Is blogging the same as discussion board activity for a Self Directed Learner?

Good Evening Little Owls,

This week's prompt has us exploring if blogging is the same as a discussion board activity for Self Directed Learning. Candidly, and I'll be upfront, it is not. 

A facilitated discussion board activity, such as answering a prompt through providing some sort of scholarly insight derived from academic research, in some respects, requires the learner to use critical reasoning and introspective processes reflecting an advanced stage within the Staged Self-Directed Learning model (Grow, 1991). The learner then provides some level of analysis and insight, leveraging a mosaic of sources to frame a cohesive argument, aligned with Paul and Elder (2013) universal intellectual standards, ultimately seeking a decisive change in themselves (Tough, 1971). 

While Tough (1971) would contend that a learner's desire for self-change serves a primary driver for learning projects, I would challenge the premise that blogging is a consistent learning activity. Pettigrew et al., (2016) thematic analysis in to blogging motivations noted that blogging activities primarily served five purposes: developing connections with others, experiencing heightened levels of mental stimulation, achieving self-validation, contributing to the welfare of others, and extending skills and abilities. While learning may be an ancillary benefit of blogging activity, it is not always a primary benefit or desire of the user. 

To me, assuming the interchangeability of blogging and discussion board activities both convolutes and subsumes the individual's purpose across two distinctly separate activities. While blogging may provide holistic benefits to health and wellness (Celdran et al., (2021), it may not adequately provide the same scrutiny, from its community of practice, as academic inquiry via a facilitated discussion board within an educational context. 

Hoot Hoot. 

References

Celdrán, M., Serrat, R., Villar, F., & Montserrat, R. (2021). Exploring the benefits of proactive participation among adults and older people by writing blogs. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 

Grow, G. (1991). Teaching learners to be self-directed. Adult Education Quarterly, 41(3), 125-149. 

Paul, R., Elder, L. (2013) Critical thinking: Intellectual standards essential to reasoning well within every domain of human thought, part two. Journal of Developmental Education, 37(1), 32-36.

Pettigrew, S., Archer, C. J., & Harrigan, P. (2016). A thematic analysis of mothers' motivations for blogging. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20, 1025-1031.

Tough, A. (1971). The adult's learning projects: A fresh approach to theory and practice in adult learning. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.