While your blog is meant to be a place for you to share and reflect on your personal thoughts and feelings as you proceed through this course, you are more than welcome to just talk about the text, if academic style writing is more your thing. That, too, is a form of bloggery! I just want to express that for the purposes of this course, you are not required to use academic language, or relate every topic of discussion you post on your blog back to something you read about in one of your texts.
While you may write in a more laid-back style, it's important that your readers are able to understand what you are saying. While I know quite a bit of computerese (like, omg, srsly, 4elz, lmbo!) blog posts should not be filled with textese or IM (Instant Messenger) speak. While the occasional "lol" is perfectly acceptable, please keep the abbreviations to a minimum. Thnx! ;)
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sample Blog Prompts
Some example prompts to guide you... (These are NOT mandatory!)
There are all different types of blogs out there... Educational, personal, professional, academic, entertainment, etc. The Richardson (2010) text discusses various sorts of educational uses for blogs... Take a look at various blogs on the Internet. Does the idea of blogging for the classroom interest you at all? Could you see yourself using it with your students, or would you prefer just creating one for your own use?
Find yourself questioning what a wiki is in comparison with a blog? Check out the 4th chapter of your Richardson (2010) text. Feel free to reflect on what you'd prefer in the classroom, or what you think would work best for yourself and the grade level at which you teach.
Can you think of ways you'd integrate a wiki or blog into the classroom? List 'em!
Enjoyed learning about some new technology you discovered in this course? Talk about it!
Screencasting, Podcasting, Flickr, oh my! So many awesome things you may not have been exposed to prior to this course... Rant about some of the troubles you had with learning all these new digital formats for expression!
Tried something new in class? Didn't go well? Went even better than expected? Share!
There are all different types of blogs out there... Educational, personal, professional, academic, entertainment, etc. The Richardson (2010) text discusses various sorts of educational uses for blogs... Take a look at various blogs on the Internet. Does the idea of blogging for the classroom interest you at all? Could you see yourself using it with your students, or would you prefer just creating one for your own use?
Find yourself questioning what a wiki is in comparison with a blog? Check out the 4th chapter of your Richardson (2010) text. Feel free to reflect on what you'd prefer in the classroom, or what you think would work best for yourself and the grade level at which you teach.
Can you think of ways you'd integrate a wiki or blog into the classroom? List 'em!
Enjoyed learning about some new technology you discovered in this course? Talk about it!
Screencasting, Podcasting, Flickr, oh my! So many awesome things you may not have been exposed to prior to this course... Rant about some of the troubles you had with learning all these new digital formats for expression!
Tried something new in class? Didn't go well? Went even better than expected? Share!
Guidelines For Posting
A few guidelines to follow before starting your blogging journey...
The style of your blogging experience is up to you. The blogging standard involves a lot of personal reflection, be it on daily events, long term goals, personal or professional. Whatever strikes you! While your post should contain no less than 350 words, there is no maximum word count with this... Feel free to express yourself in as many words as you feel comfortable.
I encourage you to utilize the tool bar when creating posts! "Play" with the tool bar; include hyperlinks in your posts; add audio (podcast style) clips to your blog or complete your blog post with audio technology alone; photos are also welcome to enhance your blogging experience (for yourself and your reading public). For example, if you have a class anecdote that relates to the topic at hand, by all means, include it within your post! If you have student work samples you want to include, attach them to share! If you want to make your posts significantly more personal, try creating a VoiceThread to share...
There's nothing wrong with enhancing your blog with a combination of voice, pictures, and text. These additions make for a more authentic reading experience for myself, your colleagues, and the outside audience (if you wish to make your blog public). If you don't feel comfortable with additional technologies, that's alright too!
Please note that it is possible to revise your posts at any time!
The style of your blogging experience is up to you. The blogging standard involves a lot of personal reflection, be it on daily events, long term goals, personal or professional. Whatever strikes you! While your post should contain no less than 350 words, there is no maximum word count with this... Feel free to express yourself in as many words as you feel comfortable.
I encourage you to utilize the tool bar when creating posts! "Play" with the tool bar; include hyperlinks in your posts; add audio (podcast style) clips to your blog or complete your blog post with audio technology alone; photos are also welcome to enhance your blogging experience (for yourself and your reading public). For example, if you have a class anecdote that relates to the topic at hand, by all means, include it within your post! If you have student work samples you want to include, attach them to share! If you want to make your posts significantly more personal, try creating a VoiceThread to share...
