Blogs As Communities (Resource #4 Take 2!)

Blogs As Communities

This article effectively summarizes the content of chapter one from Palloff. It restates the definitions of community and why it is important for both communication and creating learning environments. It serves as an excellent resource to both review and redefine some of the content that we have covered in our course so far.

I particularly like some of the arguments for the importance of “virtual community”, especially how it can promote a more democratic involvement and find ways to include many participants that may otherwise shy away from conversation or conflict. This article also cites studies that say involvement in virtual communities can increase involvement in face-to-face communities, serving as almost a gateway to a broader participation.

This also has a good point about the definition of blogs as a form of community. I believe that with the right “followers” or groups forming, blogs can be an effective form of community where all participants can be informed and up-to-date. Blogs, when used correctly, can be useful for staying involved in communication and participate in conversation/dialogue with other community members.

The author, Anita Blanchard, also talks about the meaning of a sense of community. I think that this is important because these characteristics are important in professional learning communities as well. Feelings of membership, influence, emotional connectedness, and feelings of support foster all types of communities and can lead to very effective professional learning communities.