Fostering critical thinking and reflection through blog‐mediated peer feedback

The introduction of digital literacy practices has created a tension in academia, with many academics challenging the view that critical thinking can be fostered on social networks. A quasi‐experimental study was conducted on two sections of university‐level writing classrooms to determine if there were meaningful differences in the quality of writing and peer feedback generated through in‐class draft workshops using traditional methods as compared to draft workshops using a blogging platform. The results indicated that blogs produced a higher quality of writing as measured by grades, f(42) = 11.512, p  < .002 and acceptance scores, f(42) = 8.364, p  < .006. Furthermore, blog‐mediated peer workshops produced a statistically significantly higher number of critical comments, f(42) = 120.438, p  < .000; and directive comments, f(42) = 33.861, p  < .000. There were no statistically significant differences in the number of editing comments, f(42) = .001, p  < .974, and traditional draft workshops produced a statistically significant higher number of naïve comments, f(42) = 14.119, p  < .001. Within the study, critical comments were found to correlate positively with learning outcomes, b  = 1.115, t (41) = 2.716, p  < .01. The findings suggest that blogging software improved learner performance and fostered complex literacy skills.