How Different Is The learning experience between writing reflections using Weblogs and that of using a paper and pencil?

 

Learning, in today's context, is viewed differently. As in, due to the involvement of technology like weblogs, podcasts or online discussion forum, writing reflections have become wide-ranged. Writing reflections through weblogs is the 'discarding the pen' approach, in which learners are encouraged to add in diverse sources like images, videos, diagrams to express their thoughts and analysis on what they have learnt.

    Writing reflections on paper is the conventional way of recording reflections. Beneficial as it may seem, it is undeniable that reflection on paper could well suggest a more unilateral approach. Though reflection on paper would mean more privacy is given to the thoughts of the learner, particularly allowing the facilitator to view and provide relevant comments. This would also limit the insights the learner could gain. Reflection on paper too limits the amount of resources (video clips, images, diagrams, statistics, charts) that the learners could use. It may subject the student to only use words to express their analysis, thoughts or even substantiate themselves. It could put students who are not able to express themselves as well at a disadvantage.


    Learning experience is enhanced using weblogs due to the liberty given to students to write whatever they prefer online, to be able to share it with their peers or even the public to gain valuable opinions and comments from different perspectives. Writing reflections via weblogs increases the degree of interactivity between the blogger (learners) and the public. Their thoughts, analysis, thinking process could well be challenged by people from all walks of life.It too offers the opportunity for the learners to respond to the feedback, through this, it actually stimulates their thinking and provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and knowledge.


    Besides, learners could well keep track of their past reflections when reference their previous posts. In addition, blogs enables students and teachers to be actively participative in the knowledge sharing and discussion.Weblogs encourages learner autonomy as learners could constantly share and update their content knowledge and thereby too, gaining opinions from their peers online. An evaluation process would occur each time their views are being challenged. Writing reflections through weblogs allows students to learn to be technology savvy, to be able to substantiate their reflections with different tools online. Therein, not only providing a platform for them to share their learning process and knowledge gained, but also gaining technological skills.

This is a video on top 10 reasons why a weblog should be used in a classroom.

How Does Writing Reflections Help The Learner's Learning?

    Writing reflections is merely a process, akin to a process of 'taking notes'. What is of utmost importance the reflective process after the learning stage. Reflections helps to facilitate the learners' learning as it builds on the prior knowledge of students, question about the information they receive, aids them in understanding the key points of a particular topic and providing their own ideas, thoughts and analysis on it. All that would then bring about a pretty effective learning outcomes. Assuming without the reflective stage, learners may then be very accustomed to mere absorbing of content or information and passively taking it as it is delivered to them, without engaging their active minds to dwell upon it, or to truly comprehend what they have learnt. 

    

    
    Reflections aid the learners in drawing the link between recent learning experiences and earlier ones so as to promote a more complicated and complemental intellectual conception. That would  enable learners to look for commonalities and differences , looking beyond the elements laid out on the surface, this could well foster higher order thinking skills. Besides, by doing reflections, learners are able to engage in a self enquiry process to examine what they have learnt. Learners would be able to keep record of their learning process while doing reflection, to ensure that meaningful learning takes place.

    Through reflecting, learners are able to think back on a particular scenario, ponder over it and using the knowledge learnt to deal with situations in future. 

    All in all, writing reflections enables students to recall in detail the learning process and the feelings involved, following the evaluation and analysis of the knowledge or experiential learning outcomes which would give rise to a conclusion. In which, this well thought conclusion with fresh insights would help the learners to better internalize what they have learnt, into lifelong learning process