Use Of Blogs Research Articles

Assessing the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge of English Language Teachers in Cape Coast, Ghana

The study assessed the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of public Junior High School English Language teachers in Cape Coast. Triangulation design in the form of mixed methods was used which involved 150 English Language teachers. The simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample of one hundred and fifty (150) out of two hundred and forty (240). A questionnaire and a semi-structured interview guide were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data respectively, and they form the basis for the research. Frequency, means, and standard deviation were used in analysing the quantitative data while the qualitative data were analyzed thematically in line with the research questions. The confidence to teach any aspect of the English Language, and adequate knowledge about the content of the English Language Curriculum of the Junior High School are vital indications that a teacher has command of the content knowledge. Also, the major indicators for the effective application of pedagogical knowledge of the English Language teacher include the ability to manage the classroom effectively, to connect different concepts to enhance students’ understanding, to install software programmes for teaching to use popular application software and to use of blogs, Facebook, Twitter to teach students are indications of the teachers’ technological knowledge.

Blog as a Pedagogical Strategy to Enhance Learning About Household Solid Waste

Background: In contemporary times, challenges in the field of education are growing, especially regarding the integration of different methods of student engagement and training. Technology emerges with possibilities for innovative strategies aimed at enhancing learning and contributing to addressing environmental issues effectively. Teachers, in their pedagogical practices, should take into account the socio-environmental reality and integrate Environmental Education for participatory interventions in environmental issues. The use of blogs in Science education enables a more engaging interaction with the content, resulting in a more meaningful and contextualised learning experience. Objectives: To develop a blog to address household solid waste management and evaluate it as a technological tool for enhancing understanding of household solid waste management. Design: The methodology employed in this research was a qualitative approach. Setting and Participants: Thirty-five students from two seventh-grade classes at São Francisco Municipal Elementary School in the municipality of Tupandi/RS. Data collection and analysis: Two questionnaires were administered to the students, one pre-activity and another post-activity, and a blog was developed in each class. The quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistical analysis, while the qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. Results: Most students had no prior experience with blogging, and their limited knowledge of the concept was associated with using the media tool as a page for posting personal life details. During the blog development, students did not encounter difficulties handling the platform's icons. The evaluation characterised the blog as a positive learning tool regarding household solid waste management, recognised by the students as meaningful in classroom practices. Conclusions: The development of blogs served as a technological and pedagogical strategy that facilitated learning about household solid waste management, connecting with the local reality and fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility among the students, aligning with one of the purposes of Environmental Education. Furthermore, the integration of the blog in Science education enabled the establishment of a collaborative and dynamic network for knowledge exchange, as well as the cultivation of skills related to digital literacy.

Developing autonomy in English writing skills: a study on EFL learners’ selection criteria of open access and online self-correction tools

This study aims to investigate, on the one hand, the use of blogs as a didactic resource for the acquisition of English written production skills and, on the other hand, the learners’ experiences and perceptions towards the use of open access and online self-correction tools that have been embedded as a repository of grammar checkers in an institutional blog. In order to shed light on these two issues, we have designed an online blog that hosts 11 open access and online tools that contribute to the learners’ self-awareness of the errors produced in English written texts. A survey was also embedded in the blog to examine the users’ satisfaction levels with regards to navigation, the display of video tutorials (for example, if they contribute to the development of English written skills), and whether the tools available in the blog were previously known by the users and were easy to use for the identification and self-correction of errors produced in English written texts. The results derived from this survey reveal that the respondents (n = 33) found that navigation of the blog functionalities was easy, and this is the case for the 11 tools available in the blog. Among them, the users considered five tools to be highly useful for the identification of grammar and lexical inconsistencies in their English written texts, namely, Hemingway, Language Tool, Reverso, Spell Check Plus and Virtual Writing Tutor.

