These examples suggest that while there is no single model which might be considered as 'best practice', the pedagogical weblog demands a distinct approach which offers the tutor an important role in shaping the students' experience. As James Matthew (2005) explains, the use of a Web 2.0 tool in the classroom puts a pressure on the student who may be comfortable using it for personal motives: 'On the one hand, students beg for more independence and autonomy in their work, but on the other, I find a real insecurity or unwillingness on the part of many students to actually take hold of that autonomy and direct their learning.'
Far from demotivating them, it seems that students welcome guidance on how to blog for the academic context, particularly where it is an assessed element of the course. Ensuring learners understand how they may meet learning objectives enables them to focus on self-expression and develop critical and reflective thinking.
Summative and formative weblog assessment need not be mutually exclusive (Campbell 2005, Smith 2003), indeed Campbell notes that most teachers will seek to find a middle ground. As the MBA blog case study (Williams and Jacobs 2004) shows, levels of student engagement are less motivated by whether the weblog is assessed than by clarity of purpose and understanding how it will benefit them. Similarly, in research into the impact of assessment on reflective learning in the e-portfolio, indications that learner engagement was motivated solely by assessment were attributed to a failure to demonstrate its usefulness to the students (Tosh et al. 2005).
In matters of access and interaction, the advantage of an audience must be weighed up against the adverse effects and to compel learners to publish to the world at large may be unwise. The case studies used here showed a marked preference for the restricted-access model, which encourages learners to write for an audience yet maintains the 'safe space' that has been seen to be important in promoting honest self-expression. Provided that there is another forum for group discussion, the private blog may fulfil a useful role in building learner confidence.
The weblog is by nature flexible, and each teacher will wish to adapt it to meet the needs of his or her own learners, but the consideration of these issues before embarking upon a pedagogical weblog with a group of students may enhance the experience of all involved.