Weblogs have changed the way that we write and the way that we think about what we write and read. That being said, in several ways blogging has become its on writing genre. Because blogging utilizes a more multifunctional method and thought process, it would be hard to categorize it into one of the traditional writing genres: descriptive writing, expository writing, narrative writing, persuasive writing, poetry writing, and journals and letters (Education.com). This is mainly because what someone can do and utilize through blogging overlaps within these traditional genres and also, more importantly, it does much more: it allows the writer to “connect with others who can potentially teach us more (Richardson 2010). Richardson (2010) has coined a term for this new genre “connective writing,” which he describes as a form that forces those who do it to read carefully and critically, that demands clarity and cogency in its construction, that is done for a wide audience and that links to the sources of the ideas expressed. I agree with this statement because the purpose and possibilities of blogging cannot be contained to the current writing genres.
Blogging is composed of not only writing, but reading before writing. When blogging, typically you read something to get your thought process going. This leads to your thoughts, opinions and eventually written commentary about what you have read. To me, reading is the first step amongst many steps to blogging. What might begin as a simple comment or short feedback about anything of someone’s choosing might lead to more research to support your opinion and/or more commentary or feedback from others about your original blog post. This differs greatly than just reading and being indifferent to what you read or at most discussing what you read in a short conversation with someone else. This conversation could be forgotten, but a blog is permanent and constantly changing into something else as long as others are reading your comments and then making their own. Blogging is similar to reading in that reading is a component of blogging and you have to read to know what you want to blog.
Blogging is similar to the typical writing genres mentioned above because it utilizes these types and styles of writing and takes them one step further. It would be easy to argue that any one of these genres can be found within a blog. However, blogging differs from these genres because it is a more permanent medium for any writer to share his or her opinions, blogging allows universal access for all who have an Internet connection. And let’s not forget one of the main differences between traditional writing genres and blogging – it allows the reader to become important and express his or her thoughts or ideas. Then is concept multiples by the readers of the blog being able to do the same thing, connecting the reading to the writers.
Commenting on blogs greatly contributes to the writing and meaning-making of a blog. It allows the reader to show more interest in the blog and allows for a more in-depth meaning through a natural question-answer or comment-response medium that facilitates learning without the realization of learning. It makes someone’s thoughts (be it the blogger or someone who comments) more meaningful because they are being heard and possibly responded to by others. This allows the blogger and/or person who comments to be more reflective in their reading.
With regards to blogging literacies, I think that Donald J. Leu, Jr. defines these best: “The new literacies include the skills, strategies, and insights necessary to successfully exploit the rapidly changing information and communication technologies that continuously emerge in our world. A more precise definition of the new literacies may never be possible to achieve since their most important characteristic is that they regularly change; as new technologies for information and communication continually appear, new literacies emerge”(Bruce, 1997; Leu, in press a; Reinking, 1998). Because of this constant change, blogging greatly affects the way that we read and write. It makes us become more active readers and put more thought in what we write and the way we write it.
Blogging facilitates learning by engaging the reader to think critically and thus allows him or her to show more interest in his or her own work. Richardson states that through this process, “their ability to locate and reflect upon their work is greatly enhanced, as are the opportunities for collaborative learning (Richardson 2010).
Evaluating Student Blogs/Peer Comment
Implementing student blogging?!? This is a topic I have struggled with defining/starting/etc. since I read the task for Thing 4. I would like to start by saying that I have dabbled in creating online discussions for my classes in the past, using a website that our school system pays for, called Schoology. This website looks like Facebook but is for school use. Students have their own accounts like Facebook, they add “classes”, they can like groups or posts, they can take assessments, receive and download notes, submit assignments, view a class calendar, view and create videos and blog their comments to their classes. It does allow teachers or class administrators to control privacy parameters for both parents and students. So it is a very useful site.
That being said, I know I have a medium that I can use to implement blogging; the question that I am struggling with is how? I plan to start with my smaller Spanish III/IV combo class. These two classes in one period combined are smaller than my Spanish I and Spanish II classes because they are not required; students choose to take them! Students who want to learn Spanish! Through reading the text and visiting a plethora of websites, I have realized that I do not want to just tell my students to respond to a discussion question and expect amazing blog posts. This blogsite by ProfHacker has been extremely helpful to me as far as determining where to start and want I want the parameters to be. ProfHacker brings up some valid points about starting a blog for students, “You should have a clear sense of how blogging: will be integrated into the classroom, will be used to evaluate student work, and will be hosted and managed.”
I will start by preparing a list of goals and guidelines for students’ first blogs. We will discuss these in class and I will define my expectations and answer any questions that my students might have. I will also re-familiarize them with a mini lesson on how and where to post their blogs. For their first blog I will give them a more structured topic so that they can become familiar with what is expected. The first blog post will be graded like all future blog posts, but will be a formative grade with resubmissions allowed.
