As I check the criteria one more time, I see that I am supposed to comment on why I chose blogger---I found it easy to use (and if I can use it it is very 'user-friendly!) I also participated in a blog discussion in a great Education course I took at University of Victoria last year,(Alternative Texts). I came to prefer the blog discussion over the classroom discussion, because some students didn't contribute much in person, but had brilliant insights and stories that they felt more comfortable contributing to the blog. Not everyone likes speaking in front of a herd of their peers---same deal with Pro-D, btw.
Finally, I am struggling with getting the RSS feed to show up on my blog, so I'll just keep plugging away at that or call in some more tech help for one of my kids!
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2 comments:
Hi Steph:
Glad to hear you are enjoying your new Mac. I would love to get one in the near future. I love photography and there are so many great things to do on a Mac.
I agree blogging is a great option for students (regardless of age) to say their thougths without the pressure of speaking to an audience.
Your course at UVIC sounds like it was interesting. I love how when we thought we were completely out of the loop on technology, a few weeks in, we can begin understanding termonology and playing with the technology almost comfortably.
Have a great weekend.
You know, what you say about students feeling more comfortable contributing to a blog discussion than an in class discussion could be really important. As a shy kid that grew into a shy adult, I rarely participated in class discussions and relied on my work to get the grades. Now, I'm far more comfortable participating in the blog format than the message boards... this is less intimidating somehow, even though in both formats I'm saved the anxiety of face-to-face communication.
If blogs become a mainstream part of our teaching, it could open up a lot of closed-shell student ideas.
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