Hi everyone. I have used Blackboard discussion boards for most of my online education. I have little experience on blogs, let alone running my own. Creating this blog site took longer than I thought it would because I lost track of time. I wanted it to represent myself as a serious student and address the theme of incorporating technology in the classroom. In the process I became personally invested in my blog. Like the students in Shelbie Witte’s Talkback Project I have already improved my “digital fluency” (Witte, p. 92) and hope to continue that through our discussions through blogging.
Will Richardson notes the positive impact a blog can have on students: promoting critical thinking, analytical thinking, intuitive thinking, associational thinking, and increases “access and exposure to quality information.” (Richardson, p. 20) Jo Ann Oravec talks about the dimensions of blogs that give students a unique voice and student empowerment to become more analytical and critical, defining their positions and outlining their perspectives on issues. (Oravec, p. 618)
I enjoyed creating the blog, but am unsure how it will work from here. Message boards are a fixed medium, but can facilitate discussion in a controlled environment. Personal blogs are a creative expression of each student, who can design the site to their own liking.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.
Witte, S. (2007). "That's online writing, not boring school writing": Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. International Reading Association, 92-96. doi:10.1588/JAAL.51.2.1
Oravec, J. A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621.
Citefast automatically formats citations: APA 6th edition, MLA 7th ed. and Chicago 16th ed. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.citefast.com/
I like the look of your blog and I think the time you spent on it has certainly paid off. I am beginning to get the hang of this myself, and I feel like the personal reflective aspect of the blog is possibly its biggest benefit. So often the message board is simply a restating of facts from the weeks reading, but the blog provides a more personal, comfortable space for a sharing of thoughts and ideas. I liked having some guidance this week from Dr. K. as this certainly give the instructor the ability to guide where they would like the conversation to go. A possible drawback is the amount of time the instructor will need to devote to monitoring that direction and determining when to intervene to get conversations "back on track" where necessary.
Michael: First off, great job on your blog! I thought creating the blog was easy enough, but what seems to take a long time is getting it setup they way you want to. Would you consider the setup process and layout and design a critical thinking aspect? I certainly would consider that part of the critical thinking process and inline with higher order thinking skills. Do you feel that the design aspect could be too time consuming and detract students from the writing compared to the linear nature of discussion boards? I think that all of the options are viable for outside resources. For my classes, I would prefer to setup with an outside resource before hand or several. My courses are already time consuming and many assignments to be completed each week. To find networking or security specialists are kind of hard in our area, but would be incredibly helpful to have contact with this type of person to talk with students about their jobs! This would be helpful with guest speakers and not have to request them to take off work to speak for free, but could collaborate and share with my class when time allowed in their schedules. What would you prefer or your thoughts?
Gary, Thanks for the positive feedback. It some time to figure out color schemes and gadget placement. I had to start from scratch twice.
I agree that the instructor will need to keep the blogs on track, but only to a certain degree. As we exchange comments we will certainly interject personal opinion or experiences. I think these jaunts create a deeper and more meaningful exploration of the subject matter because each person connects to information from their own point of view. As I learn from your point of view, you learn from mine. Even if we don't agree.
Hi Annie (I think!) or amhoekma, This is definitely critical thinking and creative thinking. I found I wasn't only thinking of creating a good product for a grade. I also wanted to represent myself well to my fellow classmates. I also knew that this blog would be view-able to the public so I thought about my online brand beyond the classroom. My blog is connected to my google + acount, to another blog, and to other sites. I think we should have a discussion for everyone about branding.
Meaningful Discussion Question: I forgot to include a meaningful discussion question to my blog. Here goes:
What is the best way to make a class blog available to outside sources, relevant to the topic, to contribute to the discussion? Should the instructor allow it to happen naturally, or coordinate ahead of time with a person/agency vetted in advance? Or, should a blog created for one class be restricted to approved students and faculty only?
Hi everyone.
