Blog Topic #6: Communicating via Blog

When our class was first asked to create a blog and participate on it.  I had mixed feelings about the situation.  It was a fresh new semester and i was optimistic about my ability to focus on school work.  So asking me to keep an up to date blog sounded simple and basically, online homework.

However, as the class progressed i noticed that the blog posts were more or less asking for our opinions on the class activities we had during class.  And with that, also about the specific topic the class activity was about.  Our professor would ask us about our opinions of the activity, did we learn what the activity was really about? and in what way will it help us.  I feel in this way, this is an excellent homework assignment.  But i don't think anyone wrote on this blog with an opinion that they could say anything they wanted with no penalty.  Obviously. we are well aware that our fellow students and teachers would eventually see this, and without that sense of anonymity the opinions can be sugar coated.

As with other blogs, blogging gives others an insight to their opinions and perceptions of a specific topic.  With this, i would say commenting on other people's blogs was an excellent way to get to know people in our classroom.  As well as learning about their past and what inspires them.  I really like how the commenting helped give positive feedback all around.  Towards the end, i would start looking forward specific people i've commented on before to comment on again.  I guess thats just because we become more comfortable as we get to know each other.  I would say, that it would be better to require comments on different people each time.  that would force us to move outside of our comfort zone and experience more of the blogs from our classmates.

I would say. overall the blog was a homework assignment.  Did i value its criticism? not so much, did i post anything negative on the blog? absolutely not, would I if this blog was anonymous like the internet?  well, being anonymous would certainly allow me that privilege.  and now, my opinion whether blogging should be kept or not.  I think that blogging is a perfect substitute for homework.  In fact, it basically is homework, however, i think it can be an excellent study tool.  Instead of just how input on how we felt about class activities, i would say, make students work for the 20% of the grade, require 1 blog topic about each chapter.  I'm not saying summarize what the chapter is in a blog, but more like. what your opinion is about the chapter, especially theoritical concepts, or whether a specific method really works in the real world.  In assigning one chapter, that leaves a blogger a lot of freedom about what to write, while helping them learn the material for the test.  At the very least, a blog post about the chapter requires them to look at the chapter.  That in itself can be more than some students do.  (myself included)