Technology in the Study Abroad Classroom: Using Blogs to Encourage Meaningful Student Reflection

A quick glance at academic research being done on the value of study abroad experiences for undergraduates indicates a concern that students engage in meaningful reflection about the historical sites and cultures they visit.  One common response to this concern has been the use of reflective journaling.  Having successfully used this technique in the past, I was anxious to make it more academically appropriate for history courses, as well as more interactive, for students traveling with me to St. Edward’s University’s campus in Angers, France in the fall of 2011.  For marketing purposes, the St. Edward’s Office of International Education created a blog page for students in Angers in the 2011 spring and summer semesters.  Communications faculty teaching in Angers had made good use of the blog site to encourage their students to reflect on cultural differences and to practice their technical skills.  For History students, in contrast, I designed an assignment that asked them to reflect on their travel experiences by digging deeper into the significance of the historical sites they visited and producing a blog entry that included primary and secondary source references, photographs and even video clips.  What they created was presented to the class for discussion first, edited or further developed as necessary and then posted to the public blog.  Most of my students were already active bloggers themselves, or active readers of others’ blogs.  The challenge for them, they admitted, was to place their personal experiences in broader historical context or debate over the interpretation of a particular site and then connect their reflections to themes of the course.   My presentation will review the relevant academic literature on blogs and study abroad and suggest best practices based upon my experiences, including learning outcomes and assessment, as well as the feedback of my students.