ReplyDeleteI have used Blackboard discussion boards for most of my online education. I have little experience on blogs, let alone running my own. Creating this blog site took longer than I thought it would because I lost track of time. I wanted it to represent myself as a serious student and address the theme of incorporating technology in the classroom. In the process I became personally invested in my blog. Like the students in Shelbie Witte’s Talkback Project I have already improved my “digital fluency” (Witte, p. 92) and hope to continue that through our discussions through blogging.
Will Richardson notes the positive impact a blog can have on students: promoting critical thinking, analytical thinking, intuitive thinking, associational thinking, and increases “access and exposure to quality information.” (Richardson, p. 20) Jo Ann Oravec talks about the dimensions of blogs that give students a unique voice and student empowerment to become more analytical and critical, defining their positions and outlining their perspectives on issues. (Oravec, p. 618)
I enjoyed creating the blog, but am unsure how it will work from here. Message boards are a fixed medium, but can facilitate discussion in a controlled environment. Personal blogs are a creative expression of each student, who can design the site to their own liking.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.
Witte, S. (2007). "That's online writing, not boring school writing": Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. International Reading Association, 92-96. doi:10.1588/JAAL.51.2.1
Oravec, J. A. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616-621.
Citefast automatically formats citations: APA 6th edition, MLA 7th ed. and Chicago 16th ed. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.citefast.com/
Michael,
DeleteI like the look of your blog and I think the time you spent on it has certainly paid off. I am beginning to get the hang of this myself, and I feel like the personal reflective aspect of the blog is possibly its biggest benefit. So often the message board is simply a restating of facts from the weeks reading, but the blog provides a more personal, comfortable space for a sharing of thoughts and ideas. I liked having some guidance this week from Dr. K. as this certainly give the instructor the ability to guide where they would like the conversation to go. A possible drawback is the amount of time the instructor will need to devote to monitoring that direction and determining when to intervene to get conversations "back on track" where necessary.
Gary
Michael:
DeleteFirst off, great job on your blog! I thought creating the blog was easy enough, but what seems to take a long time is getting it setup they way you want to. Would you consider the setup process and layout and design a critical thinking aspect? I certainly would consider that part of the critical thinking process and inline with higher order thinking skills. Do you feel that the design aspect could be too time consuming and detract students from the writing compared to the linear nature of discussion boards? I think that all of the options are viable for outside resources. For my classes, I would prefer to setup with an outside resource before hand or several. My courses are already time consuming and many assignments to be completed each week. To find networking or security specialists are kind of hard in our area, but would be incredibly helpful to have contact with this type of person to talk with students about their jobs! This would be helpful with guest speakers and not have to request them to take off work to speak for free, but could collaborate and share with my class when time allowed in their schedules. What would you prefer or your thoughts?
Gary,
DeleteThanks for the positive feedback. It some time to figure out color schemes and gadget placement. I had to start from scratch twice.
I agree that the instructor will need to keep the blogs on track, but only to a certain degree. As we exchange comments we will certainly interject personal opinion or experiences. I think these jaunts create a deeper and more meaningful exploration of the subject matter because each person connects to information from their own point of view. As I learn from your point of view, you learn from mine. Even if we don't agree.
Hi Annie (I think!) or amhoekma,
DeleteThis is definitely critical thinking and creative thinking. I found I wasn't only thinking of creating a good product for a grade. I also wanted to represent myself well to my fellow classmates. I also knew that this blog would be view-able to the public so I thought about my online brand beyond the classroom. My blog is connected to my google + acount, to another blog, and to other sites. I think we should have a discussion for everyone about branding.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMeaningful Discussion Question: I forgot to include a meaningful discussion question to my blog. Here goes:
ReplyDeleteWhat is the best way to make a class blog available to outside sources, relevant to the topic, to contribute to the discussion? Should the instructor allow it to happen naturally, or coordinate ahead of time with a person/agency vetted in advance? Or, should a blog created for one class be restricted to approved students and faculty only?