Blogs are one of the more well-known Web 2.0 applications. Because they are easy to use, various organizations such as governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations have used blogs as communication, marketing, and promotional tools. In addition, educators have utilized blogs as teaching and learning tools. Many researchers indicate that blogs are a great way to enhance students’ learning experience, especially to increase students’ writing and reading proficiency.
Even though I now know what blogs are and I have read several blogs, I only wrote my first blog entry in the fall of 2010 as one of my final projects for IT 644. I have integrated blogs as teaching and learning tools in Entrepreneurship in Apparel and Interior Design (FM438), which I taught in the spring of 2011. I created a blog titled “Exploring Entrepreneur” as a teaching medium. Also, I used my blog, Fashion Merchandising: Teaching and Learning Technologies, to help my students learn about how to create blogs and use other Web 2.0 technologies. In addition, my students were required to complete four different types of class assignments using the blog as a learning platform (reflection posts, constructive feedback comments, Etsy project posts, and readings posts). We also explored how to use blogs as a marketing tool for online Etsy stores.
Some examples of my students’ blogs include: The Thrift Star, FM-438, and Experiencing Etsy-Getting to know Etsy. During their final presentations, many students indicated that they now planned to use blogs as tools for communication, connection-building, marketing, and promotion. My students also indicated that writing blogs was helpful for their learning experience.
However, by using blogs as a teaching and learning tool, I have learned that many students are not tech savvy. I have yet to see any Internet natives among my students. While many students did not have any problem blogging, some students suffered from several technical issues (e.g., creating a new blog for every blog entry). Fortunately, I could guide the students and show them how to fix these problems, since Dr. Yuen had covered similar issues in class.
Blogs are very important in the fashion industry. The majority of designers and fashion companies use their own blogs as communication and marketing tools. I believe if more and more fashion merchandising instructors use blogs as teaching and learning tools, students may become more comfortable and gain benefits, not only from class content, but by becoming ready and able to transfer their blogging skills from class to their workspace.
Recently, teachers have proposed that blogs could be used as online portfolios (called “Blogfolios”) since blogs are good tools which allow students to document their learning experiences and reflections. Blog service web sites offer numerous features, themes, and gadgets which allow students to easily include evidence of their knowledge and skills in their blogs. Students can easily upload files, images, audio files, and videos into their blogs.
Since this is my third personal blogfolio, I have realized that blogfoilos can be used to reinforce and foster critical thinking and analytical skills in addition to promoting writing ability. Personally, I have learned a lot through the process of reflection while writing my blog entries. I now perceive that having a blogfolio offers many benefits for fashion merchandising students. My coworker and I have discussed the possibility of requiring that all FM students have a blogfolio or online portfolio as a final project for their seminar class.
I realize that a major difficulty of requiring students to have blogfolios is planning. We may need to prepare by requiring students to document their learning in every fashion merchandising class through blogs or similar Web 2.0 technologies. Then, when FM students take their seminar class, they will not only be familiar with the blogfolio concept, but they will also have already developed artifacts to include in their blogfolios.
Personally, I believe that blogfolios will gain in popularity in the fashion industry and related fields. Although an online portfolio provides evidence of students’ competencies, a blogfolio shows their learning experiences and transformation through their education, in addition to providing evidence of their abilities. Employers may want to see more than competencies, since knowledge and skills can be learned through training. It is necessary for students to show that they know how to learn, are capable of following instructions, can transfer skills, are team player, etc.
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