Image courtesy of gettyimages.com

 

https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/katherine205/

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY

 

For my subject “Literature and other Resources for Children and Young Adults”, one of our assessment pieces was to create a reading guide that, as a resource, was available online. I made the decision to create a blog dedicated to the reading guide. As I have never used this technology before, I felt it was a beneficial activity to explore how the technology works, and how children and young adults relate and engage with blogs in their everyday reading and education. As Ray (2006) notes: “blogs used for education, dubbed edublogs, are rapidly emerging” and “when used as an instructional resource … help teachers, parents and students overcome … hurdles” (p 176). These edublogs can be places where teachers can post subject tips, online resources, reading guides, and even some educational games and videos to help reinforce subject content (Ray, 2006). The creation of a blog that appeals to young adults has the advantage of informing and engaging a wider audience than offering a print-out of materials to local library patrons.

 

WHAT DID I LEARN?

 

In creating this reading guide blog I learned how beneficial blogs are for young adults in gathering information about what to read. I also gained significant practical experience in blog creation and content, which I was lacking previously. Blogs can be seen as a useful resource which help promote reading and writing development, as well as delivering interaction and engagement among their creators and users (Neira-Pineiro, 2014). Additionally, I have developed my knowledge and ability to create an engaging blog that appeals to my target audience.

 

HOW WAS THE ACTIVITY RELEVANT?

 

This generation of young adults typically look to the internet first for their information more than any generation before them. By having a blog giving recommendations on what to read we are able to expand their knowledge and promote literacy. As noted by Neira-Pineiro (2014), “the creation of a literature blog … offers multiple benefits, as it develops literacy, communicative and digital skills” (p 555). And by offering visitors the option of being able to comment and exchange opinions on the blog contents, in this case a reading guide, the blog contributes to the understanding and engagement of site visitors. 

 

WHAT WERE THE GAPS IN MY KNOWLEDGE?

 

Not having created a blog before, it was a learning experience in setting it up, what looks visually appealing not only to me, but my audience. Also the content that goes on it needs to be relevant and informative, as I am helping to guide my audience to their literacy needs, and therefore needs not to manipulate or provide bias. Because I was not certain how to initially create and shape a blog, I found that looking into the literacy and educational benefits of creating blogs gave me the confidence to use this medium as a way of communicating to an audience on a larger scale. 

 

References

Gettyimages (nd). [image]. https://www.gettyimages.com.au/photos/inkwell-and-computer?excludenudity=true&family=creative&page=1&phrase=Inkwell%20and%20computer&sort=best

Neira-Pineiro, M. (2014). Reading and writing about literature on the internet. Two innovative experiences with blogs in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 52(5), 546-557. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2014.900452

Ray, J. (2006). Welcome to the BLOGOSPHERE: The educational use of blogs (aka edublogs). Kappa Delta Pi Record, 45(4), 175-177.