Hello and welcome to the last reading response,
This week’s topic is multimedia writing/using technology in the composition classroom. I would like you to write about your own experience this semester using this blog, as a way to both get your feedback for future semesters and to have you reflect on the use of technology in a writing class. You can use the following questions to guide your response:
1. What was different about writing reading responses on a blog? Imagine that I had given you 10 journal assignments to hand in on paper instead. What would have been different about writing those assignments?
2. Did the blog writing help you digest/understand the reading topics? Or perhaps you feel that our in-class discussions were better at accomplishing this goal. Please explain.
3. Did you read the responses of other students? If so, did they help you to understand the readings? If not, why not?
Please be honest with your comments–I am truly looking for feedback so that I can improve the use of blogging in my classes!!
-Cathy
I had never used a blog before and it is actually not so hard. Technology and I don’t mix and I usually have a hard time with computers. I know a little but it is still hard for me. At first I thought that this blog thing was going to be hard and that I was going to have problems with it. But actually this was easy to use, and I had no mayor problems. This semester I am without a computer and is has been a little hard to find a computer but I think that these has been easier than to write a journal. Here we respond to what the professor is asking us and because we are able to see he other students responses if we don’t know what to write about we can get ideas of what other students wrote. This is also good because we can respond to other classmates and answer back to them. This is more interactive than just writing in a journal. For the reaction on writing about our final project was good because we could read other peoples ideas and get ideas for our own, another thing is that other people reacted to our ideas and may have suggestions and questions that helped us develop a little more our ideas. I think that the blog also helped us understand the topic for the day because we had to reflect on the readings and also react to the reading as well. This made us read carefully and come to class knowing about the topic, and the class discussions did also involve the responses that were in the blog. Because I don’t have a computer things were more complicated for me, many times all the time that I had was to read the question and react to it, so I had no time to actually read any of my classmate’s responses. But I do believe that if anyone would read them they would probably see things in our classmate’s readings that we didn’t see when we read. Overall I do believe that this was a very good and different activity. It is a job to turn in, without the paper work, and in a way it is an informal paper were we can feel free to write what we think and to interact with the responses of our classmates. If I ever teach in a University lever with students higher of Intermediate class and learned how to use a blog I think that I would use this activity. As I said, I believe that the mayor strengthens of this was that we had a week to complete it, there was no paper work, we could read our classmates responses and we could even interact with our classmates, getting ideas and even reacting to them. I think that if we had been asked for more worked than the one that we actually were assigned to do it wouldn’t had been so effective, and the task would have been more unpleasant. I think that this activity can bee used for other classes.
Well, I consider this was a good idea for several reasons. The first is that at least for me, it is more feasible to write a response on a Blog, than having to go through the process of doing it really official in a Word page, and printing to turn in. Another reason is that because we can see each other’s reactions, it serves to see the different points of view about the readings. It also serves to “feed off” on each other when it comes to things we do in the classroom, and which of them work, and which don’t.
I believe it has a lot to do with the nature of the reactions. Yes, they were based on the text, but they were also based on our experiences with these topics, so in that sense, I consider them even more useful as a group to discuss these in such a matter. This is because of the advantage we have in going back and refereeing to previous reactions and topics of discussions. Still, I strongly believe that the discussion of these in class were extremely helpful as well.
Another reason why I liked the Blog is because it simply leaves time to do different, more interactive activities in class, and also takes away the burden of being in a classroom for three hours consecutively doing things that were achieved here.
The use of the blog for this course has been another good experience regarding hybrid courses and the integration of technology in the classroom. In my opinion, the blog has worked for this class for several reasons. First of all, it establishes a weekly assignment that we were all aware of since the beginning of the semester. This helped me get organized because I set a weekly schedule for completing the assignment, this became my routine. It is also a good way to make sure that the material that is going to be covered is read and understood so that when we are in the classroom, we are actually reflecting on our responses based on the readings. The construction of the questions for the responses was significant in the success of the blog for the course. These were questions that allowed us to draw on our own experience in teaching composition and blend these with the readings.
