Cooperative learning in higher education using weblogs : a study with undergraduate students of education in Portugal

Abstract

This paper presents an experience of internet integration in an Education Program of the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. The project was developed in the first semester of 2006/2007 and integrated 23 undergraduate students who attended Educational and Communication Technology (ECT) class. Students, in small groups, were encouraged to set up and maintain a weblog as a portfolio of the team work. Cooperative learning was the central object of study: students worked together to maximize their own and each other's learning. At the end of the semester students filled a five-point Likert scale online questionnaire evaluating four dimensions of the experience: a) weblogs as educational/communicational tools; b) weblogs in ECT course; c) weblogs and the future of the profession and, d) weblogs and cooperative learning. The results show up that weblogs are versatile educational tools that can promote learning whilst developing social skills.