Blogs and the design of reflective peer‐to‐peer technology‐enhanced learning and formative assessment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of blogs as part of a formative assessment practice, to report how reflective peer‐to‐peer learning can be designed and provided in online higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The research relies on a qualitative approach. The empirical setting comprised an online higher education course in which 23 students were enrolled. All students wrote individual blogs, and the analysis was done using all postings and comments from the blogs. For the analysis the ICE (Ideas, Connections, and Extension) three level classification model was used.

Findings

The designed blog exercise turned into an informal and formative type of assessment that scaffolds the students' learning, providing a reflective peer‐to‐peer technology‐enhanced learning design.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to one online higher education course. Additional research on educational technology and e‐assessment is needed. In particular, research on the informed design of technology‐enhanced learning practices characterized by formative e‐assessment and the role of the designed use of blogs in the facilitating and enhancement of the students' peer‐to‐peer learning.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates that the design and use of blogs embrace a formative assessment approach that cultivates the students' reflective peer‐to‐peer learning.

Originality/value

The paper provides insight into the designed use of blogs in online higher education together with the potential in formative assessment for learning. The ICE three‐level classification model provides a dynamic possibility to analyze online higher educational practices.

Citation

Olofsson, A.D., Ola Lindberg, J. and Eiliv Hauge, T. (2011), "Blogs and the design of reflective peer‐to‐peer technology‐enhanced learning and formative assessment", Campus-Wide Information Systems, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 183-194. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650741111145715