Journal of Interactive Online Learning: Web Logs and Online Discussions as Tools to Develop the Teacher's Voice

Hernandez-Ramos, P. "Web Logs and Online Discussions As Tools to Promote Reflective Practice." Journal of Interactive Online Learning 3, no. 1 (June 2004). Interesting article... especially for librarians...

Part of the challenge for a teacher preparation program is how to inculcate in graduates a greater sense of the importance of their profession, how to see themselves as constructivists—producers of information and knowledge— and not “just as teachers”—objectivists—who are solely in a transmission role....Journals are a common requirement in many courses, not just in teacher preparation, as a strategy to help students engage in metacognition (thinking about their own learning) with the expectation that the process will help them learn better....A complementary goal was to encourage students to see both blogs and discussion forums as valid and effective tools for professional development and lifelong learning. Levin and Camp (2002) argued persuasively that, “without the disposition to reflect on their performance, teachers are less likely to improve their practice or to be able to see the links between theory and practice.” They further said, “we believe that this habit of mind is so important that we must try to teach all prospective teachers how to reflect on their practice” (p. 572).

I feel like I could copy and paste the whole article here. It's really part of the evidence-based practice movement. In the "technology's contribution" section, the author goes on to discuss the differences in online courseware discussion forums and blogs. I like this goal of the project:

to help students develop a sense of themselves as creators of knowledge, rather than just consumers of information, and to see themselves as meaningful contributors to professional dialogues