Blog review - Ian's AS Business Studies Blog

Annmarie and I looked at a number of different blogs before deciding to review this one. We chose it because it is a great example of how teachers can use social media and technology to engage with students. There is extensive evidence of a wide range of resources being used to support classroom delivery which can be accessed outside the normal timetable.

Purpose

The blog under review is “Ian’s AS Business Studies Blog” (available at: http://rutcasbus.blogspot.co.uk/ ), and has been created by a teacher of AS Level Business Studies for the specific purpose of relaying information to students in support of the curriculum,individual lessons, and homework assignments. Initial investigations show that this purpose is satisfied successfully, with regular and frequent posts referring to subjects recently discussed in the classroom in relation to homework.

Layout

Common elements such as the course content, popular posts, share buttons, and subscription options are present and easily located (See Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

The blog author has obviously thought about the different learning styles of his students, and utilises a variety of methods to transmit information (See Fig. 2). Posts are well written, with text written in a clear font and suitable spacing. Pictures are used regularly to support written points, as well as tables and video clips. There are visual and written hyperlinks throughout the blog, linking to other websites which the author expects the students to investigate, encouraging them to undertake independent study and research. This use of hyperlinks minimises the potential for disruption of the flow of the blog, and improves readability.

Fig. 2

Content

The content is relevant to the intended audience and pitched at a suitable level. There is not a great deal of original content written by the author, but this is to be expected in blog such as this, where the main purpose is to relay curriculum and homework information to students. What the blog does very well is to gather resources relevant to the course into one place and provide the students with access links, so that they can undertake independent research and study, and draw their own conclusions from the information presented.

Activity

Activity appears to be rather minimal, with only a few responses to many of the posts. This could be explained by the fact that the blog is primarily a resource for students, and interaction with the teacher is done during lessons, as opposed to on the blog. 

Believability

The author of this blog has a good understanding, not only of his subject, but of his students and their needs. He has used a range of methods to provide information, and has clearly laid out his expectations of what he would like the students to do with it.

Conclusion

This blog is an excellent example of a teacher using social media to support his classroom delivery, and shows how information can be presented in a number of ways to suit different learning styles.This type of blog could be used for a wide range of subjects to engage the students and encourage them to develop independent study and research skills.