WEBLOGS AND DISCUSSION FORUMS AS ALTERNATIVE TOOLS FOR CONSTRUCTING ON-LINE LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Weblogs and discussion forums have been used as ICT tools for constructing on-line learning communities. Little by little, their use have been expanded to other knowledge areas such education and English language teaching. Previous studies have suggested some effects of weblogs and discussion forums in the corresponding learning process, nevertheless, more studies are required.
This paper describes and analyzes the experience developed in the class of Educational Technology in students of ELT at the University of Quintana Roo during spring 2008. Fourty-six students currently enrolled in a mixed mode class were well-supported by certain information and communication tools such as: course management system, email and asynchronous discussion forums. These students were asked to create a weblog as a final project for demonstrating their mastering in the use of technology with academic purposes. They worked in teams and they selected the topic according to their own interests and immediate context. Also, they were instructionally and technologically trained in the weblogs design.
Taking into account previous empirical evidence, this study was oriented to determine a) what ICT tools were used for supporting students´ EFL learning, b) Which attitudes and perceptions towards the use of weblogs and discussion forums in the learning process were observed, c) Which pre-determined functions were used in the blog construction, d) How structured and meaningful the content in the discussion forums and weblogs was and e) what type of activities in the discussion forums were developed by the students.
Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire, an open-ended interview, an analysis of the weblogs and discussion forums and a peer-evaluation. The data analysis was conducted following a quantitative and a qualitative approach. The results showed that, participants do use ICT tools for EFL learning. Also, the results showed that, in general, the participants seem to be very motivated to use weblogs and discussion forums for improving their learning and communicative skills. Furthermore, the participants showed the interest in developing specific scenarios for creating learning communities. Finally, it can be suggested that this preliminary study will pave the way for further research in the use of weblogs and discussion forums in reading and writing as linguistic skills.