Travel Bloggers and Vloggers stimulus the Sustainability: An Empirical Evidence of Digital Marketing from Travel and Tourism Industry

The use of social media as a source of information for travellers is becoming increasingly important. The purpose of this study is to investigate how frequently social media websites appear in search engine results when searches are related to travel. In order to imitate how a traveller may use a search engine to plan their trip, the study used a collection of pre-defined terms. According to an analysis of the search results, social media accounts for a sizeable fraction of them, proving that search engines probably direct users to social media destinations. This study supports social media's growing importance in the field of internet travel. It serves as more evidence of the difficulties faced by traditional providers of travel-related data. Suggestions for tourism marketers in terms of online promoting methodologies are talked about. Blogs and vlogs have gotten to be a extraordinary reality of standard of living. Blogging and vlogging practice, which started essentially as a spare time activity at that point, has now come to be a profession for many. The foremost exceptional illustration of this may well be watched through the use of travel blogs. Undoubtedly, nowadays travel blogs and vlogs are critical work ranges inside the travel and tourism sustainability. In terms of fetched and sparing on time in specific, and abundance in data as well as simple get to information, Internet advances such as blogs and vlogs have gotten to be striking communication and promoting stages both for tourism supply and for request.

FEATURES OF MARKETING ACTIVITIES IN THE SERVICE MARKET

The article discusses the essence and distinctive features of marketing activities of an enterprise operating in the service sector, demonstrates the need to study its specifics, as well as analyze the marketing tools used. Marketing is a system of organizing and managing the production and sales work of an enterprise, analyzing the market in order to develop and meet the demand for products and services, as well as generating income. The main principles follow from the essence of marketing, namely, taking into account the needs of the market, the state and dynamics of demand, as well as market conditions when making economic decisions, creating conditions for adapting production to market conditions, to the structure of demand, influencing the market, the consumer, along with supporting all available means, primarily advertising. To date, the main task of the company's marketing activities in the service sector is to attract the maximum number of customers, which is achieved through a well-thought-out promotion program. The ability to predict further development prospects, determine tactics and develop strategies is one of the main sources of building a new type of enterprise activity. A significant number of strategic developments are carried out on the basis of marketing decisions. At the present stage, such types of marketing as traditional (external) marketing, internal marketing and interaction (relationship) marketing are used in the service sector. The service market successfully uses both traditional and innovative marketing tools, primarily various internet technologies. The company's own website, presence in social networks, use of chatbots and video blogs is a necessary prerequisite for promoting services and attracting as many customers as possible. In addition, it is concluded that the problem of the effectiveness of marketing activities of organizations is also becoming more and more relevant for non-production organizations.

INTEGRATING ONLINE BLOG IN TEACHING ENGLISH CREATIVE WRITING

This research was set out to examine students’ writing abilities in teaching creative writing subject and investigate the students’ perception in utilizing online blog as a teaching media and how do the online blog influence them in their creative writing subject? Thirty-one fourth semester students of the English Literature study program in the Humanities Faculty, Halu Oleo University who took creative writing subject in the academic year 2020/2021 participated in the research. Data were obtained from students’ results of pre- and post-test on the five components of writing composition, namely content, organization, vocabulary, language use (grammar), and mechanics. The researcher used mix methods to analyze the data both quantitatively and qualitatively. The researcher runs a paired sample t-test with 2 tailed t-tests using the SPSS 16 to test the proposed hypothesis. To reveal students’ perception, descriptive data were transformed into words. Analysis of the data obtained resulted in the followings: pre-test score (M=76.38; SD = 8.77), post-test score (M=86.29; SD=7.78), Df= 30, t-tabel = 1,697 and t-test = 10.686. These results indicated a significant difference on students’ abilities in creative writing subject before and after treatment. Furthermore, students’ perception on the use of online blog is positively related with the students’ achievement. It can therefore be concluded that utilizing online blog as a medium for teaching creative writing is very effective not only in enhancing student’s writing ability in creative writing subject, but also in creating a positive learning environment.

