6th grade students' perceptions of blogs in an English class

Abstract

This study uses mixed-methods research to investigate how a grade 6 English class in Turkey responds to the use of blogs. It explored students' perceptions of and attitudes towards using a class, community, and student blogs, both overall as well as in relation to their application to learning, writing, and the social aspects of a utilizing blogging. Additionally, key features of blogs and the teacher’s insights into the challenges and strengths of blogging as a teaching strategy were examined. The participants were 38 grade six Turkish-national students at a private, Englishlanguage-medium school in Ankara, Turkey, who utilized blogging as part of their learning activities during a 10-week period in 2011. Prior to, during, and after the blogging activity, surveys, semi-structured focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Analysis of the data revealed that students had very favorable attitudes towards and perceptions of blogging as an educational practice. Students were nearly unanimous in their general favorability towards blogs, though community blogs were less favored.