It has been over 3 months since I posted my last article on Blogster (“Blogs and Education”). But rest assured. Rather than writing Blogs, I have been busy reading them—hundreds of them, week after week.
It is all part of my ongoing “experiment” with Blogs and Education at California State University, Chico. Can the Blog medium help students find a distinctive writing voice? Does the medium motivate students to write with more flair and passion (especially about literature), knowing that they are sending their thoughts out into the world (and that the world often writes back)? Do students come to realize that there is much more to an effective Blog article than writing a glorified text-message or a hurried e-mail?
These are the kinds of questions I continue to ask. Three months ago, I indicated (in my Blog) that, in response to these questions, the jury was still out. It remains that way to this day.
Like most educational experiments, however, there have been triumphant moments mixed with less rewarding episodes. On the positive side, it is gratifying to see so many students experiment with style and voice when using Blogs. Obviously, it is not only a textual medium; it is highly visual. Images and videos can be pasted easily into the article thus reinforcing the power of the message, or personalizing it with images from the author’s own digital camera. Currently, I have at least a dozen students who are close to being “professional” Bloggers (in other words, who have something genuinely interesting to say to the world and who say it with a suitably interesting—or eccentric—voice). In the course of our 15-week semester, many of these students read one another’s weekly articles, enjoy them, learn from them, maybe pick up a few tips and stylistic suggestions from them. Even more gratifying, readers from as far away as Pakistan and Australia have entered into an ongoing dialogue with these Bloggers, trading thoughts, ideas, and points of view.
On the negative side, rants and disrespectful slurs still persist in all forms of online communication. It’s as if the medium exists, for some people, to serve as an outlet for all their pent-up furies and frustrations to come whooshing out of an unrestrained id. Why is that, I wonder? Do we need to establish a Blogging protocol (a kind of verbal code of ethics) in order to prevent this situation from getting worse? Obviously, that’s an issue yet to be resolved.
Plagiarism also poses a problem. The democratic nature of the Blogging medium means that more voices are accessible on the Internet. In turn, this means that more information and more ideas can be accessed easily, indeed relatively thoughtlessly. Wikipedia and Google have become engines that provide quick (though not always reliable) answers. It has become all too easy to simply copy and paste text generated by these search engines and then appropriate it as one’s own. This is a big no-no, of course, in the academic world, but that doesn’t seem to prevent it from continuing to happen, unfortunately.
Will I continue to use Blogs in my Multicultural Literature class? Resoundingly, yes. There are simply too many positives to ignore.
So I plan to enjoy the next 10 weeks of summer in “writing” mode before turning, once again (in early September), to the challenge of reading hundreds of Blog articles week after week. More than 3,500 in a 15-week semester, to be exact!!!
12 comments on Blogs and Education (Revisited)
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I think that the blog format certainly pushes us students to think harder and write more carefully. However, I think you should do more to make the discussion we're having in class more accessible for those who only read our posts online.
Maybe creating some course assignments that are only given in class, or passing around an attendance sheet every once in a while so that you could post a reading list and discussion prompts ahead of time on blogster without allowing students to stop coming to class? I'm not sure that there are all that many people on blogster that would take the time to read along, but it would be quite fitting with the ethos of online community to at least make doing so a possibility.
Overall it has been a great experience. Thank you, and enjoy your break!
I do think this writing medium of blog communication is an effective teaching methods, it also doesnt hurt that the reading material is very immersive and thought provoking. Through this class i have found another favorite writer in Salman Rushdie. For those of us who are majoring in any type of writing for college using blogs just keeps showing us how much this field keeps evolving. And blogging is just another rising quality any writer should possess. I had always wanted to start blogging on my own but i never tried, but im glad this class gave me the jumpstart i needed. I don't know if any of my blogs were actually noteworthy but i do feel i developed a clear voice about what i was trying to project. The benefits do outweigh the negatives in what involves writing to the rest of the world, and i think this class definitely played to the strengths of a large audience and their writing abilities. i look forward to reading next semester's batch of bloggers.
I really enjoyed the blog environment. That coupled with weekly assignments worked well for me. I would encourage all instructors to try the blog environment for writing courses.
I've enjoyed your students' blogs - I have only read a few, but those were entertaining.
