Abramson, S., Benavides, O., Rogers, G. & Ratzlaff, C. (Spring, 2006).
Co-Inquiry Journal, 1 (1). 19-27.
In blogs, a chronology of information, events, experiences and stories unfold in text, music, photos, graphics, video and sound. An aggregate of “metadata” dense with meaning (Karger & Quan, 2005), the blog is a catalyst for new perspectives and innovative ideas. The blog’s interactive design compounds its value for dissemination. By actively soliciting comments and links to other blogs, an individual blog connects to an expanding network of related blogs and other web resources. To maximize communication around shared interests, individuals may choose to join a smaller group with a particular identity or purpose. For the purpose of social networking, a blog group may consist of friends or classmates. A work-related or professional group can be supported in a similar manner.
Although a personal blog does not belong in the classroom, blog technology
has significant applications as an educational tool for both students and teachers.
Blogging can be a means for students to work together on projects and other
group assignments. Adapted for professional use, such as exchanging classroom
ideas and practices, dialoguing on educational questions and problems, and
linking to the latest research, the blog’s vast educational applications
for professional development becomes apparent (Colgan, 2005; Poling, 2005).
A number of sites already serve educators, for example:
http://www.novemberlearning.com/blogs/alannovember/
http://www.ebn.weblogger.com/
http//www.essentialblog.org/
All of these sites attest to the benefits of the blog for promoting communication,
information-sharing and collaboration among educators, parents and students.
As communication in signs and symbols, the blog is a powerful semiotic device for conveying meaning. Semiotics, an area of linguistic studies, posits that the sign, a representation of meaning, is the basic, constructive element of language. For Umberto Eco, a world-famous semiotician from northern Italy, language encompasses speech and written languages and also non-linguistic languages, symbols and codes--mathematics, musical notation, visual signs, gestures, etc. (Eco, 1976). According to semiotic theory, a sign is a message signifying meaning to someone. The meaning attributed to a sign arises from the interplay of thought, experience, social interaction and culture. Moreover meaning is not static and continually evolves through semiosis, the process of representing, interpreting and responding in signs and symbols. A dynamic flow of evolving meaning, the blog is a virtual representation of semiosis, capturing the totality of meaning-making.
With its almost limitless capacities or affordances (Forman, 1994) for expressing meaning in digitized languages--text, graphics, photos, sound, video, etc.—the blog is the ultimate semiotic tool for virtual communication. Moreover because people from all over the worldwide web can contribute, blogging accelerates semiosis and the development of meaning. Not only a metamorphosis in communication, the blog is a potent instrument for creating thought, language and culture on the web and beyond.
In the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, education is premised on the philosophy that children have the capacity for communicating ideas in a “hundred languages” (Malaguzzi, 1998). Consistent with semiotic theory, this innovative educational approach develops children’s multi-symbolic abilities through a variety of learning experiences (Abramson, 2004). Early investigations that incorporate drawing, working in clay, constructing in wire, painting, performing, etc. as well as conventional forms of verbal and written language, develop children’s communicative literacy, the ability to communicate meaning in different symbolic languages. Valuing communicative literacy has important implications for educating children especially those whom the standardized curriculum fails to reach.
Documentation is a record of children’s learning experiences that includes written observations, notes, recorded discussions and conversations, drawings, photographs, videos, children’s work and other artifacts (Gandini and Goldhaber, 2001; Katz, & Chard, 1996; Rinaldi, 1998). To understand children’s communicative capacities, teachers observe, listen and dialogue (Rinaldi,2002). As a recorded "memory" of children’s learning, documentation provides data for study, analysis and reflection (Vecchi, 1998). Not just the story of what happened, documentation requires research as well as communicative literacy for understanding the meaning of educational experiences.
Documentation is intended to be shared and discussed by those who are daily in the school--teachers, parents, children--as well as others on whom the school depends for support--community members, business leaders and politicians. To promote the rights of children, The Hundred Languages of Children Exhibition, an inspiring display of documentation consisting of more than 150 large panels from the schools of Reggio Emilia,, has traveled the world for more than 30 years. This exhibit as well as visits to the Italian schools have had a profound impact on the field of early education and generated much interest in the practice of documentation.
While motivated to try this innovative practice in their own setting, early educators usually encounter difficulties in making multi-media documentation. Even those who have seen the exhibit or other visual examples, become frustrated in learning how to document without the support of more experienced teachers. Unfortunately in many contexts, educators are unable to work on documentation or meet with other professionals during school hours. Teachers may also lack the technical background, equipment, materials and financial support needed to create professional quality panels or multi-media presentations.
The wealth of data collected in documenting is another problem that makes organizing documentation very time-consuming. In many cases, space is simply not available for displaying documentation or children’s work and thus only a small selection can be shared. Audio and video recordings require players susceptible to damage or theft. Storing older documentation is often not an option. As an alternative, Oken-Wright (2001) was one of the first to suggest that documentation might be posted on a website.
Collaborative inquiry (co-inquiry) meetings facilitate the interchange of ideas among educators who refer to documentation as they engage in dialogue, reflection and planning (Abramson, 2006; Abramson & Atwal, 2003; Himley & Carini 2000; Project Zero 2003)., Educators can engage in co-inquiry either face-to-face or virtually using documentation posted on blogs. In both situations, participants are able to make comments, raise questions, brainstorm ideas and share resources and links. Interpretations of documentation can enlarge and revise as new materials, comments and ideas are posted on the blog. In these respects, the blog fully accommodates documentation and co-inquiry.
Because blogs are accessible on the web, great care must be taken to obtain parental consent for documenting children and posting documentation online. Blogs having visual documentation should include password protection and eliminate identifying information to preserve teacher, family and student confidentiality.
The Co-Inquiry Blog at the Fansler Institute for Leadership in Early Education website, http://fanslerece.org/coinquiry is a professional tool for documenting the experience of learning and teaching at the Joyce M. Huggins Early Education Center (Abramson, 2005). The Co-Inquiry Blog coordinates varied multimedia documentation while maintaining chronology, completeness and complexity. The Co-Inquiry Blog is “user friendly,” allowing users, whether teachers, students, parents or others, to create professional quality, aesthetically pleasing documentation. Electronically formatted text, photos, drawings, graphics, images, video and sound can be uploaded and other resources linked. Using this array of semiotic communication, the Co-Inquiry Blog facilitates co-inquiry regarding learning, documentation and research.
The Co-Inquiry Blog also includes interactive documentation supplementary to articles in the Co-Inquiry Journal. For the purposes of co-inquiry and professional development, those affiliated with education programs can register to use the Co-Inquiry Blog. In this way, the Co-Inquiry Blog promotes online communication and collaboration on the web among educators and others committed to quality early learning practices.
At the Huggins Center, the Co-Inquiry Blog has been used in combination with other synchronistic and asynchronistic strategies. Because Internet access is available, teachers can make use of the Co-Inquiry Blog to present their documentation during co-inquiry meetings. For those unable to attend the meeting, podcasts and videos of the meeting can be embedded in the Co-Inquiry Blog. Video collaborative tools such as iChat, Cast:Stream, Marratech and Elluminate introduce another dimension by allowing participants to view and interact from a remote location.
The Co-Inquiry Blog and the launching of similar projects offer a new direction for educators seeking to grow professionally. A semiotic tool for learning and teaching, the Co-Inquiry Blog activates an educational network dedicated to thoughtful, communicative literacy through documentation and co-inquiry.
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