Blogs in pre-service teacher education: Exploring the participation issue

Web 2.0 technologies characterised by user participation and sharing have been used increasingly in academic environments. In such learning environments, it is critical to engage learners as active participants rather than passive consumers of online content. The present study attempts to conceptualise the participation issue central to blogs through examining the factors that hinder student teachers from writing academic blogs and exchanging comments. It presents two cases of implementing academic blogging where participation levels varied. Adopting an exploratory case study approach, the study identified multiple inhibiting factors in individual, social, pedagogical, and technological dimensions. Through highlighting a number of critical issues and pitfalls for educators, the study can enhance the exploitation of the pedagogical potential of blogs and increase user engagement in the process.