Blog enabled peer-to-peer learning

The purpose of this project was to simulate development of a community oral health plan using technology-based tools at the students' disposal. The specific research questions were: Will students use the Internet to identify community oral health issues and develop solutions to address the issues? Will blogs be a good tool to discuss and engage students in conversation with each other and to connect them with community oral health resources? How will blogging impact future academic and personal communications for the student?

Dental hygiene students (n=30) participated in a community oral health course for 7 weeks. Students were asked to create a blog on which they would post weekly assignments and respond to 2 of their peer's blogs each week. Methods for data collection were post-treatment survey (15 items) analyzed for descriptive statistics and an analysis of written blog content according to a counting and coding scheme.

Students used the Internet to identify issues and problem solving scenarios. Blogs were a good tool to engage students in discussions on oral health issues and peer-to-peer learning. Qualitative discourse analysis revealed evidence of critical thought and discourse throughout blog posts. Students referenced the Internet in blogs, while specific instances of resource sharing and provision of solutions to peers were less common. Students felt blogging encouraged them to engage with one another. Twenty percent of participating students have extended their use of blogging for both academic and personal purposes.