Case study of the use of an e-learning technique: blogs

This paper presents a case study on using blogs in a research methods module with sociology undergraduate students at a UK university. Students were encouraged to keep a blog to record their progress in a quantitative research project. The blog was adopted to foster more independent and active learning. The strongest students engaged most with the blog exercise. These students can sometimes be sidelined as staff focus on weaker or less engaged students. One conclusion of this research therefore is that the blog allowed personalised learning to take place, particularly in relation to the strongest students.