One of the more frequent questions CIT receives is about the difference between blogs and forums or threaded discussions.

In the November issue of the International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, Donna Cameron and Terry Anderson deal with this question in their article comparing blogs to forums in the online education environment.

Weblogs or blogs are being heralded as the “next big thing” in education. In this article we examine the advantages and disadvantages of this form of Internet-based interaction using the Community of Inquiry model with its focus on social, cognitive and teaching presences. We conclude that blogging has distinct advantages over more common threaded discussion in its support of style, ownership and identity, and its public nature may enhance resolution phases of cognitive presence. However, its lack of safety and the current inefficiencies of linking and threading messages present greater challenges than the more familiar threaded discussion or email list. Perhaps the blog’s greatest relative advantage is for non formal and open education that takes learning beyond the traditional course.