In his article, “Blogging as Pedagogic Practice: Artefact and Ecology,” Marcus O’Donnell from the University of Wollongong, Australia cites the experience of a teacher who "fell out of love with blogging" as follows:
I have discovered that my honeymoon with blogs is over, mostly because
there really is no room for spirited interaction between my students and
myself in the blogs. Yes, I can require that they respond to another person’s
blog, but one student said that, compared to a discussion forum, leaving
responses to blogs felt more like leaving a note for someone who is out. The
discussion forum, she said, felt more like an ongoing conversation which was
more fun. (Remmell 2004)
Please post a short comment (100-200 words) of what you think about this argument, and whether you think this can/will keep you as a teacher from using blogs in your classes. Are blogs interactive enough? Do they foster communication between students, and/or students and teacher? What dangers would you see with blogging? Would you consider a class blog a valuable teaching tool, or an unnecessary technological burden?
I think that blogs are good for a basic interaction. I think that they are not very interactive because they are only used to leave comments to other people. You have to wait until that person responds to keep the interaction going. But I think that they are a good place to start interaction between students. They are good because they are a different way to interact. But I think that you would have to force your students to interact with the blogs. I think that the ultimate way to interact is to have a group discussion. With a live discussion, you can make sure everyone is interacting and involving themselves in the discussion. This is not really that possible for blogging. I also think that blogging is becoming dated and it is something that students are not very interested in anymore.
ReplyDeleteI strongly disagree with this teacher's belief. Blogging can be a very fun way for students to have a conversation about a given topic. The great thing about blogging is that students have time to think and figure out exactly what they want to say regarding a given topic. During class discussions, students often lock up and don't know what to say, only to get upset with themselves after class is over because they wish they would have said something. With blogging, students have time to sit back and take in what the other students have said, figure out in their head how they want to reply, and come back with a strong argument of their own at their own pace.
ReplyDeleteI believe that blogging is extremely important because it is great way to incorporate technology in the classroom. Whether or not the teacher wants to implement technology, I feel that we (as future teachers) we do not have a choice. Our students need to be able to use technology correctly. Blogs are a great way to be interactive. In one of my classes here at SIUC, we are required to read the blogs and comment on other student entries. In doing so, I have a chance to see other ideas and opinions. Teachers should be required to post comments on student blogs. Student will feel that it is worth while and that the teacher, and other students are valuing their opinions. I believe in blogs and think it is an excellent, creative way to be used in classrooms today.
ReplyDeleteI think blogs are both good and bad. Blogs are able to get information out to your students within the classroom if computers are available. Blogs also can lead to distractions. I would rarely use blogs in my classroom because I feel that students do not appreciate the work put into blogs. I do not believe they are interactive enough. Blogs are just text, hypertext, and videos (much like any other normal website). The blogs can foster communication effectively only if the blogs are something that the students like to speak about. If there is no initial attraction to the blog, students will not be enthusiastic about the subject. The dangers are just as great as going on the internet. There really aren’t that many risks involved with blogging. Once again, the blog’s subject and direction depends on the students. They will either value it if they’re interested or disregarded because the topic isn’t interesting enough. To me, blogs should just stick to personal use only.
ReplyDeleteI do not think this fear will necessarily keep me from using blogs in the classroom, but it will definitely make me re-think certain assignments. I am currently in a class where blogging is the only means of communication, and I do feel that the assignments are just busy work. When the professor posts prompts on the blog, some students simply copy and paste what other students have already written. I do not think that blogs are interactive enough; teachers should assign a private assignment that the student must also accomplish as well as commenting on the blog. The professor asks us to comment specifically to another classmate’s blog response and to incorporate it into our own private assignment. The most significant danger I see with blogging is cheating. I have seen how students simply copy and paste another student’s work and simply incorporate small pieces from several blogs to fulfill the requirements for their own private assignments. Because there are so many students in the class, I think it would be hard to judge whether or not the student had submitted plagiarized work or not.
ReplyDeleteI still believe that blogging is a powerful tool that should be utilized in the classroom. First, the students need to be aware of the increasing use of technology in our everyday lives. Bringing blogging into the classroom not only allows the students practice tech skills but also brings in this concept of technology that some students may not find at home. Even though blogging is not directly interactive, it still gives the students a chance to find interaction through the web, a must in most modern day jobs. Through commenting, students practice their writing skills as well as stressing their tech skills. Although there may be some dangers to writing blogs (copying or not being able to form thoughts in the time given) I still find blogs to be valuable. I would most definitely use a blog in the classroom if they were available.
ReplyDeleteI think that blogging is definitely something that can be used in the classroom. However, like all technology, teacher's need to ask themselves why they want to use it, and what for. I feel like these days, everyone in education makes a big deal about "technologies" (to my knowledge, blogging isn't very new). Sure, some of them are good, and some can drastically make things more efficient or fun. But in general, I think teachers should first and foremost rely on the good ol' fashioned methods, as many schools simply don't have the money (or sometimes, even the acceptance) of some of these technologies.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, blogs themselves can be a decent supplement to a course. You can make a blog for almost anything under the sun in English (as I've learned in my recent years, you can even make them about ordinarily mundane things like grammar). Blogs like this one I think are good for those sorts of things, but I think the idea of actual student created blogs is far more exciting. Students can take ownership, practice their writing skills, develop a voice, and get feedback from a relevant audience. This sort of implementation for blogs can be useful. Then again, I'm a little wary as well. In my experience, students can (and will) take any shortcuts they can (and maybe we can't blame them). The internet has created it's own sort of language laws, and I think teachers should, if they decide to do blogs, make it clear what's OK and what's not (i.e. discourage internet slang, copying & pasting, inappropriate material).
Blogging can be a valuable tool—so long as your school and your students have the resources to use it and post to it. A discussion forum is a very interesting comparison, as this would seem to foster a more clear line of communication and argumentation, but I’ve seen blogs trigger good discussion akin to discussion forums. It all really depends on how the blog is being used—but students might feel comfortable using a medium like a blog. I know that several former students of mine had blogs or used tumblr. That being said, blogging opens one up for cyber-bullying (both by the poster and those who can see the post). This is a quick fix, though, as blogs can be locked. This would leave students away from the public eye, and anything incriminating or too personal that they post (such as over sharing essential personal information like a phone number to be reached at) can at least have some form of protection.
ReplyDeleteI believed that blogging can be valuable. I feel that it allow for interaction between classmates. Students are free to comment without fear of direct criticism. It also allows for teachers to track participation during discussion. I will use this in my classroom if resources are available. Students need to be aware of the increasing use of technology so they can be adaptive to the real world. It also leads to more technology being introduced into classrooms. I think it is valuable asset.
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