Title: Blogs as a support tool for international mobility students
1Blogs as a support tool for international
mobility students
Helen Keegan, University of Salford,
UKh.keegan_at_salford.ac.uk
ALT-C 2006, Wednesday 6th September
2Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Overview
- Background
- Blogs - 2 Case Studies
- CS1 Nursing blog
- CS2 Social work blog
- Findings
- Conclusion Questions
3Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Background
- ESMOS Enhancing Mobility through Online Support
(Socrates/Minerva) - Needs analysis
- which technology and procedures are used in
supporting study exchange and international work
placements? What are the experiences gained? - Preparation and administrative procedures before
phase abroad generally rated highly - Real need for support of students during their
phase abroad (P2P, student-tutor)
4Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students ESMOS Methodology
5Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Blogs WHY?
- Teaching and learning
- Reflection
- Collaboration
- Group activities
- Psychological and social support
- Culture shock
- Homesickness
- Loneliness
6Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Blogs - 2 Case Studies
- University of Salford, UK
- BSc Nursing, 10 students
- 10 week clinical placements
- 8 x UK/2 x Malta
- Journal LX (Blackboard plug-in)
- FH JOANNEUM, Austria
- BA Social Work, 10 students
- 14 week internships, 7 countries
- Serendipity (open source)
7Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Case 1 Nursing blog
- Independent Learning module
- Action Learning Set - peer support for learners
during the independent learning process - Framework of support
- Placement journal
- Reflective blog inc. placement observations and
learning experiences - Placement, coursework, families
8Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Case 1 Nursing blog
- Face to face meetings prior to placements
(technical issues, setting rules for blog etc) - 2 weeks community building on blog
- Each student 1 main entry each week on chosen
topic of nursing (specific topic) - Comparison between healthcare systems in
different countries (e.g. ethics, care delivery,
management) - Much learning that has relevance to all emerges
and is facilitated by tutor - Community of practice
9Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Case 1 Nursing blog - extracts
- Some posts were very emotive
- I think technology is a great thing sometimes
but nothing can substitute a physical cuddle when
you need one - I was actually desperate for my ordinary life.
I was feeling horribly isolated, vulnerable and
lonely. I felt helpless which is not an emotion i
am used to, but i related these feelings to the
patient experience and i have made myself a
promise that regardless of cost or consequence i
will do everything in my power to alleviate
patient distress at time of admission and until
they leave. Thanks for listening, bye bye Ros xx
10Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Case 1 Nursing blog - extracts
- In response to a lull in blog posts
- I was under the impression we were sharing and
learning from the blog? We are experiencing a
whole host of problems here and a little help
from my friends would help enormously - I'm really, really sorry that you feel that we
have been neglecting you, we haven't meant to do
it. I think the problem has been that we have all
been caught up in our own topics and it has been
harder than we anticipated. I think that the
meetings that we have had with each other face to
face have been more therapy than anything else,
'a problem shared is a problem halved' and just
realising that you are not the only one who is
unsure about what you are doing can feel quite
comforting in a strange sort of way. I feel quite
guilty now
11Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Case 2 Social work blog
- Framework of support
- eSupervision (advice, info, learning)
- Online diaries about experiences abroad
- Exchange of experiences (peer-to-peer)
- Eight scheduled appointments in the blog
- Predefined questions
- P2P and student-tutor discussion
- Feedback to written reports, encouraging deeper
reflection
12Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Case 2 Social work blog
- Face to face meetings before phase abroad
- Technical introduction and know how (e.g. about
blogs) - Initially a lot of time and effort was needed to
motivate the students to participate - Use of blog increased when confronted with
problems in organization abroad - Especially for students overseas it is necessary
to discuss culture shock and their personal
reactions. - Initial findings suggest that eSupervision has
nearly the same effect as f2f
13Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Findings
- Students felt comfortable expressing themselves
on the blogs - Shared feelings/emotions
- For students overseas, use of/need for blog
increased when experiencing problems abroad
(homesickness, culture shock)
14Weblogs as a support tool for international
mobility students Conclusions and Questions
- Ongoing contact through blogging increases
confidence - Blogs can also be used as an effective
psychological/emotional and social support tool
for international mobility students - Helen Keegan h.keegan_at_salford.ac.uk
- ESMOS http//www.esmos.org