INTEGRATING ONLINE BLOG IN TEACHING ENGLISH CREATIVE WRITING

This research was set out to examine students’ writing abilities in teaching creative writing subject and investigate the students’ perception in utilizing online blog as a teaching media and how do the online blog influence them in their creative writing subject? Thirty-one fourth semester students of the English Literature study program in the Humanities Faculty, Halu Oleo University who took creative writing subject in the academic year 2020/2021 participated in the research. Data were obtained from students’ results of pre- and post-test on the five components of writing composition, namely content, organization, vocabulary, language use (grammar), and mechanics. The researcher used mix methods to analyze the data both quantitatively and qualitatively. The researcher runs a paired sample t-test with 2 tailed t-tests using the SPSS 16 to test the proposed hypothesis. To reveal students’ perception, descriptive data were transformed into words. Analysis of the data obtained resulted in the followings: pre-test score (M=76.38; SD = 8.77), post-test score (M=86.29; SD=7.78), Df= 30, t-tabel = 1,697 and t-test = 10.686. These results indicated a significant difference on students’ abilities in creative writing subject before and after treatment. Furthermore, students’ perception on the use of online blog is positively related with the students’ achievement. It can therefore be concluded that utilizing online blog as a medium for teaching creative writing is very effective not only in enhancing student’s writing ability in creative writing subject, but also in creating a positive learning environment.

A history of digital environmental journalism at the BBC and the Guardian

Environmental and climate journalism is complex, data-heavy, and amenable to visualisation. The environmental beat was therefore well placed to take advantage of the affordances of emerging digital platforms for news from the late 1990s. This article presents a history of digital environmental journalism at two international and digitally innovative media organisations (the BBC and the Guardian), taking an affordances approach. It argues that the beat can be understood as having four distinct but overlapping phases: an initial phase in which journalists availed of the limitless carrying capacity of digital media; a second phase which maximised the use of blogs and user comments; a third, experimental phase involving digital video and online campaigns; and a fourth, mature phase in which both organisations became more strategic in their digital offerings.

ESL LEARNERS’ USE OF BLOG TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS

The usage of computers and the internet is widespread in this contemporary period. The social networks are among the most popular online services. Social networking sites are now employed in the realm of education as well as for socialising. The perception of ESL students towards the usage of blogs in writing classes will be examined in this paper.In this experimental class, 23 tertiary students taking a reading and writing module are asked to start their own blogs. The students completed their classwork and assignments on the blog. The learners are given a questionnaire to complete at the end of the module regarding the usage of blogs in general and the use of blogs to improve their writing abilities. A few students are also chosen at random and interviewed to learn more about how they feel about using blogs in writing classes.

THE FORMATION OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH WRITING BY MEANS OF BLOGS ON THE BASIS OF INTERACTIVE TEACHING

The article considers blog and blog technology as a modern effective tool of interactive foreign language teaching and proposes the methodology of forming the English writing competence of high school students with the use of blogs. The content of the concepts “interactive learning of foreign languages”, “technology of interactive learning of foreign languages” is determined, the main characteristics of interactive foreign language teaching and the importance of critical thinking as its key components are outlined. The technology of forming the English written communication competence of high school students with the use of blogs on the basis of interactive foreign language teaching is substantiated: the methodological potential of blogs as a means of forming the English written communication competence of high school students on the basis of interactive teaching is considered, the appropriate methodological typology of blogs is proposed, the stages of developing the English writing skills with the use of blogs are characterized in correlation with the stages of interactive foreign language teaching. The subsystem of exercises for forming the English written communication competence of high school students with the use of blogs on the basis of interactive teaching is proposed, examples of exercises and illustrative materials are presented.

