A week thinking about it.....

Considering my thoughts last week, I see that I have actually come up with aspects of blogging which are very diverse and could not possibly be addressed in such a short piece of work. I also wonder if all are relevant to evaluating what ‘knowledge’ is out there, which would actually provide information to conduct further research of my own.
I have to really dismiss the second question straight away; firstly, due to the limitations of the ICT available within the institution, I would likely be discussing a range of political issues which could arise from evaluating the ‘best’ technology and access. I’m not a ‘techie’ – I am interested in the use of the technology and not how it works (or, in this case, should work). With the range of blogging tools available, perhaps basing a model of embedding learning outside the restrictive VLE would be a sensible choice. While it is clear even at this stage that if research was to be carried out within this context, the issue of access and reliability would be crucial, I am selecting to not address this for the purposes of this project.
So, would it be useful to explore what has been researched on learners engaging with blogs for reflective writing? Possibly; initial searches have uncovered this theme from teacher training courses and medical faculties. However, I am now thinking that addressing the last question may be linked to the engagement of the medium and be a motivation for blogging. If learners are to be encouraged to use a blogging medium, it seems only fair that credit is gained from this. The attitude of ‘what’s in it for me?’, even among …… learners, suggests that some ‘enticement’ is made to use the tool
What would be the benefits of using blogs as an assessment method? This topic is of interest to me, not least because, as educational institutions and awarding bodies strive to address the widening participation agenda (HEFCE, 2001; DFES 2006) and the diversity of student needs increases, ‘new’ methods of teaching, learning and assessment must be considered. If blogging is increasingly acceptable as a medium of communication, could these texts perhaps contribute to earning academic credit towards qualifications?
As well as the widening participation theme, the issue of the assessment tool is valid; will students use this and/or learn from this? I also need to consider some theoretical perspectives, such as reflection (very relevant for practising managers) and pedagogical issues such as my beliefs in learning through collaboration and the use of peer feedback. Additionally, I should clarify the setting within which I am viewing any research to be evaluated; this is specifically for a professional qualification - the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 5 Diploma in Management. This earns 60 CATS points and involves a number of reflective learning activities within a range of modules, such as managing resources, recruitment and selection and other management areas of professional development. Students are from diverse organisations and generally learn much from each other, through classroom activities. However, time constraints are high and attendance (for 6 hours per week) is often complained about.
This has now given me more ‘food for thought’ and my plan is to look for existing research on blogging for assessment, management blogs and reflective blogging.