Dr. Rhoda Gitonga of Kenyatta University- Featured Exert Mentor at 2016 ELICE

<11/9/2016> September 2016 ELICE 2016 Copyright 2016 <KENYATTA UNIVERSITY>l
Student’s Experiences of Using Blogs to Promote
Experiential Learning in a Blended Classroom: A
Case of Kenyatta University
Presenter Rhoda Gitonga (PhD)
Kenyatta University
Kenya
Acknowledgement:
Dr. George Onyango
Dr. Thaddeus Rugar

Motivation, problem area
• In using technology such as blogs in the
classroom, are there specific practices in the
student’s use of technology in learning that
can be linked with key concepts in learning
theories in order to illustrate the value of
technology in the classroom?

Research Objectives
• The aim of this paper was to explore the experiences of
students in using blogs in a blended classroom and
importantly to identify specific practices in the student’s
blogging and link them with four key concepts in the
experiential learning theory in order to illustrate the value of
blogging in the classroom.
• The paper sought to;
– Explore the students’ experiences in using blogs in the class room
– Identify specific practices in the students’ blogging and link them with key concepts in
the experiential learning theory in order to illustrate the value of blogging in the
classroom.

Research approach, Methodology
• Research Design:
– A case study design using an Institution of Higher Learning (IHL)
in Kenya was applied (Kenyatta University).
– Through purposive sampling, a class of 50 students at Kenyatta
University was engaged in the study.
• The participants were those students involved in the Unit
Applications of computers in recreation and sports
management (January-April 2016), a third year unit where
the instructor had joined an educational blog called Edublog
and invited the students to use the platform for virtual
collaboration and engagement in course work.

Edublog Design process

• Data Collection Instruments and Administration
– A web based self constructed questionnaire and comments from
students on Edublog were used to collect both qualitative and
quantitative data.
– The data collection tool applied for qualitative data was a web
questionnaire which had both open and closed ended questions. It
was created with the help of software provided by
https://docs.google.com/forms/. The questionnaire was linked to
Edublog home page and also made available online on each
students Email account to fill in data.
– The questionnaire aimed at finding out students’ experiences in
using Edublog in their classroom.

Major Outcomes/Results
• About 40 students responded to the questionnaire by the
end of the semester, providing a response rate of 80
percent
Summary of students experiences in using Edublog in the classroom

• There were some comments made by students made on
the open ended questions on the questionnaire that were
worthy highlighting. When students were asked on their
opinion about using blogs in the classroom, some felt that
immediate feedback was lacking from the lecturer.
• Some students also felt that the initial entry into the platform and
engagement was a bit difficult.

• Students also found out that they could have performed better if infrastructure
like provision of free Wi-Fi in the classroom was always available.
• Other students felt that the class could have been encouraged to embrace their
devices such as mobile phones, I –phones and i-pads to access the platform in
the comfort of their homes or hostels without necessarily going to the student’s
computer labs.

Key Concepts in Experiential Learning
Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle

• Specific Practices in the Students’ Blogging that were
Linked to Key Concepts in Experiential Learning
• Concrete Experience
• According to Kolbs (1984), learning is best conceived as a process.
• In this case, students were engaged at the beginning of the semester in
a process that was believed to enhance their learning by engaging
them in a blog throughout the semester.
• The process of blogging drew out students’ beliefs and ideas about
various assignments. These ideas were examined by other students
and integrated with new more refined ideas. In the blog, this would be
seen in students’ comments about other students’ ideas.

Concrete experience: A student’s examination of another’s comment and integrating
with new refined ideas
Task: Describe your recreation/sport interests and your career goals, and how you feel
technology already/will impact them.

• Reflective observation
• Students shared additional information on the blog, but one of the most impressive
aspects is where they challenged others to build upon what they reported
Reflective Observation: A student being challenged to build upon what she had reported
• Resolution of conflicts, responding to challenges and disagreements drives the
learning process. From this Figure, the student was being called upon to move back
and forth in her reporting by reflecting and acting further to develop her ideas. This
enhanced the learning process.

• Abstract conceptualization
• Task: Using your camera, capture a series of photos from a
local recreation or sports event. Edit as you wish and
organize into a slide show to emphasize a theme. Prepare
this slideshow to submit in class.

• Abstract conceptualization
• This is where in the learning process, students were able to reflect on their
ideas, assimilated then, and distilled them into abstract concepts from which
new implications for action could be drawn. An example from the blogging class
is where students were able to emphasize a theme about a topic given in class
by capturing a series of photos and either creating a PowerPoint presentation or
a YouTube video embedded on the blog to bring out a new experience.

• Active experimentation:
• According to Glogoff (2005), learning occurs when students
are guided towards identifying appropriate conceptual
processes and solving real life problems. In this blog, the
instructor challenged students to create a 9-slide
(minimum) presentation on any recreation or sports topic of
their own and show how technology would have been used
in a real life scenario. The expectation was that after
exploration, students were to synthesize what they had
learnt and describe those concepts using technology in a
real world scenario. Students even went ahead to create
videos on recreational activities they had within the
semester and how they would have used technology in
those recreational and sports activities.

Conclusion and outlook
• Borrowing from the cycle of interaction by Kolbs (1984) that brings
about experiential learning, blogging activities in this particular class
were linked to experiential theory

Conclusion and outlook
• When teaching online, there is need to remember:
– Students require immediate feedback
– Students require basic computer skills
– Infrastructure is key
– Moving towards Bring your own device rather than University
computers in the lab

Dr. Rhoda Gitonga of Kenyatta University- Featured Exert Mentor at 2016 ELICE

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