What do we want to do with these blogs, anyway?
In class we talked about blogging and commenting. I observed that the blogs have not really taken off yet in terms of you using them for your own purposes to develop writing & to connect to each other, and help each other out with the assignments.
So we talked about why that might be and whether or not you wanted to continue with the blogs. I think the general consensus was that there was some confusion about what was expected, as well as some reticence about being critical of one another's work. At the same time, my impression was that the class agreed that they wanted to continue doing the blogs & that commenting would be useful - now that you know you aren't required to "grade" or find fault with one another's entries. I hope I made clear that I am not expecting polished writing - or answers, in the entries - that blogs are places for reflection and exploration -- and collaboration with classmates.
So we decided to continue with this experiment, and I said I would take this discussion into consideration as I grade.
After class I was thinking that maybe it was the fact that the blogs ARE graded that is part of what is a disincentive to use them. So maybe we should talk about that? Maybe I need to find a way to give you credit for honest work and participation that won't have a chilling effect on using your work to explore, create and maybe even have fun while you are doing it.
I don't know. So what do you think?
So we talked about why that might be and whether or not you wanted to continue with the blogs. I think the general consensus was that there was some confusion about what was expected, as well as some reticence about being critical of one another's work. At the same time, my impression was that the class agreed that they wanted to continue doing the blogs & that commenting would be useful - now that you know you aren't required to "grade" or find fault with one another's entries. I hope I made clear that I am not expecting polished writing - or answers, in the entries - that blogs are places for reflection and exploration -- and collaboration with classmates.
So we decided to continue with this experiment, and I said I would take this discussion into consideration as I grade.
After class I was thinking that maybe it was the fact that the blogs ARE graded that is part of what is a disincentive to use them. So maybe we should talk about that? Maybe I need to find a way to give you credit for honest work and participation that won't have a chilling effect on using your work to explore, create and maybe even have fun while you are doing it.
I don't know. So what do you think?
posted by S. Chandler at 7:45 PM
1 Comments:
I know that I'm not commenting as I should. Sometimes, I dont' know what to say, and then I feel silly by just saying "Good job! I like where this is going. :)" without leaving any constructive feedback. But I LOVE having blogs and looking at other people's thoughts and seeing the different opinions.
With my blog, I'm aware that I'm not using it as I probably should. I don't really brainstorm out papers when I'm writing it. I just write it. And the memoir I'm writing is something I'm still not 100% comfortable with sharing with my other classmates. I couldn't think about writing about Santa Claus, so I wrote about this past summer and it seems as though I'm not throwing up enough on my blog fleshing out my memoir or personal essay. But I'm going to try.
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