Indeed, reading the comments of other people helped me with my own posting because it allowed me to be more critical about my own writing. The discussions in the blog contributed to the establishment of productive dialogue. If these entries were handed in on paper, only the professor would be able to read them whereas by posting them in the blog, we are able to read about everyone’s thoughts. This way, we all benefit from everyone else’s comments. Audience and purpose are elements of the writing process that we ask our students too keep in mind and that we should of course also do. By writing electronic entries, we are aware that others are going to be reading our responses and this contributes to what and how we write.
I think that it is important to blend what happens in the blog with what is happening in the classroom. That way the blog actually complements the class instead of representing an extra load of work. Again, for me the use of this blog was successful, well balanced and productive for this course.
The difference of the blog reading responses and the use of the paper medium is that it was even more accessible to the student to work on a computer while doing the reading and not drift to lose the guide questions or misplace them, these are ever present in the blog as a reminder to do the readings and then react to the readings themselves. The blog served as an agenda to look up and see what is going to be discussed in the class the next week, and not fall behind on the work that was meant for the class. In terms of having 10 journal assignments to hand in is that the stress factor involved in the paper medium can be misplaced or even damaged in the process of handing in and afterwards grading. Plus the deadline could be twisted or even manipulated by the students saying that they did in fact hand in the work when they didn’t, the date that is enrolled in the posting serves as evidence that the work was either late or not handed in at the due time.
The blog was very helpful in understanding the readings due to the posting by other students and their own take on the work that is being discussed, doubts could be cleared by reading others posting and as well facilitate a further working on the topic for use on my own classes as TA’s in INGL 3103. As for the class discussions a more in depth look was given on a personal note to understand the readings and their positions on a subject so the use of both the blog and the class have a 50-50 percent value in the development of the course and the understanding of the materials to be read. In the class it the ambiance of discussion becomes a discourse panorama that all can contribute different attitudes about the topic at hand and it can serve to view the article from opinions of the information being useful, refined, overlooked or completely new given the context of where is the information being applied.
As I mentioned before the reading of other’s posting did in fact help me understand different takes on topics and positions placed by the readings on how to teach composition in different techniques, so in a sense yes the use of the blog and the class in combination did help me understand the theory and the practice of the methods described in composition.
Our class this semester was very interesting. I think that for this class the blog works very well for us, because we were able to work on virtually any time, in any place. At first I was not sure about the idea of using the blog, because I thought that we will spend hours in this “thing”. However blogs are surprisingly easy to use. They require minimum technical knowledge and I found it quickly and flexible. Best of all, it was convenient and accessible via home with my two kids.
This blog opened the opportunity for us to discussed topics outside of the classroom. With this blog, every person had an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Each one of us had time to react to ideas and reflect on learning. I think that with the journal entries our experiences and discussion would have been totally different.
Blogs are good tools to present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. No more printers, no wasting paper or lost work.
It was very useful on the fact that it was motivating for us, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms It also was an excellent opportunities for us to read and write and discuss the reading as an informal way.
I think that overall this was an effective forum for collaboration and discussion.
The idea of using the blog this semester I believe was in overall very good. I had some problems with it because I am not too technological and sometimes it was difficult for me to keep track of the responses that I had to post but I believe that with some practice that is a problem that can be solved. In the educational part I believe it is very enriching and it opened a forum for discussion between classmates. The process that I usually went through before posting was that I read the assigned material and then I would look for the question on the blog. After I found the question I would read the material again and then I would go to the blog to write. If I was not able to understand parts of the readings I would read the comments from my classmates and they would help me a lot. The comments of my classmates not only helped me to understand the readings but they also broaden the ideas that I had of the material that I read. I believe that it is always good to know the opinion that other people have on a topic because they help you question the previous concepts that you had on the material. Another aspect of the blog that I like was that it was a good portal of communication between the professor and us the students. In the blog the professor had the opportunity to make important announcements and post additional information for the class. I personally appreciated the essay and rubric packet that the professor put on for us in the blog because it was helpful and accessible. The additional material I believe has to be accessible because many students do not have access to printer facilities and they can read the material online. In this aspect I believe that the blog is very successful because it gives the students many options to access the additional material.
