Anxiety was my first reaction to creating a BLOG on my own. Ironically, this is my first experience in the "blogosphere" and I am a bit embarrassed to admit that. Thank heavens for this class, otherwise my 2nd graders would be baptizing me into this and its past time for me to know about and use some of the technical horizons before they do. I am aware however, that I am not the only (educator) neophyte in this world of blogging. I attended the NECC in Atlanta this past June and the session on an introduction to blogging was packed beyond the amount of chairs they had available--I winded up sitting on the floor with many, many other interested people. The session was informative but there is nothing like working with the technology yourself which furthermore supports the adage, "Experience is the best teacher." As with anything, the more practice I get, the better I'll become. The initial anxiety I once felt subsided with the creation the account. Now I feel like many kindergartners on the second day of school--ready to go back because it wasn't so bad after all.
I could use blogging in an online course to further discussions that may have closed in the official class portal. Blogging can also be used as a meeting site for members of a group when working on group projects. I could also use blogging to solicit and acquire updated information or issues reagarding any topic of interest from bloggers around the world. I could post KAMs, dissertations, and other papers for assesor and/or peer review. Lastly, I can see using a blog to save all online coursework and class discussions.
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9 comments:
I have been a little anxious about this process as well. This particular site does not operate like the previous blogs I have used.
I think it is interesting that so far I have not found any two backgrounds the same. That says something about our group!
I like your ideas on how blogs could be implemented. I will have to keep those in mind as we progress through all this.
Do you really think it would be an asset to use them with Walden classes in conjunction to the Discussions and Chats?
Hi Lori--I am torn between using a blog or a wiki for storing files online. My thoughts were the same as yours. I suppose I am somewhat leaning toward a wiki but as I do more with our blogs perhaps my opinion will change.
I had the same anxious reaction as you at first but my curiosity won. I am excited for the experiences this class will provide! Cheers!
Hi Lori,
I am still feeling quite anxious about blogging as well. I love your background! I think as we continue on, this should start to become more natural for us!
Lori,
I have used a blog before and it is a great way of communicating. We have one setup at school for resale of books among parents. I am going to talk to the third grade teachers since they are doing flat stanley and see if we can blog his travels.
Hi Lori,
I hope your anxiety has deminished. As you wrote, the more experience you have with blogs, the better you will get at using them -- and you will start seeing the possibilities they bring.
Tim
Hi. Me again. I wanted to respond to and ask a question about Shane's post about storing files online. My question is - what type of files is Shane referring? If the files are word proccessed, then sharing online is probably more easily facilitated through something like Google Docs. If it is the sharing of information that others can add to, then wikis are probably the best option. Wikis allow for the development of a collective knowledge base. I find blogs to be most useful for reflection and sharing of ideas - rather than the development of collective knowledge.
Just my take on it.
Tim
Dr. Wells,
I understood him to mean reference files such as for papers, projects, or job related information. Shane, if you're out there, would you clarify?
P.S. Yes, my anxiety has subsided considerably.
Becky,
I think the BLOG will be a redundancy in conjunction to our Walden Discussions and Chats. Personally, I prefer (especially for class) saying all of what I have to say without the bells and whistles of the BLOG. I was just rattling off some possiblities for the use of a BLOG within an online class. Thanks for your question.
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