Welcome to my 1301 and 1302 classes
Blogs are a strange writing experience.
You don't know who will possibly read your blog and, like writing anything, you never know how (or if) anyone will respond.
But--blogs also allow you to communicate with yourself and others. Some say that behind a computer, you have the freedom to say--or write--anything. Of course, you are writing your blog and your responses to the blog in the context of a writing class, and not simply for your own enjoyment. This might make you less candid. Of course, this might not be such a bad thing--do we want to write personal information that we wouldn't tell our closest loved ones in an English class? (Btw--this is a subject debated in my field, so if you want to weigh in on what you think, go ahead.)
Part of the difficulty of having so many students (over 120 total) is not being able to get to know my students individually as much as I would like. The side effect of this is that my students don't neccessarily know who I am (of course, some students don't really care.) This blog should help mediate these difficulties.
Another benefit of this blog is that students sometimes like to know the writing style of the professor. I know that when I was a student, I was always curious about what my professors wrote and what they were interested in. This blog can also help with this sort of curiousity.
Another possible benefit is that sometimes I have reactions and experiences to certain class sessions that students might be interested in knowing about or responding to. For instance, I might have a cranky day and students might not realize this. Or, I might think an assignment went really well, or badly, and students might have an entirely different reaction.
Another good thing that can come out of a dialogue with students outside of class is that it allows some students to voice their opinions or views in a "safe" environment. Some students don't ever feel comfortable talking in class at all or very much. One thing I have noticed is that sometimes the most insightful writers are the quietest. Blogging can be a great place for these sorts of students to let their "voice" be heard.
And 1301 and 1302 are writing classes--so have fun; go write.
posted by Melissa | 1:10 PM
2 Comments:
Deena,
I hope this lab assignment will be fun...I think this lab assignment, at least, will help us explore the narrative mode more. I am also curious to see what everyone will write, and how everyone will utilize the blog environment. There is a lot of potential to blogging.
To my other 1301 bloggers:
I don't want to subject the class to another peer review experience, however, I thought it might be helpful to see my example of a narrative essay, which you can see at http://www.eclectica.org/v1n6/miles.html
and get a better sense of what a narrative essay can look like. I wrote the above as a short story, but after I was finished, I realized that it was a narrative essay (it ended up being published as a short story, though).
Also to everyone else in my 1301 classes:
In my 1301 classes, I got an interesting anonymous comment, on what you all learned in class; one student wrote that he (or she) learned that sometimes teachers can teach writing, but not actually write. I think this comment might have come from a misunderstanding of what I was trying to do by showing the revision process. Also, I think this comment might have also come from a possible disappointment in my showing a snapshot of my writing in class. So, to clarify: I am teaching the mode of process writing for the first time this semester, a mode that I never had to write in while taking college classes. When anyone explores different modes, particularly modes that one hasn't written in, there is a learning curve and thus the revision process is more important. However, I don't believe that you can judge the ability of a writer based on one piece of writing that someone does. I am much more comfortable with the analytical or argumentative modes, both of which are modes that are traditionally used in an academic context. (I am also very comfortable with the narrative mode.) Since I believe that you can't get a good idea of someone's writing ability from one sample, I am asking everyone to collect their writing in a portfolio so I can look at everyone's writing from a more holistic point of view. Thus, to reiterate something I said in class again: just because you are comfortable/good at one mode doesn't mean you will be good in another mode. Another way of understanding different modes is to see the modes as genres. For instance (the dreaded for instance!), someone who is good at writing detective stories, and understands what elements make that genre work, won't neccessarily be able to write good romantic comedies. Just like modes, every genre has different demands and has common elements that makes the writing "work." The question to consider in class is what makes the narrative essay work.
(To my 1301 and 1302 classes)
Another question that I have is: what demands does the blog make of the writer and the audience? Or, what can we learn from writing the mode of blogging? Or, another way of phrasing this question: what makes an effective blog experience?
This is not a question that I think has a ready answer, because blogging is a relatively new form of written communication. Like I said in class, a blog is an interactive journal. A journal is usually a place where people write for themselves, chronicling experiences or exploring personal issues. However, since a blog is interactive, you get to respond to another person's personal writing--something that is not possible with a traditional journal. How does personal writing change when it becomes public? This relates to an issue that might be useful to explore: how does academic (mostly public) writing differ from personal writing (mostly private) and how can they intersect? I think this is an important question because writing teachers often argue that "I" shouldn't be used in an academic essay (I don't subscribe or enforce this rule, btw). However, what role does your own personal experience have in shaping your academic voice?
Keep writing...
Melissa
Fauzia,
I agree with you that blogging, or writing in general, can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make it. However, I think it is interesting when you said that the "audience simply needs to listen." One of the elements of the blog that is different from other types of writing is that there isn't any clear or anticipated audience. For instance, when you write an essay in class, you can predictably say that someone will read your writing, and perhaps even respond to it (sometimes it is only me, while sometimes it is also your fellow students). However, in the blogging experience, it is less predictable who will read what you wrote. It might even be less predictable how the audience might respond. The "audience" might not respond publicly at all; or, your post might trigger other posts by other bloggers. We are exploring in our class what how having in mind certain audiences can clarify or change the way you write something. One of the "complications" of the blog is that there is a less control over who the audience is, or who might read what you wrote. There is also the problem of blogging being a non-academic writing environment in which people might write very different things, with multiple audiences in mind. You also mention that people write for themselves, based on what they feel. I would agree with you that that is the nature of journal writing. However, this is an interactive journal writing experience, so there is a question of the intersection of audience and writer that doesn't come up as much with traditional journal writing.
Btw, I mention in my welcome message what some of the benefits of blogging are, based on my own perspective...I would be interested in hearing from anyone what other benefits (or negative consequences) of blogging that I haven't thought of or mentioned.
I look forward to reading your blogging experience...
Melissa
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