随着博客等社会性网络应用的日益普及，尤其是在教育实践中的应用，博客文章及其评论的内容分析便成了最近几年教育研究中非常常见的一种研究活动。
Ideas, Connections and Extension(IEC）提出了一种博客文章及其评论分析的三层分类模型（Fostaty Young, 2005; Fostaty Young and Wilson,2000）。在这个模型中，Ideas是描述基础、事实或信息的分析过程中第一步。第二步涉及查找链接，弄清楚观点之间的关系。第三步，Extensions是内化观点和链接，从而在某种程度上帮助回答深层次的问题。其中，
Ideas用基础（Fundamentals）、基本事实（Basic Facts）、词汇（Vocabulary）、界定(Definitions)、细节（Details）以及基本概念（Elemental Concepts）。
Fostaty-Young and Wilson (2000) developed the ICE Rubric as a generalized assessment method for use across various types/ages of students, subjects, and levels of schooling, for all three purposes of assessment. Their method evolved in response to educators’ growing awareness that assessments of how much a student had learned were not the same as how well a student had grown in his or her understanding, and that students who knew many facts were not necessarily the ones who accomplished the best learning (Fostaty-Young & Wilson, 2000).
ICE places student learning on a continuum by describing the quality and depth of a student’s understanding (from superficial to deep) at different phases of development. Table 8 details the characteristics of learning for each of these phases.
