I have never used a blog before and I am not someone who journals often, so maintaining this blog for me is going to be a difficult task, but I am up to anything new if it can help me become a better teacher and person.
I don't really know yet how I will or could use a blog as part of my teaching--it may be easier to keep track of student journaling and other writing than through hard copies which I do now, however, in my district the digital divide is prevalent and demanding that every student have a blog or post online is difficult at best. We are currently using some online editing and paper submission tools and it has been a train wreck for some and extra headaches for teachers, however, when it works, it can be very powerful.
Blogs allow asynchronous conversation like e-mail, except it is accessible by many more people. It can be written anonymously, which can allow students to write with other voices and without the pressure of their peers and maintaining a certain identity.
I hope that communication over a blog would be better, but I still question whether all students can access the blog equally and whether asynchronous discussions are healthy for understanding how to converse with others. Without the nonverbals, often times it is difficult to pick up on the nuances. Also, not knowing your audience, it may be difficult to craft your posts for your audiences to understand the jist and nuances of your posts. However, this may force bloggers to use adjectives and descriptors in a more accurate manner. I fear at times that blogs only escalate polarity in argumentation, since agreement is never necessary since bloggers never actually have to work together or even meet each other.
I also fear, as I see in my own writing that I tend to loose thoughts and ramble more while typing as opposed to writing by hand. But despite my many fears and apprehensions, I think that I will be able to figure out how to use a blog or webspace in my classroom.
I worry about the amount of time it takes to set up all my class stuff online and setting up and maintaining blogs or wikis or a/synchronous discussions when no students will access it. My homepage now doesn't get my hits even though the students know about it and I have e-mailed parents and sent letters home explaining the website.
I don't even know what I want to learn about digital writing, since I don't know what is so different about digital writing from regular writing.
A Weird Ethnography
10 years ago
1 comment:
Brandon,
Your issues with blogs cover a lot of ground. The question of technological accessibility for all students is so basic that using blogs, or any other technology, can create anxiety with many students. As far as getting comfortable with the technology, like anything else, it just takes practice.
Also, the question of whether students will ever visit any course blog or course website makes a lot of sense to me: why use technology if no one else is using it? I imagine it would require a lot of modelling for students on how to use the course website. For instance, you might use it often as a starting point in class if you have access to a projection device that allows students to see what you're doing, or what you might use the website for.
I stopped writing journals some time ago, much to my dismay. But with other blogs that I've set up, it's been interesting to read other peoples' comments on my posts. This idea of building communities of like-minded individuals through blog-writing CAN work well, but you pretty much have to make it mandatory for students to start doing it.
The problem with communication is a whopper. I whole-heartedly agree that asynchronous conversations, or even synchronous chats, can be very challenging for many students. Much is lost outside of a face-to-face context, and I worry that the prevelance of online courses in universities has more to do with cutting costs than real pedagogical, practical ideals. Still, writing can be troublesome for many students in ANY context. Putting things in writing is a lot like setting ideas in stone, making it hard to quantify an idea. Even more difficult to break through is how some audiences will likely misread what you're really trying to say. Still, the same problems can come about in face-to-face situations too.
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