UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN MARCOS SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY Edublogging: Instruction for the Digital Age Learner A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership by Jeffrey P. Felix Committee in charge: University of California, San Diego Professor Janet Chrispeels, Chair Professor James Levin California State University San Marcos Professor Katherine Hayden 2007 Copyright Jeffrey P. Felix, 2007 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Jeffrey P. Felix is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm: _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego California State University, San Marcos San Diego State University 2007 iii DEDICATIONS To Debbie– you have been my friend, lover, soul mate, and wife for the past 31 years. You realized long ago that my dream was to be a teacher and then you made it happen. You started this process and then continued to encourage me all along the way. Without you I have no dreams, no reason to wake from sleep, no desire to start the day. You are the beat of my heart, the breath of my being. Thank you for making this dream come true and holding me up every step of the way. To Mom and Dad– your personalities and individual characteristics are all jumbled up within me to make me who I am today. I am proud to be a third generation Italian– the first of the family of Philip and Theresa Felix– to become educated to such a degree. The De Felicibus family journeyed from Collecorvino, to Ashtabula, and finally to Escondido to bring my siblings and me success. Thank you for your optimism and perseverance. I am proud to be your son. To My Children and Grandchildren– as proud as I know you are of me, I am more proud of you. Amber, Whitney, and Mark– your love and support are evident in all that you do, not only for me, but also for those around you. You are givers, not takers, and the world is a better place because of you. Thank you for your encouragement during these many years of continuing education. Thanks to all of “mi famiglia” for your tender and generous encouragement. I love you all very much and plan to cherish the extra time we will have now that this task is complete. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page........................................................................................................iii Dedication...............................................................................................................iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................v List of Figures........................................................................................................xv List of Tables........................................................................................................xvi Acknowledgements .............................................................................................xvii Vita .......................................................................................................................xix Abstract of the Dissertation...................................................................................xx CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................2 Research Context.........................................................................................4 Multitasking Using Digital Devices ................................................4 Ubiquitous Communication.............................................................5 Assisting with Instruction, Not Replacing.......................................6 Blogging as Two-Way Communication..........................................7 Research Questions .....................................................................................8 Significance of the Study...........................................................................10 Definition of Terms ...................................................................................12 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................15 v CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...............................................17 The Use of Modern Communication in Schools .......................................17 Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) ...............................18 Current Communication Methods .................................................20 Broadband Internet ........................................................................21 E-mail ............................................................................................22 Forums...........................................................................................24 Blogs..............................................................................................26 The History of School Communication.....................................................32 Individual Pathways to Learning...................................................33 Social Constructivism....................................................................37 Jean Piaget.........................................................................39 John Dewey .......................................................................40 Lev Vygotsky ....................................................................41 Social Constructivism and Contextual Learning...............44 Distributed Learning......................................................................46 Changing Learners.........................................................................46 Connectivism.................................................................................47 Collectivism– Community Use of Technology.............................48 Social Networking.........................................................................50 Convergence toward Individual Empowerment................51 vi Read/Write Web ............................................................................52 Collaboration as Part of Instructional Practice..............................53 Online Collaboration .........................................................55 The History of Blogs in Education............................................................56 Blogging Educators .......................................................................58 Summary of the Literature Review ...........................................................60 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY.........................................................................62 Research Design ........................................................................................63 Purpose of the Study......................................................................63 Qualitative Study...........................................................................63 Phenomenology .............................................................................65 Holistic Nonprobabilistic Multiple Case Study Design ................65 Virtual Ethnography ......................................................................67 Research Context– Case Study Participants..............................................69 Criteria for a Participant’s Blog ....................................................69 Participant Selection......................................................................70 Researcher’s Role......................................................................................71 Data Collection..........................................................................................72 Electronic Surveys.........................................................................73 Participant Interviews....................................................................75 Interview Questions.......................................................................78 Document Analysis of the Participant’s Blog ...............................80 vii Overview of the First Survey ....................................................................81 Review of the First Survey........................................................................83 Demographic Data of Respondents...............................................84 Overview of the Second Survey................................................................85 Review of the Second Survey....................................................................86 Cooperative Learning ....................................................................87 Deeper Thought Process................................................................89 Introduction of New Sub-Categories.............................................91 Demographic Data of Respondents...............................................92 Overview of Virtual Interviews.................................................................92 Review of the Virtual Interviews ..............................................................93 Demographic Data of Respondents...............................................93 Overview of Document Analysis ..............................................................95