EDTC 6431 Module 2 Post

Triggering Event

How can students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others?

Triggering Event Question

Could a weekly blog enhance performance and growth in weight training?

Article Connection/Explanation to Standard and Trigger Question

In weight training, we tried to implement lifting logs on a daily basis but it became a struggle with carrying chromebooks around while working out.  After reading the article from Lampinen, Blogging in the 21^st Century Classroom, it sparked my idea for having the student’s blog on a weekly basis.  This blog could include their logs and a reflection of performance.  Therefore my trigger question is could a weekly blog enhance performance and growth in weight training?
In my research I found an article from Papastergiou, Multimedia blogging in physical education: Effects on student knowledge and ICT self-efficacy.  Within this research article it talks about the benefits of blogging in disciplines that are not typically based around writing, like PE.  The study that was done had students use a blog to reflect and showcase their performance of four basketball skills.  Based on the results from the pretests and posttests, blogging helped with technology skills although it did not help with basketball skills.  What I conclude from this is that while blogging may be beneficial for writing and computer skills, it may not directly help with the physical skills in PE.
After reviewing similar research from my peers during this weeks module, I can say with confidence that blogging does increase understanding of a topic, however it does not help with an increase in physical performance.  This does not completely surprise me because if a student is struggling with dribbling a basketball, writing about it is not going to help you dribble.  It will help you understand how to dribble but the physical part will come with physical practice. 
Although I feel that blogging with not increase performance and growth in weight training, I do still want to give blogging a try in weight training to help increase understanding in other aspects of the class.  I found an awesome resource called Edublogs that I plan to use this coming semester as a weekly log versus the daily lifting log.  I plan to conduct my own research on the motivation and performance growth in weight training!

References

Edublogs - free blogs for education. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from

            http://edublogs.org/

Lampinen, M. (2013). Blogging in the 21st-century classroom. Edutopia. Retrieved

            from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blogging-in-21st-century-classroom-

michelle-lampinen

Papastergiou, M., Gerodimos, V., & Antoniou, P. (2011). Multimedia blogging in

physical education: Effects on student knowledge and ICT self-efficacy Computers & Education, 57(3), 1998-2010. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.05.006 from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0360131511001072/1-s2.0-S0360131511001072-main.pdf?_tid=e75fc42a-e411-11e6-a70f-00000aacb35f&acdnat=1485467803_670b76b0bb4fa7adcbfb061ca7859e6c