The importance of web-logging as a teaching tool has been proven by various studies over the last few years. At the University of South Africa (Unisa) two weblog tools were used during different semesters to assist in teaching a first year programming language. A comparison was made from the learner, the facilitator and the technical viewpoint of these two weblog tools available at Unisa. This paper describes the practical considerations taken and decision-making processes followed when a choice between two web-logging tools was required. The aim is to consider factors that may affect the acceptance and use of weblog tools, and reasons why one works better than another in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) environment, especially for modules having student numbers in excess of three hundred.

1. Choosing a Blog tool for large
student numbers
Dalize van Heerden
University of South Africa

2. Unisa
Registered Students: 300 000
Permanent Academics: 1 300
Permanent Administrative: 2 500
Approximate numbers for 2011

3. ICT1512 – Introduction to
Interactive Programming
• First year computer programming module
• Compulsory in National Diploma Information
Technology
• Show they understand problem statements
provided by users in various industries
• Apply fundamental programming principles in
the development of a working program
• Use Web design tools to develop a solution
specific and to the satisfaction of the client
• Apply JavaScript for the development of a program

4. Students
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Students registered in 2010
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1-19 20-2930-3940-4950-5960-69
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African Coloured Indian White
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Home Language

5. Why use Blogs to teach
Programming?
• Project based teaching and learning
• Entails lot of implementation and doing
• Based on theory of Constructivism
• Reflection
• Thinking about what was learnt
• Based on theory of Cognitivism

6. Blog
• First week of study students are required to
create their own blog space
• Each week, after studying a specific piece of
work, students are required to reflect on
blog
• Reflection must be minimum of 100 words
• Facilitator monitors blog throughout
semester , comments on the students’ posts

7. Blog Posts 2010
• Semester 1 – 510 blogs created
– Created by 222 students
– Some created more than 1 post
• Semester 2 – 196 blogs created
– Each student could only create one blog
– Approximately 2 000 posts

8. Blog Tools
myUnisa – Sakai
• Semester 1
– Blogger
• Semester 2
– BlogWow

9. Blog Tools – Creating a Blog
Blogger BlogWow
• navigate through a number of fields,
tabs and screens
• confused as to what information
needed to add to which field
• change default settings
• continually create new blogs
• only one screen with two fields
• automatically assigns a name to blog
• default settings of tool set by
technical team
• 1 student 1 blog

10. Blog Tools - View
Blogger BlogWow
• title of students’ blog and text
entered into original blog
• navigate through 50 pages
• date on which the blog space was
created, no indication if comments
was added
• returns to the first page of the blog
• list student names, in alphabetical
order
• date and time the blog was last
updated
• returns to list
• RSS feed to follow blogs

11. Blog Tools – Editing/Delete
Blogger BlogWow
• do not allow any editing or deleting • allows for blog posts to be edited
and/or deleted

12. Feedback
Question Semester 1 Semester 2
Yes No Yes No
Did you find it easy or difficult to create
the blog?
14% 86% 10% 90%
Did you find it easy or difficult to update
your blog?
14% 86% 0% 100%
Did you find it easy or difficult to view your
own or other students’ blogs?
33% 67% 14% 86%
What would you change in the blog
program to make it easier to use?
• to edit the
content
• navigation
between
blogs
• sort by date
edited

13. Conclusion
• Choice of web-logging software not merely
choice of technical staff or academics but
strongly influenced by users
• Intuitive, easy to use tools are imperative

14. Thank you!
Dalize van Heerden
vheerme1@unisa.ac.za
+27 12 429 6069