I also took that religion class, and I felt that it was the first time that writing actually came "easy" to me. For some reason it did not seem as stressful as writing a paper that would be turned in and that helped me to write more freely. I think it is ridiculous that people would use "LOL" in a paper, but I do understand that writing something in a blog or message board format makes it seem a little less stressful and more fun.
Ashish
· 1 year ago
I think blogs would work very well for some courses and very poorly for others. If a professor's goal is to create a passion for inquiry and an interest in an exchange of ideas within the group, I imagine blogging could be quite effective. So an introductory ethics class, for example, could use blogging to great effect. But the more rigorous the courses, the more difficult it will be to distill anything of very much significance into a blog post.* And let's face it: Even at the most competitive schools, there will be a daunting number of students who really aren't too interested in sharing ideas or sharpening their opinions so much as they are in identifying and following the recipe required to get a good grade. There's no obvious reason to think blogging will rouse these students unless the blogging is tied to making a good grade, and even then these students wouldn't really be participating with the inquisitive spirit I think we'd all like to see more of.
*I had a professor who suggested that all philosophy journals have appendices that present the arguments in the journals in premise-conclusion form so as to maximize clarity and discourage obfuscation. The next time you read a blog post, imagine what its argument would look like in premise-conclusion form. I think this exercise will neatly illustrate the limitations of blogging.
Taylor
· 1 year ago
@ Ashish:
"The next time you read a blog post, imagine what its argument would look like in premise-conclusion form. I think this exercise will neatly illustrate the limitations of blogging."
like this?
PREMISE: “How can we connect the enthusiasm of young people for informal, technology-based writing with classroom experiences that illuminate the power of well-organized, well-reasoned writing?”
My answer? Blogging.
CONCLUSION: Blogging “done right” encourages research, focus, critical thought, and developed writing skills. Formal papers and handwritten assignments are still very much necessary for the successful student. And bringing blogging into the classroom won’t really combat the intrusion of ”LOLs” and emoticons into formal writing. But I think blogging answers the question of how to get students excited about, as Sterling puts it, “well-organized, well-reasoned writing.”
doesn't seem so limiting to me (might even help our style, eh Jarred?)
Jarred Taylor
· 1 year ago
mmmmmmgive me pwnage
Taylor
· 1 year ago
[high five]
Jarred Taylor
· 1 year ago
...and just like that, our style was gone.
Taylor
· 1 year ago
On a more serious, less snarky note, I think my hesitancy with integrating blogging into the academic curriculum concern the OPPOSITE issue: students being too long-winded and formal. If student participation on a class blog is encouraged by grades, the distinction between a blog post and a research paper can disappear: the only advantages are public commenting and (maybe) hypertext. I find blogging to be a helpful exercise in terms of my own writing because the best blog posts ARE concise, to the point, personal, and provocative. I worry that blogging in an academic environment, with professors who (let's be realistic) are likely not bloggers or blog readers, suffers. One of my professors in a media class required posts on our class blog: those of us who had experience blogging or read blogs posted often. Others without that experience or exposure contributed their required entries (no more) and wrote in the same style as they would to answer a final exam essay. I don't want to read exam essays online.
All Comments
*I had a professor who suggested that all philosophy journals have appendices that present the arguments in the journals in premise-conclusion form so as to maximize clarity and discourage obfuscation. The next time you read a blog post, imagine what its argument would look like in premise-conclusion form. I think this exercise will neatly illustrate the limitations of blogging.
"The next time you read a blog post, imagine what its argument would look like in premise-conclusion form. I think this exercise will neatly illustrate the limitations of blogging."
like this?
PREMISE: “How can we connect the enthusiasm of young people for informal, technology-based writing with classroom experiences that illuminate the power of well-organized, well-reasoned writing?”
My answer? Blogging.
CONCLUSION: Blogging “done right” encourages research, focus, critical thought, and developed writing skills. Formal papers and handwritten assignments are still very much necessary for the successful student. And bringing blogging into the classroom won’t really combat the intrusion of ”LOLs” and emoticons into formal writing. But I think blogging answers the question of how to get students excited about, as Sterling puts it, “well-organized, well-reasoned writing.”
doesn't seem so limiting to me (might even help our style, eh Jarred?)