The Social Media Release and Learning With Weblogs

Well, apparently we all learn something new every day. Though I have never really questioned the logic behind this somewhat cliched aphorism, I rarely lend credence to the notion on the weekends. Having said that, I learned a lot from reading the two articles this week: "The Social Media Release as a Corporate Communications Tool for Bloggers" and "Learning With Weblogs: Enhancing Cognitive and Social Knowledge Construction." The both offer what to me were intriguing insights into how the ever-evolving communication technologies are actually changing the ways in which we deliver and receive information of all types.

As with a few others in this class, I must admit that I was completely oblivious to the existence of Social Media Releases (SMRs), but conversely was not surprised to learn that they did exist and that they are all but making the traditional news release obsolete. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of this "new communications tool...on bloggers" (p. 1). One of the research methods used to study this is the Technology Research Model (TAM). This concept was also new to me, so I was fascinated to learn more about it, and how it is being applied to this study. Basically, TAM is " a theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology" (p. 4). The authors note that there are two factors considered in whether users will adopt a technology: perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use. The results of this study suggest that "business communicators will need to give increased attention to their use of SMRs in the future" (p. 7). I was not really shocked by this revelation, since SMRs present their information in a much more compelling fashion by enabling the use of pictures, videos, links, and audio files. As technology continues to evolve, web-based communication forums such as blogs and sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter will continue to demonstrate their  prowess in arenas other than personal information and social networking.

I found the "Learning With Weblogs" article to be more meaningful to me than the other one because it dealt more with the educational side of blogs, and their efficacy in the classroom. The reading deals a lot with how individuals learn and how technology can benefit them in the learning process. Of particular interest to me was the use of the Constructivist theory of learning which "focuses on learning as a process of knowledge construction by an individual" (p. 3). In other words, students tend to learn better when they discover things on their own, as opposed to hearing about it from an instructor. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I personally find this to be very true. I've often said that the most important thing I've learned from my many years of school is how to teach myself. This is not to say that none of my teachers have taught my anything, but rather that they have all planted seeds with which I could further my knowledge. Ultimately it is always up to me what I end up learning. It would seem, then, that the use of blogging as part of one's academic study is a vital part of that learning process, only to become more critical as time goes on.

I've always considered myself an intelligent person, but constantly lament my lukewarm academic performance through high school, and even into college. But I've stuck with it, either because I'm a glutton for punishment, or because of a constant drive to learn more and better myself through education (and for the most part, through self-education). As stated in my last blog post, I was a little wary of blogging's academic efficacy at first, but in less than a week's time, my view has spun 180 degrees now that I have seen the effects of teaching oneself, collaborating with others, and receiving important information from the instructor, all through the blogosphere. I am highly confident, too, that all educational pursuits will benefit greatly from this type of learning tool.

Here is an interesting video about blogs in education if you have ten minutes to spare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7XiCg_wpzE