Student Reflection of Blogging in a Turf grass Weed Management Course1

摘要

A blog, which contains periodic, reverse chronologically ordered posts on a common webpage, is a tool that is popular among all ages and for many different uses. Blogging in the turfgrass industry is prevalent, regardless of the industry sector. It isvital that students in the Golf and Sports Turf Management (GSTM) program at Mississippi State University (MSU) are well versed in using blogging technology in a professional environment upon graduation. Therefore, the objective of this research was todetermine if blogging was an effective educational delivery method for GSTM students enrolled in a Turfgrass Weed Management course at MSU. Students were randomly assigned into groups of three to research, write and publish a blog post on an assigned weed species. Students were given three instruments at the beginning (PRE), middle (MID) and end (POST) of the semester to determine the impact of incorporating the blog into this course. Of the 14 students in the course, 12 had never followed or contributed to a blog. Of the students who completed the MID instrument (n = 12), 11 students indicated their ability to find and understand new information was improved through participating in this blog. Overall, the blogging component of this course significantly improved student connection with the turfgrass industry and students indicated a blogging assignment should be included into future turfgrass weed management courses. Also, the majority of students indicated they would be willing to contribute or start a blog upon entering the workplace after graduation.