writing assignments online.
Figure 1.
Conceptual Framework
Input Process Output

(current result) Interview with (desired result)
Existing practices the English Guidelines for
of the English teachers Evaluating
teachers in Students’ Blogs
integrating
Blogging as a
writing assessment

CHAPTER II
Review of Related Literature
This chapter provides the literature that the researchers considered relevant and
important to the study. The following foreign and local literature and studies serve as a
guide to the researchers for this study.
Blogs and Blogging
Blogging as defined by Jones (2003) “is short for web logging” (p.1). Blogging is
the act of keeping a diary or journal online. This online journal or blog with dated entries
are linked to other sites on the web, usually other blogs, thus creating a virtual
community (Jones, 2003 cited in Cequena and Gustilo, n.d). Blood (2002) in Elison and
Yu (2008) further defines blogs as, “online public writing environments in which
postings (individual writing segments, often containing hyperlinks to other online
sources) are listed in reverse chronological order” (p. 105). Campbell (2003) categorized
blogs into three types which can be used for ESL classrooms: tutor blog, learner blog and
class blog. The tutor blog is an online journal created by a teacher himself/herself whose

objectives are to encourage students to read by providing texts written in casual and
natural way native speakers write, to promote exploration of web resources related to
lessons, to encourage verbal exchanges where students can provide feedback or
comments on blog entries, to provide information about syllabus, and to encourage self-
study by providing links like online quizzes, audio and video files for ESL listening
exercises. The learner blog, on the other hand, is owned by individual learners. This can
be an avenue where students can keep online journals for their writing practice by posting
either their reactions to reading texts or their responses to writing assignments. Lastly,
class blog, is a product of collaborative entries in which students can post messages,
discussions, and images related to classroom lessons. This study used learner blog
wherein students were required to create their blogs from which they posted their entry
essays and academic essays written on a computer in class.
Effects of Blogging in the Development of Writing Skills
Weblog or blogging has evolved from a simple online diary for self-expression to
a complicated educational tool as academic writing. Weblog was viewed as a means of
developing students’ writing proficiency (Jones, 2006; Roth, 2007; Kelley, 2008; Zhang,
2009; Drexler, Dawson & Ferdig, n.d.; Fageeh, 2011), positive attitudes towards writing
(Fageeh, 2011; Jones, 2006; Lee, 2010; Armstrong & Retterer, 2008; Kelley, 2008;
Drexler, Dawson & Ferdig, n.d.), and ability to critique others’ writing (Jones, 2006).
Several studies were conducted focusing on the effects of blogging in the
development of writing skills. Fellner and Apple (2004) investigated the impact of

blogging on the writing fluency of twenty-one low proficient and low motivated senior
university Japanese students in a seven-day intensive English course for five and a half
hours a day. For each session following the listening and speaking activities conducted,
each student is expected to write his/her reaction about the topic discussed previously for
twenty-minutes and their outputs were sent via email to class blog account so that they
can read and post their comments (feedback) on each other’s works. Results of the study
reveal that students’ writing fluency improved from an average word count per student of
31.5 words to 121.9 words for 20 minutes. Their written outputs also improved in terms
of lexical complexity. This implies that blogging or online journaling can hone writing
skills for it provides the students an avenue not only for self-expression but also for
writing practice where they get trained to write under time pressure and at the same time
to comment on each other’s written outputs which serve as a learning experience, because
they also get to learn from their peers’ writing styles. Similarly, in Lee’s ( 2010 ) study of
seventeen university students at advanced level who kept personal blogs over 14 weeks,
the findings obtained from blog pages, post surveys and final interviews showed that
“regularly creating blog entries had a positive impact on learners’ writing fluency and
increased their motivation to write for a broad audience” (para.1). Bernstein (2004)
echoes similar findings, stating that weblogs improve writing given that frequent writing
on a computer for an audience provides practice, thus improves writing.
Dujsik and Cai (n.d.) conducted a study among the 37 low-intermediate ESL
learners enrolled in an English Language Institute (ELI) at a large southeastern public
university. The class met 50 minutes each day for five times a week. They were given

writing assignments on various topics which they accomplished in a networked computer
laboratory once a week and posted in their individual blogs for peers’ comments. At the
end of the term, a survey questionnaire consisting of 11 Yes/No items to identify the
respondents’ profile or background knowledge about blogging and two open-ended
questions to determine their attitudes towards blogging was administered. Students’
responses to open-ended questions were manually coded by the researchers themselves.
The findings show that ESL learners felt comfortable in using computers, felt it was easy
to create blogs, knew how to upload images in blogs, and thought that blogs helped
improve reading and writing skills among others. Regarding students’ attitudes towards
their blogging experience, results reveal six emerging themes from their responses to
open-ended questions which included development of the English language skills,
network or communication, motivation or interest, use of technology, collaborative
learning/audience, and ease of blog tasks. Furthermore, analysis of qualitative findings
indicated that the primary reason for students’ positive attitudes towards blogging is that
it develops their writing skills. The process done by Dujsik and Cai (n.d.) in manually
coding students’ responses to open-ended questions, identifying emerging themes from
these corpora and counting their frequency was followed by the researcher in the present
study. Brescia and Miller (2005) in Cequena and Gustilo (n.d.) presented seven features
of blogging that uniquely enhanced college level writing instruction:
(1) provides greatest instructional potential for those who maintain weblog
throughout their college careers both as a source of knowledge and as
personal management content system; (2) provides opportunities to share