The Use of Video Blog Posted in YouTube for Teaching Spoken Recount Text

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of video blog posted in YouTube to teach spoken recount text to the secondary students. The design was the one group pretest posttest design of pre-experimental study. The sample, X MIPA 2 of SMA Negeri 2 Pontianak, was chosen from cluster random sampling technique totaling 30 students. The findings indicate that there is a significant effect of video blog posted in YouTube towards the students’ ability in spoken recount text. The t-test calculation was 25.92 which was higher than t-table 2.045 (df=29; significance α=0.05). Meanwhile, the effect size was 4.41 categorized as strong effect. From these results, it was revealed that the Ho was rejected while the Ha was accepted. Therefore, it can be concluded that video blog posted in YouTube was effective to teach spoken recount text to secondary students, especially the tenth-grade ones. Thus, the researchers recommend this technique to be used as one of alternatives to teach spoken recount text, specifically related to people’s experience.

The Effect of Blogs on Jordanian EFL Eighth-grade Students’ Achievement in English

This quasi-experimental study assesses the usefulness of blogs as teaching and learning tools for the EFL at Jordanian schools in Amman. The study focuses on the increased significance of the English language for the international competence of Jordan and its workforce. The study also assesses the benefits that blogs can provide for eighth-grade students. To answer the question of what effect do blogs have on improving reading and writing skills, the researchers used a sample of students from two schools in Amman, and undertook a quasi-experimental study by applying a pretest-posttest design. The researchers selected a sample of 72 eighth-grade EFL students in Amman and divided them into control and experimental groups. The regular EFL curriculum was administered in both groups, but supported with a blog component for the experimental group. The results indicated a significant improvement in the students’ reading comprehension skills and writing competence when using blogs. The study recommends that teachers promote active participation of the students on blogs.

The dark side of HR blog in the workplace: investigating the employees’ trust factors affecting using HR blog

PurposeHR Blog is one of the social technologies systems to allow employees to voice the issues they experience. However, employees’ trust becomes an emerging issue to use HR Blog. This paper aims to investigate the impact level of employees’ trust in using HR Blog and identifying the causes affecting employees’ trust in using HR Blog. Social exchange theory (SET) was adopted as a vehicle to assist in identifying the employees’ trust causes. SET found serves the aim of research because it posits that the relationship between employees and HR Blog is built based on reciprocity, two-way of exchange.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts a qualitative method, namely, semi-structured interviews. The total number of conducted semi-structured interviews is 46, 38 interviews with HR Blog users and eight interviews with the management of HR Blog.FindingsThe present research found that HR Blog is distrusted by the vast majority of employees. The causes of HR Blog distrust were: functionality (mainly the placing the filtration process); lack of feedback and attention to employees in HR Blog; lack of providing tangible outcomes of HR Blog; and absence of HR Blog informative materials and clear guidelines.Originality/valueThis research lies in the fact that it is one of the first studies that focus on employees’ perspectives to empirically identify and investigate their trust factors affecting the use of HR Blog. The study achieved its aim in terms of gaining a better understanding of how to gain and restore employees’ trust to make HR Blog a trusted and effective system in the workplace.

Interacting through Blogs in Theatre/Drama Education: A Greek Case Study

This paper aims to investigate how digital tools, such as blogs, could be used by drama teachers, already qualified on a Drama teaching postgraduate study course, in teaching Theatre/Drama Education in schools in Greece, and to record the ways in which they could interact through blogging with their students and similarly ways in which their students could interact between themselves. In order to attain this, a small-scale case study was planned and developed, with an interdisciplinary approach. Drama teachers and their students were asked to build and develop their blogs concerning drama and theatre education and then use them in Theatre/Drama lessons. After applying this with their students for some time, drama teachers were asked to express their personal views and perceptions. Their responses showed in general a positive attitude towards the integration and use of blogs in teaching Theatre/Drama courses in schools, because they appear to increase the interactivity between teachers and their students and to provide them both with opportunities to further develop their dramatic and digital skills either within or outside a school environment.

Blogging as an Integrative Technology to Improve Language Proficiency: An Investigative Study Among Engineering Students in India

Technology has become an inevitable part of learning these days and the popularity of blogs and web forums is increasing exponentially. The purpose of blogging is to encourage discussions on a particular topic or concept, thereby throwing more light on the point of discussion. These discussions generally focus on knowledge sharing and acquiring, but in a way, they help the participants and the readers to enhance their language skills like listening, reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary both directly and indirectly. The present study consolidates the opinions of the researcher about the use of blogs as educational technology and the opinions of the learners about the role of blogs in their language learning aspects. The result shows that blogs have a considerable impact on one’s language proficiency.

