Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM Introduction The current Educational System is governed by the advancements of this technologically developing world.

It is evidently exposing the

students and teachers into new pedagogies of teaching-learning process. One of the most advanced methods is blogging, also known as web blogging or weblog. It was once an online posting of personalized ideas and points of view of a particular notion. Now, it is already an academic practice that is being integrated unto curriculum implementation to attain utmost level of student learning development. The researchers are personally witnesses of this particular practice. The effectiveness of the formulated pedagogy is vividly developing upon the continuous exploration of the said practice. There is a proper balance between the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domain of learning. Students are able to appreciate the learning procedures incorporated in the blogging practice. This is a brand-new course of action for students of the school (COC-Phinma). The researchers come up with the design of unlocking the vague conceptual basis of this pedagogical practice. There are a lot of assumptions that need be verified. This can only be made through concrete research study. The researchers are aware of the present conditions in the educational processes and essentially seek

2 to unveil the power of web blogging in language learning. There has to be an unlimited preview of this concern for we are ideally after of maximizing the level of language learning. But if the results tell us the adverse output, then, the process is not that reliable for writing skills development under language learning.

Conceptual Framework This research is also affixed to different concepts that helped the researchers to come up with this study. Nowadays, technology is one of the essential tools in education. Through this, educational technology has been believed to be a great aid in the mind-molding process. Educational Technology is a very broad

concept. It is the application of scientific findings in the method, process or procedure of working in the field of education in order to affect learning. It embraces instructional design, learning environment, theories of teaching-learning. Moreover, this notion also embraces the integration of technology in the classroom. Technology integration refers to the use of

all human inventions and discoveries to satisfy our educational need and desire like in learning. These inventions and discoveries can be devices, tools, equipment, activities procedures and processes. Included among these human inventions are the various educational media. (Corpuz and Lucido, 2008)

3 Furthermore, technological tools could help the teaching-learning process more meaningful. Both academic institutions and corporations have invested huge amounts of resources in computer-based training and education. The evidence in support of the effectiveness of computers and instructional technology in the classroom is mixed at best, and much of the practice is based on faith and ongoing trends in education. Moreover, Constructivist Approach asserts that knowledge is constructed, emergent, and grounded in action or experience. Constructivism is relatively new to educational analysis; however, it is not new to the theory of knowledge. This research is connected to these theories because the main objective of this research is to determine how effective are the technological tools in learning and how students can construct their own learning by using web blogging as a pedagogical practice in developing their writing skills.

Independent Variables
Gender Course Accessibility to Technological Tools ( Laptop/Personal Computer) Perception towards the use of web blogging Monetary students Status of the

Dependent Variables

Level of Writing Skills in terms of: 1. Vocabulary 2. Diction 3. Organization of Thoughts 4. Relevance of Ideas

Figure 1.1 The schematic diagram showing the relationship between dependent and independent variables.

Statement of the Problem This research is intended to determine the effectiveness of a technological tool which is web blogging in developing the writing skills of the students in Campus Journalism class at Cagayan de Oro CollegePhinma, Second Semester, school year 2011-2012. Furthermore, the study is intended to respond the following: 1. How are the student-respondents distributed in terms of:

5 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2. Gender Course Accessibility to Technological Tools Perception towards the use of web blogging Monetary Status of the students

How do the students perceive the use of the web blogging in

language learning? 3. What is the student-respondents level of Writing Skills in Web

blogging in terms of: 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4. Vocabulary Diction Organization of thoughts Relevance of Ideas

Is there significant difference in the writing skills in Web blogging

among the students-respondents when they are grouped according to student profile: 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Gender Course Accessibility to Technological Tools Perception towards the use of web blogging Monetary Status of the students

Hypothesis of the Problem Problems 1, 2 and 3 are hypothesis free and problem 4 is tested at 0.05 level of significance.

H0: There is no significant difference in the level of writing skills using web blogging among the student-respondents when they are grouped according to Gender, Course, Accessibility to Technological Tools, and Perception towards the use of web blogging and Monetary Allowance.

H1: There is a significant difference in the level of writing skills using web blogging among the student-respondents when they are grouped according to Gender, Course, Accessibility to Technological Tools, and Perception towards the use of web blogging and Monetary Allowance.

Scope and Limitations This research study included only the performance of Campus Journalism class of Cagayan de Oro College-Phinma, school year 20112012. In addition, this research only focuses on the web blogging software as a tool in developing the writing skills of the students. The other

technological tools such as E-mail were not included in this research. Furthermore, the respondents were only the AB Mass Communication and

7 BS Education English Major students who were enrolled to the subject. The other students from the other colleges were not taken into account of this research. However, the study essentially seeks to produce valid data based on the expected respondents and procedures to be used.

Significance of the Study This study will be a significant contribution to the 21 st century of education in learning the language specifically on writing skills with the use of advanced technological tools such as web blog. This tends to supply on the transactional approach rather than the traditional approach. Furthermore, this could help the teachers on building up the writing skills of the students through the integration of highly developed technological tools in the learning process. To the students, this would help them realize the substance of web blogging as to how it may help them improve their writing skills. To the parents, they will then be able to open their minds to expose their children on web blogging activities as this will be beneficial for their academic development. To the administrators, this would give them a preview on the use of web blogging allowing them to adapt this practice on educational processes that they may supervise. To future researchers, this would aid them in unlocking answers regarding their research which is in lined with this study.

Definition of Terms The following terms are unlocked operationally in order to grant a better and clearer understanding of the study. Accessibility. This term refers to the degree of frequency as to the students use the technological tools. Blog Page. This term refers to the dates of entries which are listed in order from latest to first. The journal entries or any written articles and this also includes the profile and other necessary information about the owner. Blog Site. This term refers to the interactive website that a person or group contributes information, pictures, comments and links to in a regular manner. Blog comes from the word weblog as it is a log of entries such as in a journal or diary. Diction. This term refers to how students bring into play different words, idioms, choice of usage according to order and functions to convey messages, thought and ideas in their essays. Monetary Allowance. This term refers to the daily allowance of the student-respondents in going to school where they get their budget for internet expenses. Organization. This refers to how fluent, how clear, how organized and how logical are the students in expressing and sequencing their ideas in their essays.

9 Pedagogy. This term refers to the art or science of teaching. This is also occasionally referred to as the correct use of instructive strategies. Perception. This term refers to how the students evaluate, comprehend and understand the concept of web blogging. Relevance. This term refers to how knowledgeable and substantive are the ideas of students in developing the topic in their essay. Vocabulary. This term refers to the state or degree of the students acquisition of variety of words to clearly explain their thoughts in their essays. Web Blog. This term refers to the online software program which also promotes social networking activities through blogging personalized articles or any pieces of written outputs.

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