in public (via virtual society) what is learned in the classroom; (3)
leverages teaching to outside school hours; (4) allows students to express
freely what they feel; (5) provides opportunity for free writing; (6)
encourages students to do more formal writing; and (7) promotes
interactivity in which the students can post comments and ask questions.
(para.6)
Furthermore, Sun and Chang (2012) mentioned that weblog “not only encourages
students to actively and reflectively engage in knowledge sharing, knowledge generation,
and the development of numerous strategies to cope with difficulties encountered in the
learning process,” (p.43) but also provides them with a sense of authorship, that allows
them to reflect on the requirements of academic writing, the purposes of writing, and
their authority as writers. Liu (2007), on the other hand, reported that in order for students
to benefit from blogging, they have to meet the requirements such as English proficiency
and computer/Internet, writing, and communication efficacy.
Integration of Blog in Education
Blogging can be absolutely integrated in education, as agreed by Foster et
al. (2015), he said that the digital platform in terms of social media and technology
promotes teaching innovation and can enhance the students' learning ability. Beaton and
Gregorio (2019) also stated that blogging is one of the well-established teaching
resources and learning contexts in teacher education which include English for Academic

Purposes (EAP), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and English as a Second
Language (ESL). Atlantis Press (2019) added that teachers are now integrating blogging
as their tool on teaching. It showed that blogging is an effective tool for students to
improve their English writing skills. Furthermore, they also stated that blogging is
effective in promoting students’ fluency in writing.
Morris (2018) also stated that integrating blogging into the literacy curriculum,
not only did students’ literacy skills improve, but engagement levels increased. The
author said that blogging is an authentic way of teaching both traditional and multi-modal
21st century. It involves 10-20 minutes of daily literacy blocks in their whole class and
the discussion is rotating depending upon the current reading or writing focus. The author
used blogging as students' digital portfolios which includes the traditional methods of
reflective writing and journalizing. The learner’s task is to post a certain blog and each of
them need to respond with quality feedback to demonstrate their literacy skills using
blogs.
According to Relojo, Dela Rosa, & Pilao (2016), blogging helps the learners to
facilitate learning by means of reading and acquiring new word structure and
comprehension. The authors stated that blogging can also benefit the learners’ mental
health as they created a website which caters to mental health services. Relojo, Dela
Rosa, and Pilao want to provide resilience to mental health through blogging to address
the suicidal behavior among Filipino adolescents. Relojo, Dela Rosa, & Pilao also stated
that mental health bloggers should be responsible bloggers and should not glamorize
mental health issues. Boltivets, Acharya & Santos (2018) added that blogging is having a

blog available on the internet and maintaining or adding new entries to a blog, which can
serve pedagogical purposes well, via diverse and creative communication activities.
Advantages of Using Blog as Learning Tool
In terms of the advantages in using Blog as a learning tool, Featro and DiGregorio
(2016) said that blogs can greatly help the students in terms of engagement in classroom
discussion, support collaborative learning and can improve students' literacy skills.
Featro and DiGregorio also stated the benefits of blogging to the student learning when
used as an instructional tool. Using blogs can help learners to develop their writing skills
and blogging can help the learners enable their communication skills. It can enhance
students' vocabulary by exploring those unfamiliar and familiar words that can be seen on
different blogs. Blogging can also help the learners to go beyond their level of
proficiency and allows them to create a tool that bridged the gap between their
communication process.
Featro and DiGregorio also added that blog-based learning tools or Learning
blogs can promote an interactive discussion and can help students to complete the
learning objectives while teachers are the one who evaluate all the students' work and can
be helpful for future learning instructions.
As an educational tool, blogs are one of the user-friendly technological means
that may be integrated in a multi-aspect manner to include all learners in the process of
learning. DiGregorio stated that there are many ways of using blogs in teaching and
learning such as existing blogs that can provide information and insights. It can also be

useful in terms of classroom management, collaborations, discussions, and
comprehensive exercises for the students. Featro also added that using blogs is part of
transformative learning which they really need to integrate the use of technology.
Furthermore, their study shows the use of blogging as an educational tool is not a new
phenomenon except for Malaysia which struggles on considering blogs as a learning
tool.
Santos (2018) also stated that blogging is characterized by an individual in
exploring new ideas based on their personal interest by frequently posting on social
media. Based on their study, blogs can provide a variety of information such as
instructional activities that include the reflective journal which can help the learners to
emerge in its community.
Pedagogical Implication of Blogging
When it comes to the pedagogical implication of Blogging, Ramsay (2014)
believe that blogging can help students to enhance their learning in different learning
styles. It can help students to develop their knowledge and write a blog which can gain
respect and credit from their tutors and peers, as well as it will be helpful in terms of
feedback and improvement. Lee and Bonk (2016) also stated those feedback or
comments between two different opinions can help the students to improve their
interaction and intellectual exchange between their peers
In the study of Park, Heo & Lee (2011) explains that among Korean adult
learners, blogging can be considered as a meaningful learning environment. It is

