Creating My Learning Log / AECT Standard 2.3: Computer-Based Technogies

Until this assignment, I had forgotten that I had created a Blogger account a few years ago. Back in the days before beginning the M.E.T. program, back when I still had the time for leisurely writing, I kept a blog about my experiences in moving from a large international school in London to a relatively small, private, independent school in Memphis, Tennessee. As you can imagine, the move from London to Tennessee took some transitioning time, and the blog allowed me to cast some of my frustrations in a humorous light. It also helped me to keep my sanity.

Blogger represents an interesting facet of what technologists call “Web 2.0,” a collection of web applications that allow for the user to actively and directly interface with other users in a rich, virtual environment. Shared blogs, wikis, websites like Weebly and Ning, as well as social media sites like Facebook, all represent what we can call Web 2.0 applications.

One of the great aspects about sites like Blogger is that it allows a user possessing no skills in website production and management to register and then to create a very professional-looking website in which to house their thoughts, writings, photos, etc. Registration is simple and once registered, the user is guided through a step-by-step process to create a lovely new, and user-customized web-space.

Because I already had a Blogger account, I simply created a new blog for this class. That is another great aspect about Blogger: it allows for the creation and maintenance of multiple blog accounts. Because I live and work abroad, I chose a “travel” theme for my blog. I then updated my “About Me” page, which was about four years out of date; so it was high time that I updated it anyways. Registration and set-up accomplished, I am now writing my first post. It is that easy; and the results look great.

Now that I am posting, commenting and reflecting upon my learning, the site and its content reflect well one of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology’s (AECT) standards, that being the use of computer-based technology. AECT is one of the pioneering institutions in terms of research relating to instructional technology and technology integration. AECT had published a set of standards to guide educational technology programs, and AECT Standard 2.3 deals using a computer to make or transmit instructional materials.

Blogger can be used by a teacher to create materials for his/her classes and then simply share the blog link with students; students could also simply choose to “follow” their teacher’s blog. The teacher can also easily have students create and maintain their own blog to house their completed assignments and to reflect upon their own learning. There are quite a few possibilities in terms of integrating a site like Blogger into a classroom setting and thus fulfilling AECT Standard 2.3.