There's nothing wrong with enhancing your blog with a combination of voice, pictures, and text. These additions make for a more authentic reading experience for myself, your colleagues, and the outside audience (if you wish to make your blog public). If you don't feel comfortable with additional technologies, that's alright too!
Please note that it is possible to revise your posts at any time!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sample Post: Do I HAVE to Share My Writing?
I’ve been reading a book entitled The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks… It’s really made me think about the writing process on the whole; how we package and deliver the goods to our students, and expect them to take what we’ve handed to them and magically turn it into a five-paragraph essay. The days of yellow lined draft paper (a big hit in my elementary school) are behind us, and we now have the digital version of such a process, applied via the blog format.
The video below (courtesy of YouTube) is of Hicks himself, discussing his book. Check it out!
The idea of creating a blog, posting my ideas for all the world to see, got me thinking about how I can't stand sharing... I really hate it... All of my insecurities come out :(
At the same time, however, I am a big believer in leading by example. You have to believe in what you’re telling your students, and you have to engage in these practices yourself. You can’t tell your students “It’s easy, just do THIS!” if you haven’t actually gone through the process! That’s not fair! I remember when I had to tell my teacher about what I read, or what I wrote, or shared my writing in class. I was endlessly teased as a child, and my worst nightmare was being forced to share my work with another student via peer conferencing. I didn’t want to be looked at as a dummy! Even if my work was decent, or quite good, or outstanding…it didn’t matter, I just didn’t want to share it.
To this DAY I don’t want to share my work when my colleagues or peers ask for a look-see. I’m an extremely private person when it comes to my writing, and while I may have plenty of confidence when I walk around the university campus on a daily basis, it’s quite another face I sport when contemplating the idea of having to share my work with another person. Everyone thinks I’m smart – I made it all the way to the Ph.D. level… But the second I have to share a writing sample with someone who is “at my level” and I perceive to be significantly more accomplished (I’m really hard on myself, to say the least), I immediately falter, assume I’m not good enough, can’t hack it, what have you. (I have been told that this is the cursed “Imposter Syndrome” that all graduate students face at this stage in the game.) Regardless, I hate sharing!
(I suppose this post has made me realize that a future goal within my classroom practice would be to explore the ways in which I can FURTHER emphasize how hurtful comments do not reflect constructive criticism!)
The video below (courtesy of YouTube) is of Hicks himself, discussing his book. Check it out!
The idea of creating a blog, posting my ideas for all the world to see, got me thinking about how I can't stand sharing... I really hate it... All of my insecurities come out :(
At the same time, however, I am a big believer in leading by example. You have to believe in what you’re telling your students, and you have to engage in these practices yourself. You can’t tell your students “It’s easy, just do THIS!” if you haven’t actually gone through the process! That’s not fair! I remember when I had to tell my teacher about what I read, or what I wrote, or shared my writing in class. I was endlessly teased as a child, and my worst nightmare was being forced to share my work with another student via peer conferencing. I didn’t want to be looked at as a dummy! Even if my work was decent, or quite good, or outstanding…it didn’t matter, I just didn’t want to share it.
To this DAY I don’t want to share my work when my colleagues or peers ask for a look-see. I’m an extremely private person when it comes to my writing, and while I may have plenty of confidence when I walk around the university campus on a daily basis, it’s quite another face I sport when contemplating the idea of having to share my work with another person. Everyone thinks I’m smart – I made it all the way to the Ph.D. level… But the second I have to share a writing sample with someone who is “at my level” and I perceive to be significantly more accomplished (I’m really hard on myself, to say the least), I immediately falter, assume I’m not good enough, can’t hack it, what have you. (I have been told that this is the cursed “Imposter Syndrome” that all graduate students face at this stage in the game.) Regardless, I hate sharing!
To ask my students to share their work, terrified that they’d shatter their peers’ confidence with one cruel remark, despite the mantra to engage in feedback that doesn’t contain anything “harmful, hateful, or hurtful.” You never know what your students are going to burst out with! If there are any underlying tensions due to hurt friendships or clique-like, groupthink tendencies that will rear their ugly head come peer conferencing time…
(I suppose this post has made me realize that a future goal within my classroom practice would be to explore the ways in which I can FURTHER emphasize how hurtful comments do not reflect constructive criticism!)
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