practical, unlimited and accessible which cannot be found in traditional forms of
teaching. According to the result of this study on the bloggers perception, this platform is
very useful in terms of the four points of view on the learning cycle (Learning as an
acquisition process, reflection process, practice-based community process, and co-
emergent process).
Alsamadami (2017) added that in Taiwan, the language learning using blogs was
accepted by the students as their educational tool in improving their language skills, such
as writing, reading, thinking, vocabulary, socializing and self-expression. Alsamadami
(2017) also added that blogs have a positive impact on teaching writing skills in terms of
willingness of the learners in expressing their ideas through writing via social media.
Alsamadami (2017) also stated the accessibility of the information can give language
learners a major opportunity in developing their writing skills.
Alsamadami (2017) also stated that blogging has positively affected the writing
skills of the learners in terms of the way they organize their thoughts or the style of
writing. Using blogs can help to enhance the style of writing and the quantity of words.
As time goes by, if the learners keep on practicing using blogs it can definitely transform
the writings of the students if they acknowledge their audience and have an interaction in
the form of comments, criticism or support. Blogging became the space where the
learners could improve their writing where the teachers were the primary audience. On
the other hand, readers and bloggers were also the arbiters in terms of technicality of
blogs such as the content, idea, mechanics and so on. This can help them to improve their
works through the use of blogging by becoming more ambitious and making plans on

improving their literacy skills and being able to adopt the corrections of one another. This
can result in more engaging work in terms of content, style, mechanics, word choice and
so on.
Synthesis
The studies above have pointed out the facilitative effects of blogging on the
development of students’ writing skills. This study is an attempt to contribute to a dearth
of existing knowledge in the field. However, different from the studies cited above that
commonly used qualitative data, the current study used both quantitative and qualitative
data obtained from students’ essays, reflections and interviews to fill in the research gap
in ascertaining the effects of blogging on students’ writing performance. The study also
described the students’ perceived improvements on their writing skills based on their
reflections and interview transcripts.
With the related studies and literature stated above, it can be presumed that blogs
can significantly help the students in terms of engagement in classroom discussion,
support collaborative learning and can improve students' literacy skills. The integration of
blog in academic writing indicates that blogging indeed has an advantage, which can help
learners to develop their writing skills and blogging can help the learners enable their
communication skills as emphasized by Featro and DiGregorio (2016). Even the
pedagogical practices mentioned a positive impact where teachers support blogging as a
learning tool for the students on enhancing their academic writing. Majority of the studies
say that language learning using blogs is accepted by the students as an educational tool
in improving their language skills, such as writing, reading, thinking, vocabulary,

socializing and self-expression. They also added that blogs have a positive impact on
teaching writing skills in terms of willingness of the learners in expressing their ideas
through writing via social media. And with this, the researchers can strengthen their
claim that Blogging as a writing assessment can indeed contribute more in developing the
writing skills of the students.
CHAPTER 3
Methodology
This chapter presents and discusses the research design, research locale, the
respondents of the study, sampling method, data gathering procedure, and ethical
considerations.
Research Design
The design of the study is Qualitative design specifically the basic of generic
qualitative study. According to Merriam (1998), Qualitative methods generally fall into
five types: basic or generic qualitative study, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded
theory, and case study. Merriam states that for qualitative research study, selecting a

study design, which correlates with the question is imperative. Several types of
qualitative research designs are used as fundamental frameworks to conduct studies.
Lived experiences for individuals could result into a phenomenon (Merriam, 2009) with
phenomenologists focusing on common experiences of participants through the collection
of data and individual experiences of a phenomenon to a universal description that
incorporates all individuals' experiences (Creswell, 2006). Another form commonly used
in qualitative research and which was used in this study is case study which is an in-depth
study of a group, community, person, or event (McLeod, 2008).
Sample and Sampling Techniques
The respondents were randomly taken. This study accommodated 20 teachers of

Grade 11 and 12 as respondents, who are willing to provide responses via online data
gathering.
Procedure
The study observed a systematic approach of analysis, by following four
different phases:
Phase I: Construct and Validate the Interview Questionnaire.
Phase II: Interview the English Teachers.
Phase III: Transcribe the recorded interview.
Phase IV. Analyze the data.

Phase I.
The researcher started by constructing an interview questionnaire to get the story
behind the teachers’ existing practices in terms of integrating “blogging” as a writing
assessment, and how these practices affect the students’ writing performances. The
research questions were then validated by English teachers who are teaching writing.
Phase II.
Bernard (2002) states that data gathering plays a vital role in any research for the
reason that the data will contribute to a better understanding of the study. The researcher
provided Personal Data Sheet to obtain the basic information of the respondents
particularly their name, age, gender and years of service and experience. The researcher
utilized survey questionnaires which were given through Google forms. The
questionnaire solicited information about teachers approach and strategies in giving
academic blog as one of their writing assessment tools.
Phase III.
The notes recorded from the interview questionnaires were then transcribed to
ensure preservation of data for further and better analysis (Merriam, 2009). Through
note-taking the researcher was able to demonstrate a “stronger conceptual understanding
and were more successful in applying and integrating the material compared to those
who took notes with their laptops” (Roller, 2017). The recorded notes were encoded