I really liked this hybrid idea for the course for various reasons. First, we got to leave early, which is good because after 8:30 I know that I, as well as others , are shutting down our brains. Second, by leaving early I paid more attention to class, I was more attentive and was more productive. Third, having to complete the our by responding on the blog was a much better idea.
The use of the blog help with our class communication. We were able to stay in touch out of class hours, to exchange ideas, and to read other peoples opinions. In my opinion the use of the blog gave the class more productivity and efficiency. I am considering doing a hybrid course also next semester, depending on the course and the schedule, by I will definitly use the blog. I am mostly considering it for Journals. This way my students can keep communicating with each other outside the classroom.
Well the blog for me was a new experience, I had never used it nor heard of it before this class. But I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to use it.
The blog for me was very helpful since it made it easier to hand and write my Responses: first becuase I could write and correct my errors quickly, second I could connect from my laptop and in any given moment I could post my comment, and third I could read my classmates comments and see their point of view on the topic. We were not rushed to do our assignment I mean no time limit like in a classroom where we have 10 to 20 minutes to write responses. Also there is no word limit since on the paper when the spce runs out it ran out, no more space.
As Linnette I also have two small kids and they take up much of my time so this blog gave me the chance to do the work at my own pace and that is a relief.Blogs are a great tool for the new era kids who live within technology and dread the time when they have to write on paper, also they have the opportunity to look up information and use it in their assignments. As teachers we have to keep up with our students and this means using technology in the classroom.But it is sad to say that many of my public highscool students do no have the opportunity to own a computer and in our schools there isnt a facility where each and every student can use a computer in order to post their responses about the assignment given.
Well as an overview I really believe that by using the blogg students will learn even more and will loosen up when writing because they will not feel the presure of the “time limit” when doing their work.
I seem to be having some problem writing my reaction to this discussion. I’ve literally written and erased whatever I’ve written in this box about 3 times already. Guess my experience with blogging with my students is creeping into my response even thought the context is different to this blog’s discussion.
Anyhow, blogging is originally first considered to be an online journal where the writer shares his life with the world. But with time, the whole concept of blogging changes and people start using blogs to post opinions and write response to any topic of their interest. I guess it was just recently that teachers are starting to use blog and have students write their reading response online. I feel that this is a good tool to use because for one it saves us a lot of papers and the blogs can be access on any time, any day and anywhere we are. The other benefits of writing a blog over a journal is that everyone else can read each other’s response (If not everyone at least a handful) and react to it.
I value the creativity of the professor because some of the issues for this class was to attempt the interaction with technology. The implementation of the blog increased the attention and illustrated the content of the class in order to change the traditional materials.
The blog service provides free writing style and organized information; as methodology it is excellent, because the students have to consider individual comments without expand the audience. Additionally the reflections of the readings have been very effective; it is like a forum before start the class. Also I learned how to modify the assignments and I would like to implement this creative tool in my future classes.
Another advantage is to save time because ink and paper changed to blog, the evidence is always in the blog to avoid problems with students. As assessment I think in this assignment the reflection is to considerate this tool in a writing composition class.
I must admit that using the blog for this class made me a bit lazy. I like to procrastinate a lot, and when I don’t have the pressure of turning things in on paper I procrastinate even more and end up not doing anything. However, that is just my personal experience in this area. At the same time, I was able to put myself in the position of my students who had to something similar for my class. I do have to admit that using the blog allows me to be more conscious about what I write and how I write. I try to fix any mistakes as best as I can.
When it comes to the readings I think I am able to understand it better when we discuss things in class. In the blog I am focused on what I have to say about the readings and I don’t pay attention to what others have to say. Sad, but true. Sometimes I did not even read the comments others posted. But in class it is better for me to listen to what my peers have to say and respond to that. In some cases the discussion we had in class made me change my point of view in certain subjects/
I personaly think that the use of the blog was great. I’ve never used a blog before and let me say that this, my first experience with it, has been wonderful. I believe that with the use of the blog we were more interactive with the class per say than if we had no bog to write in.
The blog was helpful in order to undertand the readings better. With it we could see what other classmates thought of the assignment and if we ever had doubts about anything the blog was there to help. many professors dont see that; classmates come from all around; we do not see eachother constantly in the Colegio- some work in it and some dont. many students work all day and nly see their fellow classmates the day of the class and the blo made it easier to keep in touch with those which we could not before.