How Should Software Engineering Secondary Studies Include Grey Material?

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Context</i> : Recent papers have proposed the use of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">grey literature</i> (GL) and multivocal reviews. These papers have raised issues about the practices used for systematic reviews (SRs) in software engineering (SE) and suggested that there should be changes to the current SR guidelines. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Objective</i> : To investigate whether current SR guidelines need to be changed to support GL and multivocal reviews. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Method</i> : We discuss the definitions of GL and the importance of GL and of industry-based field studies in SE SRs. We identify properties of SRs that constrain the material used in SRs: a) the nature of primary studies; b) the requirements of SRs to be auditable, traceable, and reproducible; and explain why these requirements restrict the use of blogs in SRs. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results</i> : SR guidelines have always considered GL as a possible source of primary studies and have never supported exclusion of field studies that incorporate the practitioners’ viewpoint. However, the concept of GL, which was meant to refer to documents that were not formally published, is now being extended to information from sources such as blogs/tweets/Q&A posts. Thus, it might seem that SRs do not make full use of GL because they do not include such information. However, the unit of analysis for an SR is the primary study. Thus, it is not the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">source</i> but the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">type</i> of information that is important. Any report describing a rigorous empirical evaluation is a candidate primary study. Whether it is actually included in an SR depends on the SR eligibility criteria. However, any study that cannot be guaranteed to be publicly available in the long term should not be used as a primary study in an SR. This does not prevent such information from being aggregated in surveys of social media and used in the context of evidence-based software engineering (EBSE). <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions</i> : Current guidelines for SRs do not require extensions, but their scope needs to be better defined. SE researchers require guidelines for analysing social media posts (e.g., blogs, tweets, vlogs), but these should be based on qualitative primary (not secondary) study guidelines. SE researchers can use mixed-methods SRs and/or the fourth step of EBSE to incorporate findings from social media surveys with those from SRs and to develop industry-relevant recommendations.

Performing Transparency in vlog News: Self-disclosure of Chinese Journalists in vlog Reporting on COVID-19

ABSTRACT This study examines Chinese journalists’ use of video blogs (vlog) for news reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Situated within the “visual turn” of storytelling in the digital era, the vlog has risen in popularity as an audiovisual format on social media and video-sharing platforms, attracting followers’ attention through its attributes of apparent authenticity and intimacy. Journalists have also been riding the wave by employing the amateur-style vlog for professional purposes. Based on a case study of 224 journalists’ vlogs about the Wuhan lockdown, we found that the j-vlog, as a hybrid form of professional-amateur reporting, affords an alternative space for journalists to perform journalistic transparency through self-disclosure of their life and work routines, increasing intimacy and engagement with audiences. This study contributes to current research in innovative practices of digital journalism and expands existing debates on journalistic transparency by delineating its nuances in different digital news formats and national contexts.

The contribution of blog-based writing instruction to enhancing writing performance and writing motivation of Chinese EFL learners.

As an attempt to shed more light on the utility of blogs in educational contexts, the current research set out to explore the effectiveness of blog-based writing instruction on the writing skill and writing motivation of Chinese English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) students. Forty-nine Chinese EFL students from two intact classes in a language school were selected as the participants through convenience sampling. Then they were assigned to an experimental (26 students) and a control condition (23 students) randomly. The students of the experimental group utilized blogs for posting their writing assignments whereas the control group were taught traditionally with no use of blogs or other technology devices. The IELTS writing tasks and L2 writing motivation scale were used for the data collection as pre-and post-tests. The findings revealed that although both groups improved their writing skill and motivation, the participants of the blog group performed better than those in the control group, confirming that the blog-based teaching substantially enhanced the writing skill and writing motivation of the EFL students. These findings may have notable implications for EFL instructors.