verbatim, which is a common data management strategy in research and is widely
considered to be integral to the analysis and interpretation of verbal data (Halcomb,
2006).
Phase IV.
Data analysis is central to credible qualitative research. In qualitative research, it
is often described as the research instrument insofar as the researcher’s ability to
understand, describe and interpret experiences and perceptions (Maguire and Delahunt
(2017). In analyzing the responses of the participants, the researcher employed a
thematic analysis, which is a process of identifying patterns or themes within qualitative
data (Braun & Clarke (2006). Braun & Clarke gives the following steps, which may not
be necessarily linear. The researcher tend to move forward and back between them,
perhaps for several times, particularly in dealing with a complex data.
Step 1. Become familiar with the data. The researcher re-read the transcript and
extracted the important concepts needed in the study.
Step 2. General initial codes. The researcher had initial ideas about codes when
Step 1 was finished. The researcher worked through each transcript coding every
segment of text that seemed to be relevant to or specifically address the research
questions. Then the codes were compared and modified them before moving on
to the rest of the transcript. The researcher did this by hand or manually, working
through hardcopies of the transcripts with pens and highlighters.

Step 3. Search for themes. This is where the researcher identify patterns that
captures something significant or interesting about the research question. Since
the study only gathered small data from small number of participants, there was
considerable overlap between the coding stage and this stage of identifying
preliminary themes. In this case, the researcher examined the codes and some of
them clearly fitted together into a theme.
Step 4. Review themes. The researcher modified and developed preliminary
themes that were identified in Step 3. Since all data make sense, the researcher
gathered together all the data that is relevant to each theme. This was done
through a ‘cut and paste’ function in the Microsoft Word processing.
Step 5: Define themes. This is the final refinement of the themes and the aim is to
“identify the ‘essence” of what each theme is about” (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Step 6: Write-up. This is the output of the research, which is explained further in
the last chapters of the paper.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
Through a consent form, the researchers informed the participant on what will be
discussed about the research. All the information gathered will be solely used for the
research study only, and all the information given by the participants will be handled with
confidentiality.

CHAPTER 4
Data Analysis and Research Findings
This presents the result of the conducted survey and the analysis of data with the
corresponding interpretation illustrated through the tables.
Research Question 1: What are the existing practices of the teachers in terms of
integrating “blogging” as a writing assessment?

The findings are presented in the form of themes. As the participants shared the
existing practices in integrating blogging as a writing assessment in their English classes,
they also need to grapple with the challenges coming within their own external
environment.
Table 1.
Existing Practices of the Teachers in terms of integrating “Blogging” as a writing

assessment
Memo Coded Data Theme
A1  I find essay writing effective check students’ knowledge on mechanics

because it targets both vocab (grammar, vocabulary, punctuation,
and grammar of the students capitalization, spelling, etc.)
A2  Teachers can check how students
use words correctly
 To help students become aware
A3 and selective in using correct
words
 To improve their vocabulary and
grammar
A4
A5  To train students how to organize check the content or knowledge about the
ideas that fits for the content of topic
their blogs.
A6  Blogging develops how ask students to write with no specific and
innovative students are. clear objective
A7  To let students express different let students express their emotion or ideas
perspectives. freely
A8  To make students learn to express
themselves in a creative way
A9  It helps the students to be check if students can write original output
independent and creative in many
ways especially in writing
A10  I can say blogging is somehow
reliable since i can easily tell if
the output is copied or it is
original composition
A11  To introduce new way of learning evaluate if students have learned after the

A12  Let your students unleash their course
creativity in using blogs
A13  To effectively measuring monitor if the students are learning during
students’ understanding of the the course
lesson or the topic as a non-
objective type of assessment.
 I use it as a form of formative
A14 assessment I can say that the
students have improvements in
their writing ability
A15  It is a good form of formative
assessment to help students
develop their skills in writing.
A16  I use blogging as an assessment check if the students observe online safety
tool on how students share
information in the social media.
A17  First enemy is plagiarism so I check how students follow proper citation to
give blogging to develop avoid plagiarism
students’ originality
A18  It is a reliable task to check
problems in plagiarism
A19  My objective is to assess
students’ creation of blog that’s
free from plagiarism
A20  To check students’ honesty
Theme 1: To check students’ knowledge on mechanics
The result shows that majority of the teachers’ existing practices in integrating
blogging as a writing assessment is to check students’ knowledge on mechanics (20%).
These are the grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and others.
Most of the teachers say that they find essay writing effective because it targets both
vocab and grammar of the students; they can check how students use words correctly; it
can help students become aware and selective in using correct words; and to improve
their vocabulary and grammar.
Theme 2: To Check how students follow proper citation to avoid plagiarism