In terms of assignments, THANK THE LORD FOR BLOGS! No paper work, no worries of maybe I left it at home or in the car or on my desk.In fact, I think that the blog actualy made it more amussing towards doing the homework. It captured my attention quickly and I honestly can say that the blog is a great tool to use in class… I hope more professors consider it.
Stephanie said, one of the main reasons I liked the blogging was because it was an easy was for me to keep updated with the class (I don’t carry the syllabus around all the time, but the internet is always here).
It was certainly nice to sit down at the computer and focus on writing the response, and not have to worry about later printing it out. It sounds silly, but I get so paranoid about not being able to print out assignments (what if i forget my ID? what if the lab is closed? what if i forget my wallet, etc), that is really was refreshing to just post online.
This doesn’t really regarding the process of blogging itself, but I also liked how we had several questions to choose from normally when we responded. So in a way, I was thinking about a couple different things, even if the assignment was to respond to only one of the questions posed.
The only real problem I had with it was forgetting to post sometimes, and I wouldn’t say that had anything to do with the generally structure of the blogging part of the class, but my own procrastination and memory.
What was different about writing reading responses on a blog was the fact that this method is more interactive than writing it on a piece of paper. I also think that by writing these logs we had the opportunity of freely exposing our opinions and evaluations about a topic. However, even though I think it was a different experience the time factor was something that really affected me. To be honest this turned to be kind of stressful for me sometimes due to the amount of work that I normally have.
They did help me sometimes to understand the reading topics although the class discussions helped me more. I’m the type of student who needs to pay attention or listen to a class discussion to better understand any topic.
I did read a couple of times the responses of other students, specially the day that we were supposed to leave them feedback for their project. It did help me to understand some a couple of readings.
After having used the blog for this class this semester; I think that for me it was a sweet n’ sour experience. This meaning that at the beginning of the semester I was very into it because I had the time to read everybody’s postings and even though I did not commented on them at least I had the time to think about it and reflect on it. As the semester progressed I changed a little bit my mind because there were times that I didn’t even had time to check the blog to read the comments and postings my peers had made. I really like the fact that sometimes if i felt in some way my peer responses did help me in understanding some of the readings. In general it was a very good experience but time factor affected us all and in the end at least for me i would have wanted maybe to alternate responses to some written or to cut some of the responses short in terms of length because sometimes i felt like i had already said what i wanted but i needed to meet the minimum of words for posting.
I am not very good with technology to be honest. Using this blog was different in the sense that I like it much better than writing in paper, as with journals. I definitely agree that students will enjoy the blog experience more than they would enjoy turning stuff in all the time. Why? because we are living in a highly techi age and students are very much into technology and different ways of learning. I do not use blogs in my classroom because I have never really tried to set one up but I might consider it for next semester. In terms of the readings in class I would say that I like better the mixture between blogging and discussing in class rather than just discussing. Blogging permits the student to reveal their opinions about topics discussed in class in a more interesting and fun manner.
At the beginning of the semester the idea of blogging sounded great. I was really interested but as time progressed during the semester it seemed like there was no way of me being interested in getting in the computer and posting something. The discussions in class were very interesting so for me there was no point in going to the computer and talking about it. It was hard for me to keep track of the postings for example I think that by doing a journal writing assignment in class that there was more control of when the students would write. For me it was never about what was being written if not about keeping up with the deadlines, which sometimes was hard. Sometimes I would go on the web to see what was on the blog and know that I had to do a posting but I just couldn’t get around to do it on time. I feel that by doing them in class like 15 min. before or after the class there is more control of knowing that at least everybody that went to class did a posting and talked about the writings.
Personally, I prefer to write a blog entry than a traditional paper based journal. First of all, you save paper and ink. Second, you do not run the risk of leaving the paper home, at the office, the car, among many other places where I tend to misplace my belongings. Third, it provides the option for you to submit it at any time before the deadline. It provides a freeedom that paper based works do not have you can submit it practically from any place on Earth that has Internet access.Fourth, you are able to share your writing with a broader audience, and read your peers entries as well.It was a good experience.