Blog Learnability Assessment #1:Random Good Stuff - The Entertainment Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 11:41:00 +0000

Random Good Stuff: The fun blog

11 Authors 1 Setting

1. Pressuring Learning: 75 / 100

The blog explanation in mybloglog.com is to the point but over terse:"The fun blog". It arouses little learning need or motivation. The tags in mybloglog.com are moderate plus. They give a brief idea about the theme of the blog.
The blog explanation inside the blog itself is more informing. However, I couldn't find any about page to obtain a more detailed summary of what the blog is all about. I believe this should be remedied urgently. Why? As a blog reader and visitor, mostly I have little time to scan a blog to understand what the stuff inside is. Often I merely look at "about us" pages. I guess most if not all web surfers don't stroll to much in the blogs they perceive irrelevant. Just show 'em some relevancy.
Beside these the blog features some good thought headings and enthusiasm fueling gadgets such as rss feed stats.
The blog is beneficial without question but it can push the limits by showing some genius in arousing need.

2. Facilitating Learning: 60 / 100

The navigation of the site is good. It uses a wordpress theme which is almost ever more user friendly than standart blogger themes. This is a plus.
There are sections in the blogs under the heading on the top of the page. This really facilitates the use of the blog much.
The color contrast within the content items and between the content and widgets is low. This imperils the perception of details in the pages.
The pictures used are cool but the way and the place they're used makes it hard to distinguish between the posts. The pics may always be used as an introduction or an end to posts and consequently there may be clear distinction (that will facilitate learning without suspicion) between posts.
Some crucial keywords may be highlighted, written in bold or in a bigger size to increase readibility.
The layout will be clearer if the widgets are better organized and located more symmetrically. Mayhap this last comment is a product of my symmetry obsession or may be not. Who knows?

3. Adapting Learning: 80 / 100

The blog well accommodates various customer styles(i.e. cognitive styles, learning styles or emotional styles). It uses a variety of media, texts, pictures, videos but not podcasts or vodcasts. These may add to the adaptability of the blog.
I wish I could find a shoutbox or chatterbox in the blog to shout directly at the bloggers (11 people for the time being) which is a feature of my learning style.
There is some versatility in the blog indeed. There are different categories and widgets to accommodate different needs. RSS Feed is absolutely is a plus which accommodates late learners.

4. Value Creating for Learning: 100 / 100

This part is where the blog is most successful. It provides hands-on information and ideas for the visitors. There are practical, feasible knowledge driving the visitors to action. For example it convinces that one can make money using wi-fi.

5. Innovating for Learning: 90 / 100

The blog really contains timely information and updates so often. The bloggers are surely handing out a big deal of time and effort for these stuff which must be appreciated by all means.

Can informal learning be measured?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:49:00 +0000

This is really a hard question even for Google to answer. Not convinced? Then go find yourself when Google sucked.

Personally, I myself even don't know an exact answer for the question nor the contemporary literature reveals one. Then what? Well, that does not mean we can not evaluate a method or tool in terms of informal learning outcomes or processes. We can measure some sorts of concrete outcomes, observe meaningful behavioral differences or at least have a feel for some positive attitude alterations.

There are volumes of work on "What the learning is." and how learnable a tool may be. But as far as my own inquiries go, the best model that would be appropriate to use for a Blog's learnability may be defined as how learning intensive it is. A learning intensive blog is:

Pressuring(exhorting or triggering a need to learn)
Facilitating(easy to use-ness)
Adapting(accomodating individual styles(learning, cognitive, emotional etc. styles)
Value Creating(developing better patterns for use)
Innovating(providing state-of-the art content)

For the time being this model will be used for evaluating "how much IL the selected blog does provide".

REFERENCES:
1. The Learning Conditions Monitor 2003, the Ministry of Education and
Research, Norway.

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Blog Learnability Assessment #1:Random Good Stuff - The Entertainment Blog

Can informal learning be measured?