With equal number of responses, most of the teachers’ existing practices in
integrating blogging are checking how students follow proper citation to avoid plagiarism
(20%). Teachers say that First enemy is plagiarism so I give blogging to develop
students’ originality; it is a reliable task to check problems in plagiarism; my objective is
to assess students’ creation of blog that’s free from plagiarism; and to check students’
honesty.
Theme 3: To monitor if the students are learning during the course
Other teachers’ purpose of integrating blogging is to monitor if the students are
learning during the course (15%). They say they integrate blogging to effectively
measure students’ understanding of the lesson or the topic as a non-objective type of
assessment; I use it as a form of formative assessment; I can say that the students have
improvements in their writing ability; and It is a good form of formative assessment to
help students develop their skills in writing.
Theme 4: To let students express their emotion or ideas freely
Theme 5: To check if students can write original output
Theme 6: To evaluate if students have learned after the course
Then there are teachers, who integrate blogging to let students express their
emotion or ideas freely (10%), to check if students can write original output (10%),
evaluate if students have learned after the course (10%).
Theme 7: To check the content or knowledge about the topic
Theme 8: To ask students to write with no specific and clear objective

Theme 9: To check if the students observe online safety
The others integrate blogging to train students how to organize ideas that fits for
the content of their blogs (5%); and others say that Blogging develops how innovative
students are (5%); and other say I use blogging as an assessment tool on how students
share information in the social media (5%).
Research Question No. 2: How do these practices affect the students’ writing
performances?
Table 2.
How do these existing practices affect the students writing performances?
Mem Coded Data Theme

o
B1  Makes them more confident knowing that It develops the students’:
their blog will be read not just by their confidence, creativity and
B2 teacher and classmates innovativeness
 Somehow help them to write with
B3 confidence

 They become innovative and creative
B4  They are more aware on the use of words Vocabulary skills
B5  They become accurate in using words and
conscious on what to write
B6  they become more lenient in using
different word phrases
B7  more aggressive in learning new words
since vocabulary is also part of the rubric
B8  It makes them more creative and Independence
independent
B9  they learn how to be independent and
conscious as well
B10  They are sensible enough to learn what Editing skills
are their mistakes and correct it on their
own
B11  They are concerned in the way they are Organization
writing
B12  they become conscious and aware of the
grammar lapses
B13  more organized and able to create more
firm sentences
B14  develops the learners’ honesty in writing Honesty
their own work specially that the
information in the internet is easily
available
B15  In today's world of Industrial Revolution Technological skills
4.0 this is an exemplification of their 21st
century learner's technological skills.
B16  Students are encouraged to publish their
work online
B17  It helps us to know how the students Thinking skills

convey their ideas in writing
B18  it helps them to be more creative and
productive
B19  It develops students’ originality of the Originality, writing citation
content properly, avoiding plagiarism
B20  Becomes aware of the possibility of
plagiarism
However, Table 2 shows how the existing blogging practices affect the students’
writing performances. It can be gleaned that the existing blogging practices mostly

develop significant writing skills of the students, which further supports the evaluation
process of the teachers.
Theme 1: It Develops students Vocabulary skills
Based on the result given by the teachers, it shows that majority of the students
develop their vocabulary skills through blogging (20%). The teachers say that students
are more aware on the use of words; they become accurate in using words and conscious
on what to write; they become more lenient in using different word phrases; and more
aggressive in learning new words since vocabulary is also part of the rubric.
Theme 2: Blogging can develop students' confidence, creativity, and innovativeness
Other teachers also believe that blogging can develop students' confidence,
creativity, and innovativeness (15%). Teachers believe that blogging makes them more
confident knowing that their blog will be read not just by their teacher and classmates; it
somehow helps them to write with confidence; and they become innovative and creative.
Theme 3: Students learn how to organize their thoughts into sentences
With the same percentage (15%), other teachers think that through blogging,
students are able to organize the load of information in their minds into coherent
sentences. Teachers say that students are concerned in the way they are writing; they
become conscious and aware of the grammar lapses; and students become more
organized and able to create more firm sentences.

Theme 4: Blogging builds students’ Independence
Theme 5: Blogging builds students’ skills in Technology
Theme 6: Blogging builds students’ Thinking Skills
Theme 7: Blogging develop students’ sense of Originality, writing citation properly,

avoiding plagiarism
Theme 4, 5, 6, and 7 has the same percentage (10%), where teachers believe that
blogging builds students’ Independence, teachers say that Blogging makes them more
creative and independent; and they learn how to be independent and conscious as well.
Other teachers can also observe Students are encouraged to publish their work online;
because in today's world of Industrial Revolution 4.0, this is an exemplification of their
21st century learner's technological skills. Through blogging, other teachers can also
notice that students become aware of the possibility of plagiarism; it develops students’
originality of the content; and it helps them to be more creative and productive. Also, it
helps the teachers to know how the students convey their ideas in writing.
Theme 9: Blogging develops students’ Editing Skills
Theme 10: Blogging values Honesty
With the same percentage (5%), other teachers believe that blogging
makes students sensible enough to learn what are their mistakes and correct it on their
own, which develops their editing skills; and it can be noted that blogging also develop
students’ honestly which is a significant value that students should observe every time
they write online, the teacher believes that blogging develops the learners’ honesty in
writing their own work specially that the information in the internet is easily available.