I am a little nervous but excited at the thought of my students learning and commenting in Spanish in this way. I hope that they will use this opportunity to not only read what their classmates have written, but also be able to correct any mishaps in their peers’ use of Spanish grammar. Below is the rubric that I will use to assess their blogs. Meg’s Blogagogy really helped me in determining criteria for assessments.
Student Blog Evaluation Rubric
Blogging is composed of not only writing, but reading before writing. When blogging, typically you read something to get your thought process going. This leads to your thoughts, opinions and eventually written commentary about what you have read. To me, reading is the first step amongst many steps to blogging. What might begin as a simple comment or short feedback about anything of someone’s choosing might lead to more research to support your opinion and/or more commentary or feedback from others about your original blog post. This differs greatly than just reading and being indifferent to what you read or at most discussing what you read in a short conversation with someone else. This conversation could be forgotten, but a blog is permanent and constantly changing into something else as long as others are reading your comments and then making their own. Blogging is similar to reading in that reading is a component of blogging and you have to read to know what you want to blog.
Blogging is similar to the typical writing genres mentioned above because it utilizes these types and styles of writing and takes them one step further. It would be easy to argue that any one of these genres can be found within a blog. However, blogging differs from these genres because it is a more permanent medium for any writer to share his or her opinions, blogging allows universal access for all who have an Internet connection. And let’s not forget one of the main differences between traditional writing genres and blogging – it allows the reader to become important and express his or her thoughts or ideas. Then is concept multiples by the readers of the blog being able to do the same thing, connecting the reading to the writers.
Commenting on blogs greatly contributes to the writing and meaning-making of a blog. It allows the reader to show more interest in the blog and allows for a more in-depth meaning through a natural question-answer or comment-response medium that facilitates learning without the realization of learning. It makes someone’s thoughts (be it the blogger or someone who comments) more meaningful because they are being heard and possibly responded to by others. This allows the blogger and/or person who comments to be more reflective in their reading.
With regards to blogging literacies, I think that Donald J. Leu, Jr. defines these best: “The new literacies include the skills, strategies, and insights necessary to successfully exploit the rapidly changing information and communication technologies that continuously emerge in our world. A more precise definition of the new literacies may never be possible to achieve since their most important characteristic is that they regularly change; as new technologies for information and communication continually appear, new literacies emerge”(Bruce, 1997; Leu, in press a; Reinking, 1998). Because of this constant change, blogging greatly affects the way that we read and write. It makes us become more active readers and put more thought in what we write and the way we write it.
Blogging facilitates learning by engaging the reader to think critically and thus allows him or her to show more interest in his or her own work. Richardson states that through this process, “their ability to locate and reflect upon their work is greatly enhanced, as are the opportunities for collaborative learning (Richardson 2010).
Evaluating Student Blogs/Peer Comment
Implementing student blogging?!? This is a topic I have struggled with defining/starting/etc. since I read the task for Thing 4. I would like to start by saying that I have dabbled in creating online discussions for my classes in the past, using a website that our school system pays for, called Schoology. This website looks like Facebook but is for school use. Students have their own accounts like Facebook, they add “classes”, they can like groups or posts, they can take assessments, receive and download notes, submit assignments, view a class calendar, view and create videos and blog their comments to their classes. It does allow teachers or class administrators to control privacy parameters for both parents and students. So it is a very useful site.
That being said, I know I have a medium that I can use to implement blogging; the question that I am struggling with is how? I plan to start with my smaller Spanish III/IV combo class. These two classes in one period combined are smaller than my Spanish I and Spanish II classes because they are not required; students choose to take them! Students who want to learn Spanish! Through reading the text and visiting a plethora of websites, I have realized that I do not want to just tell my students to respond to a discussion question and expect amazing blog posts. This blogsite by ProfHacker has been extremely helpful to me as far as determining where to start and want I want the parameters to be. ProfHacker brings up some valid points about starting a blog for students, “You should have a clear sense of how blogging: will be integrated into the classroom, will be used to evaluate student work, and will be hosted and managed.”
I will start by preparing a list of goals and guidelines for students’ first blogs. We will discuss these in class and I will define my expectations and answer any questions that my students might have. I will also re-familiarize them with a mini lesson on how and where to post their blogs. For their first blog I will give them a more structured topic so that they can become familiar with what is expected. The first blog post will be graded like all future blog posts, but will be a formative grade with resubmissions allowed.
I am a little nervous but excited at the thought of my students learning and commenting in Spanish in this way. I hope that they will use this opportunity to not only read what their classmates have written, but also be able to correct any mishaps in their peers’ use of Spanish grammar. Below is the rubric that I will use to assess their blogs. Meg’s Blogagogy really helped me in determining criteria for assessments.
Student Blog Evaluation Rubric