I applaud your innovation and am glad you will continue this as a teaching tool. It won't be long before others follow in your footsteps.
As for the naysayers, there are those everywhere we turn. Your students learned valuable lessons even from these cruel remarks and people - while in a relatively safe environment (the anonymous world of blogging) I hope it has opened their eyes to the smörgåsbord of people in the real world.
Your blogging experience must have defintely helped your students discover their voices but more than that those (like myself) out there who do not have the privilege to attend your classes may get atleast something from the discussions you hold in your class. Secondly, some of the students seem to have developed a very admirable taste of writing academic pieces. They have always been of ineterest for me. Thirdly, the problem of plagiarism is so rampant in my part of the world that the little plagiarism by your studnents seldome irritates me. I have learned a lot from your experience of using blogging for your course. Most of what I know of the Post-colonial Studies is because of your blogs...it was through your blog (and the blogs of your studnets) that I came to know about 'the floating world'. I am really thankful to you and your students.
The last point:
I am really interested to develop academic relatioship with some of your students and so I sent them messages to write me back through my email.
Thanks Khadim:
You embody all that is best about this new medium of communication (and education).
Regards.
Thanks for introducing me to the Blog medium; I'm a fan. I don't want to call it "informal," but I definitely felt encouraged to bring in pop-culture references, personal experiences, certain funny stuff that might be considered too irreverent in other classes, etc.-- I guess that's what you mean by Voice. Seems to me this makes it more entertaining to both read and write (and it let me showcase my ridiculous memory of useless movie crap). I also thought your “casual” way of grading was novel-- students would benefit if more professors put greater emphasis on the writer's overall ideas and thoughts than on petty details like MLA Format and 5-PP structure? (That being said, some of us definitely ought to invest in a dictionary.)
Gotta say I'm not looking forward to the old English classes next semester, when I'll once more be chastised for comparing classic literature to Batman, nudists, etc. Way to foster creativity and personality. And as for clowns like this J.R. character, I wouldn't worry about trying to impose a "code of ethics"- that’ll just encourage them. Let them have their fun, and consider the Multi-Culturalist perspective: even the most diverse cultures have a village idiot. Or, do what I did, and upload a picture of the Terminator as your profile image. Nobody's going to mess with Arnold.
As an older student in the class, who has never been exposed to the blogging medium I have thoroughly enjoyed myself this semester. I have always loved having a teacher who was willing to push the envelope and try new and interesting ways to teach, and this was exactly that. Not everyone enjoys writing to begin with and the blog atmosphere is one that would seem to offer a more relaxed way to approach writing and make it a lot more fun. Myself, I have always been a frustrated writer at heart and found that I enjoyed giving my "voice" free reign while showing my sholastic writing skills. The more you practice writing an internet blog the more you find yourself letting your personality and true feelings about subjects show.
I have never been more gratified than I was the week that Prof Burton used my blog as a positive example for the class. It really made me feel like I was a good writer and gave me the impetus to continue to write and see what happens. I will stay with this blog next semester to read how the next group of students adapt the environment and find their own voices. I will also be watching for my classmates and reading their blogs too if they decide to continue. I will be continuing on in the fall for my Master's degree and I hope to at least say hi to those of you that stick around.
As for the negative voices that pop up...there is sometimes nothing more fun than to stand up for your own views against someone who is diametrically opposed to you. If everyone was friendly and agreed with everyone else, we would never have the opportunity to voice the words and ideas that support our views. And if someone calls you names, then you automatically win anyway!
Hey, you! I haven't seen nor heard from you in a while. I do hope all is well on your end.
I'm enjoying the reading material.
I have to admit, I was skeptical about blogging as a medium at first. While i enjoy blogging on Myspace - mostly for poetry - I wasn't sure how it would pan out for academic purposes. Ultimately, though, I am impressed, and even grateful. This scene creates a sense of comfort that allows a little more of the "self" to seep into our literary criticism.
Thank you, Dr. Burton, for opening up this avenue to us. There absolutely are more positives than negatives. Maybe I'll be brave and read along with your class next semester so I can join in the positive fun :)
Great job Professor Burton! This class has truly helped me open up my creative writing abilities and enjoy English again.