Chapter V
CONCLUSION, INTERPRETATION, DISCUSSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter summarizes the findings of the data gathered by the researchers, the
researchers also produced the conclusions and recommendations based on the analysis of
the data they gathered.
Summary

SOP 1: What are the existing practices of the teacher in terms of integrating “Blogging”
as a writing assessment?
The findings show that majority of the teachers integrate “Blogging” as a
writing assessment in class to check students’ knowledge on mechanics
(grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.) (20%); and
check how students follow proper citation to avoid plagiarism (20%). Meanwhile,
other teachers use blogging to evaluate if students have learned after the course
(15%). With other teachers, they aim that students express their emotion or ideas
freely; to check if students can write original output; and to evaluate if students
have learned after the course; which are all 10% respectively. Also, other teachers
use blogging to check the content or knowledge about the topic; to ask students to
write with no specific and clear objective; to check if the students observe online
safety; which are all 5% respectively.
SOP 2: How do these practices affect the students’ writing performances?

Based on the result, it shows that the existing practices of most teachers affect the writing
performances of the students. Majority of the teachers believe that blogging develops the
students’ skills in Vocabulary (20%). Others believe that blogging develops the students’
confidence, creativity and innovativeness; and students learn how to organize their
thoughts into sentences; which are 15% respectively. With the same percentage of 10%,
blogging can build students’ Independence; Thinking Skills; can build students’ skills in
Technology; and can develop students’ sense of Originality, writing citation properly,

and avoiding plagiarism. However, other teachers notice that blogging also develops
students’ Editing Skills; and values Honesty; which are all 5% respectively.
SOP 3: What specific guidelines can be proposed to aid the teachers in using blogging
as a writing assessment?
Taking the result of the findings into consideration, there is a need to propose a
guideline to lead the teachers in practicing blogging that will provide the boundary
between classroom writing and blogging. In any institutions or establishments,
guidelines are very essential. As stated by Connor (2009), guidelines are imperative for
any online institution or community. With guidelines, students will know what is
expected of them and what types of practices are accepted or not within the community.
On the part of the teacher, this guideline will serve as a reference tool that they can
always refer to whenever they are unsure about the use of blogging as a writing
assessment tool (Hill, 2013). This Guideline is presented in the Recommendation part of
the study.
CONCLUSION
Based from the result of the findings, it can be concluded that most teachers
integrate a blogging activity to practice the convention of evaluating the basic rules of
the written language or the mechanics like grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling,
and others. Doing this measures a student's knowledge of the elements of writing

teachers have taught them (Burke, 2009). This agrees with Allen and Huon (2003), who
argue that effective writing requires a sound understanding of the mechanics of good
writing. Online or not, the mechanics of writing is indeed the most important, because it
leads to convey a clear message for the readers to achieve successful communication
(MacMillan, 2017).
In other cases, the teacher respondents just wanted to evaluate students’
knowledge about the given topic. These topics can be the lesson topic of the teacher or
the assigned topic to students, which are usually assessed through essay questions. Essay
questions are common when teachers give a question and students create their own
response rather than just selecting from given options (Stalnaker, 1951). Giving an essay
question through blogging is actually a good writing assessment because it does not only
develop the mechanics of writing, but also other important skills like thinking skills,
organization skills, originality, honesty, and other skills identified by the teacher
respondents. Through essay questions that can be done through blogging, the teachers
require students to demonstrate their reasoning and thinking skills, which gives teachers
the opportunity to detect problems students may have with their reasoning processes.
When educators detect problems in students’ thinking, they can help them overcome
those problems (Reiner, 2002).
It shows that most of the teacher respondents have been using blogs in their
English classes. Blogs can really be great educational tools for all teachers, regardless of
subject they are teaching, because blogs give students complete freedom to publish

content on the web. However, the findings also show that most teachers do not know
how to effectively implement blogging into their classrooms, as most of them use
blogging without specific or clear objective. This kind of practice may only as good as
wadded up balls of paper in the trash as argued by Pappas (2013). These existing
practices of the teachers seem to efficiently develop the writing skills of the students as
how most teachers commonly practice in their writing classes.
However, most of the teachers do not follow specific guidelines appropriate to the
practice of evaluating “blogging”, which involves online considerations and code of
ethics especially the use of social media. In the higher education at St. Dominic College
of Asia, students cannot just easily visit any websites, which includes blog sites. Most
sites are blocked, and teachers still need to send a request to the ICT office to allow
students to access a particular website. With this policy, it can also explain why there is
no existing guidelines for the students and teachers to regulate the use of websites, which
includes blog sites.
Since the researchers assume that most teachers have no specific guidelines in
using blog as a writing assessment method, the researchers therefore, formulate a
guideline that will serve as a reference for the teachers in using blog to effectively
evaluate the writing skills of the students. The researchers believe that this Guideline is
an essential assessment tool that all teachers should have, especially during the time of
pandemic, when most teachers ask students to write, research, and publish their work
online. As stated by Brown (1989), guidelines as part of the continuous evaluation
implies that there should always be preparation for revision of all the elements in writing.