ФОРМУВАННЯ АНГЛОМОВНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ В ЧИТАННІ УЧНІВ 10-ГО КЛАСУ ЗАСОБАМИ БЛОГ-РЕСУРСІВ

Background. The article explores the effectiveness of utilizing English blogs as a tool to enhance reading competence among 10th- grade students in a secondary school. Drawing on insights from literature and lesson observations during teaching internships, it is noted that Ukrainian 10th grade students face significant challenges when applying their knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar to speaking activities. Purpose. The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the pedagogical essence and practical value of incorporating blogs into English language classes in secondary school, to establish methodological principles for the formulation of a comprehensive set of tasks and exercises aimed at enhancing blog reading skills among 10th-grade students. The methodology relies on the critical analysis of existing research on the topic and the authors' personal experiences in utilizing blogs for teaching reading. The formulation of tasks and exercises with the goal of enhancing English language competence in reading for 10th-grade students is grounded in a synthesis of research insights. Specifically, Pahomova and Halchenko's work on types of reading (Pahomova, Halchenko 2015), Campbell's blog typology (Campbell, 2003), and the discerning selection of content developed by Bax (2003) collectively inform this initiative. The integration of these research perspectives is harmonized with the stipulated guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine. This comprehensive approach ensures a scientifically rigorous and pedagogically sound framework for the advancement of reading proficiency within the specified educational context. Results and discussion. In the context of learning English as a foreign language in secondary schools, the use of blogs has emerged as a valuable language learning tool. However, the effective integration of blogs within an instructional framework and the current research findings on their use as a learning tool pose unresolved challenges for teachers. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of research on the use of blogs in English learning contexts. The study introduces blogs and establishes a theoretical framework for their utilization within the parameters of complex and competency-based approaches. The literature review on the discussed topic reveals that blogging, as a communicative activity, is advantageous for developing reading competence in 10th-grade students, provided it is not excessively employed in the classroom. A set of tasks and exercises designed for reading blogs in the 10th grade must incorporate contextual communicative situations, augment students' lexical repertoire, cultivate grammatical competence, and facilitate the training of intricate phonetic instances. Blogging encourages students to express themselves, fostering self-confidence and providing an opportunity to practice social behavior rules during communication. Furthermore, this technique enhances students' creativity and fluency through active participation in various communicative situations presented in the English language class. Research confirms that employing English blogs in teaching reading to secondary school students can effectively modernize the educational process and motivate learners for intercultural communication. The potential for further research lies in developing a set of tasks based on the national curriculum for 10th- grade students.

Narrative within a Narrative: Blogging as an Embedded Narrative Strategy in Adichie’s Americanah

In the world of storytelling, authors employ multilayered narrative techniques for various reasons. This study aims to explore the narrative levels, the relationships between them, and the functions of the embedded texts in Adichie’s novel “Americanah.” Unlike the previous works that mostly focused on the thematic concerns raised in the novel, this study is originally approached from a narratological perspective. Applying narrative theory, it mainly focuses on analyzing the novel’s use of blogs as an embedded narrative strategy. A narrative strategy here refers to a device or technique that a real author uses to communicate the themes of a novel. The study employs a qualitative research method since it is a textual analysis. Since blogs can reach a wide audience as a mouth of many diasporas, the author strategically used them to explain the external narration. Critical diaspora concerns are juxtaposed in the blogs by the major character, Ifemelu, for having the effect of intimacy with the readers. Overall, blogs are effectively used by the author as an embedded narrative strategy. The primary (embedding) narrative justifies the embedded narrative in it. They do not just present the text rather they provide a context for the embedded narrative. The functions identified are actional, explicative, aesthetic, and advancement of oral storytelling. The second degree narratives (blogs) are also used for aesthetic purposes as a means of creating suspense and introducing new plot lines. Keywords: blogging, narrative embedding, narrative levels, narrative strategies, narrator. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.60.77