He points out the importance of guidelines and states that “without guidelines, there is no
cohesion among the elements and if left in isolation, any of them may become pointless”.
RECOMMENDATION
Therefore, based on the result of the findings and conclusions presented, the
following guideline is recommended:
Guideline on using Blog as a Writing Assessment

Pre-Writing
1. Before even starting an outline of a blogging lesson, the teacher can check with his or
her school for a written guideline. From here, the teacher can develop clear goals,
guidelines, and expectations for him/her and the students. This guideline is usually
found in the Student/School handbook. If the guideline is not available, this guideline
can be used as a reference.
2. The teacher may start off by writing his or her own blog post. It would be more
realistic and effective to teach blogging if the teacher has a blogging experience to
share. Otherwise, the teacher can start with a classroom blog, focusing on one topic,
where students can contribute posts under teacher’s supervision.
3. The teacher may share actual blogs or written articles posted in different blog sites.
This may entice or give a certain reason for students to write their own blogs. The
teacher may have this as a spring board discussion to prepare the mindset of the
students in writing.
4. The teacher will establish the difference between classroom writing and blogging.
Observing the elements of writing in both writing platforms can be the same, but
since the content will be published online, there are things that need to be considered,
just like the Code of Ethics that follows.
5. What makes blogging unique with classroom writing is that Blogging requires
knowledge about the Code of Ethics that students need to be reminded. The teacher
will discuss the Student Code of Ethics Using Blog adapted from the School Board
Policy 524: Electronic Technologies Acceptable Use Policy (2012).

Student Code of Ethics Using
Blog
1. Students accessing or using blogs, or other social media sites are required to
keep personal information out of their postings. Students will not post or give
out photographs of themselves without signed parental permission. Students
will not post their family name, password, user name, email address, home
address, school name, city, country or other information that could help
someone locate or contact them in person.
2. Students using blogs will treat this tool as a classroom space. Speech that is
inappropriate for class is also inappropriate on blogs. Students are expected to

treat others and their ideas online with respect.
3. Assignments on blogs are like any other assignment in school. Students, in the
course of completing the assignment, are expected to abide by policies and
procedures in the Student/Parent Handbook, including those policies regarding
Plagiarism and acceptable use of technology.
4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and
foremost a tool for learning.
5. Students shall not use the Internet to harass, discriminate or threaten the safety of
others. If students receive a comment on a blog or other tools used in school that
makes them feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, they must report this to a
teacher, and must not respond to the comment.
6. Students accessing blogs from school using school equipment, or accessing

school official websites shall not download or upload any software or
information without permission.
7. Students should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, interpreting and

expressing information for the benefit of others. Always identify sources and
test the accuracy of information from all sources.
8. Students will treat information, sources, subjects, colleagues and information

consumers as human beings deserving of respect. Gathering and expressing
information should never cause harm or threaten to be harmful to any person or
group of people.
9. Students are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and to each other.
Admit mistakes and correct them promptly. Expose unethical information and
practices of others.
10. Failure to follow this Code of Ethics may result in academic sanctions and/or
disciplinary action per the Parent/Student Handbook.

During Writing
1. The writing process in the classroom still applies. However, since the content will
be published online, the teacher will first ask the students to write a draft about the

given writing assignment.
2. In revising the draft, the teacher may teach the students about the proofreading
marks. These proofreading marks are marks that teachers write or draw during
editing, and students should know how to correct the proofreading marks. Once
revised, the student should wait for the teacher’s approval before posting. Only
approved output should be published as blogs.
3. The teacher may also suggest specific blogging platforms, where students can
publish their work. (e.g., WordPress, Edublog, Kidblog, Wix, Medium etc.)
4. Once the written articles are posted as blogs, the teachers should monitor the
content, and the comments. The teacher should be an active observer of the writing
progress of the students. The teacher may encourage students to contribute quality
comments while discouraging put downs and inappropriate language. The teacher
can also ask or assign older or well-performing students to manage and monitor
blogs, or mediate comment sections to help them navigate the world of blogging.
These students’ roles can be in rotation.
5. The teacher should always be ready to address issues that may arise once the blogs
are published. Particularly, with the issue of cyber bullying.
Post Writing
1. The teacher should read all the students’ blog content and evaluate according to
the established Rubric. The online blogging Rubric may not always be appropriate
to evaluate students’ blogging because most of them are generic or can be used for
evaluating writing in general. So it is better to create own Rubric specific to
academic blogging only. If a Rubric is not available, the Rubric below that the
researchers created can be used.
2. The teacher should use a plagiarism checker (e.g., Grammarly, Turnitin, etc.) to
check possible plagiarized content, and if the paper needs immediate editing.
Through plagiarism checker, the teacher can determine if the work is in the

standard percentage rate acceptable to them. The similarity enables them to know
if a particular article is copied or not (Business Case Studies, 2019).
3. Make sure to give feedback to the students’ writing process. Feedback is what
students can take, process, and use to become better writers. The more feedback a
student can get on a piece of writing, the more opportunities exist for editing,
revision, and future growth. The more often students write, the better students will
write (Urban, 2016).
Table 3 . Rubric for Evaluating Students’ Blogs
Criteria Unsatisfactory Limited Proficient Exemplary

0% 80% 90% 100%
Content and Postings show no Postings provide Postings provide Postings provide
Creativity evidence of insight, minimal insight, moderate insight, comprehensive
understanding or understanding and understanding and insight, and reflective
reflective thought reflective thought reflective thought thought about the
about the topic. about the topic. about the topic. topic by building a
focused argument
around a specific
issue.
Code of Ethics There are 5 and There are 3-4 ethical There is 1-2 ethical All the ethical
more ethical guidelines missed in guideline missed in guidelines stipulated
guidelines missed the Code of Ethics. the Code of Ethics. in the Code of Ethics
in the Code of were followed.
Ethics.
Citations, No images, media Some of the Most images, media All images, media
Multimedia or text created by images, media or or text created by and text used by
Elements others display text created by others display students display
appropriate others does not appropriate appropriate copyright
copyright display copyright permissions and
permissions and do appropriate permissions and accurate citations
not include copyright accurate, properly
accurate, properly permissions and formatted citations.
formatted citations. does not include
accurate, properly
formatted
citations.
Quality of Written responses Written responses Written responses Written responses are
Writing and contain numerous include some are mostly free of completely free of
Proofreading grammatical, grammatical, grammatical, grammatical, spelling
spelling or spelling or spelling or or punctuation
punctuation errors. punctuation errors punctuation errors. errors. The style of

The style of writing that distract the The style of writing writing facilitates
does not facilitate reader. generally facilitates communication.
effective communication.
communication.
Appropriateness There are 3 or more There are 1-2 The language used The language used is
words that are not words that are not is appropriate for most appropriate for
appropriate for the appropriate for the the target audience, the target audience,
target audience, the target audience, the appearance the appearance
appearance does the appearance reflects the theme of reflects the theme of
not reflect the somehow reflects the content like the the content like the
theme of the the theme of the lay out, color lay out, color palette,
content like the lay content like the lay palette, logo, etc. logo, etc.
out, color palette, out, color palette,
logo, etc. logo, etc.
Timeliness and Does not update Updates blog when Updates blog when Updates blog as
Tags blog within the reminded; posts are required; most posts often, all posts are
required time often missing a date are date-stamped date-stamped, and
frame. stamp. with the most categorized correctly.
current posting Many also have tags.
listed at the top. The most recent
posts are placed at
the top of the page.
For the future researchers, the researchers recommend using the proposed
guideline and make a study that can contribute on having more specific and reliable
guidelines or rubrics that will help teachers use blogs as an effective writing assessment
tool.
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Appendix A
Questionnaire
Dear Sir/Madam:
The undersigned is conducting a thesis with title Developing Guidelines in

Blogging as a Writing Assessment. This is to explore the existing practices of English
teachers in using blogging as one of their writing assessments, and propose a guideline

where teachers can make as a reference to regulate writing assessment specific to
blogging.
In this regard, may we ask for your participation by answering this questionnaire? We
assure you that the resources we will gather from you will be treated with confidentiality.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely yours,
Dimaano, Leihf Ahlean C.

Marticio,Jordan Austin O.
Remollo, Janelle T.
Rosillon, Marichu C.
Name (optional): ______________________________ Age: __________________
School: _____________________________________ Year: _________________

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Developing Guidelines in Blogging as a Writing Assessment

Presented to the Faculty of

School of Arts, Sciences, and Education

St. Dominic College of Asia

City of Bacoor, Cavite

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Secondary Education

Dimaano, Leihf Ahlean C.

Marticio, Jordan Austin O.

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

“Developing Guidelines in Blogging as a Writing Assessment prepared and submitted

by Leihf Ahlean C. Dimaano, Jordan Austin O. Marticio, Janelle T. Remollo, and

DR. TERESITA PEDRAJAS

PROF. EVALYN C. CAZEÑAS

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of

DR. PHILIP C. QUIZON

Dean, School of Arts, Sciences, and Education

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

As a student, it is a memorable achievement. We are indebtedly dedicated this

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Academic blogs give a decent environment for literacy cycles of different

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

This is to certify that Leihf Ahlean C. Dimaano, Jordan Austin O. Marticio,

completed thesis/capstone/feasibility study with the title: “Developing Guidelines in

Blogging as a Writing Assessment”.

DR. BELINDA A. LIWANAG

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

This is to certify that the study “Developing Guidelines in Blogging as a

Writing Assessment” written by Leihf Ahlean C. Dimaano, Jordan Austin O. Marticio,

ready for final binding.

Prof. Karen D. Mosende

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Approval Sheet ………………………………………………………………….. ii

Acknowledgment ………………………………………………………………... iii

Research Ethics Committee (REC) Certification …………………………….. vi

Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) Certification ……………… vii

Turnitin Certification …………………………………………………………... viii

Research Commercial Value Certification ……………………………………. ix

Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………….. xii

List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………. xiv

Chapter I: Introduction and Background of the Study ……………………….. 1

Background of the Study……………………………………………………... 3

Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………….. 4

Significance of the Study …………………………………………………….. 5

Theoretical / Conceptual Framework ………………………………………… 6

Scope and Limitation of the Study …………………………………………… 8

Definition of Terms …………………………………………………………… 9

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Chapter III: Methodology ……………………………………………………. 15

Research Design ……………………………………………………………. 15

Research Sample and Population …………………………………………….. 16

Sampling Design ……………………………………………………………... 16

Research Locale and the Respondents of the study…………………………... 17

Instruments for Data Gathering ………………………………………………. 17

Data Collection Procedures ….……………………………………………….. 17

Data Analysis Procedure ……………………………………………………... 18

Chapter IV: Presentation, Interpretation, Analysis of Data / Discussion of

Presentation, Interpretation, and Analysis of Data …………………………… 19

Chapter V: Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations …... 48

Summary of Findings ………………………………………………………… 48