Saturday, April 9, 2005
Blogging interview. Vera, writing from China, asks some questions about blogging in school. Perhaps these short answers are of use to her (excerpts):
2> Describe a little bit about your students.
Most of my students are traditional college age Americans from the region here. Some are older, returning to college to improve their careers. They often don't think of themselves as writers, though some do. Only a few are EFL students.
3> What’s the most challenging problem you face in your practice with weblog in education?
Blogs are practices that build on the freedom of the writer to make an inquiry that matters to herself and to the community. A fair number of American students show by their actions that they believe that school work is not a practice of inquiry. Rather, their actions imply that school work is a practice of indoctrination or rote learning, and so they struggle to risk a meaningful connection to the personal choices that make blogging meaningful. They don't seem to understand or believe in the genre, then, in the context of school.
4> How do you analyze that problem? 5> How do you try to solve that problem?
I suspect that students are carrying on with behavior that has worked for them in school before, behavior that has been rewarded by teachers. So I don't entirely blame them for it. But I do try to describe the consequences of their passivity and invite something different and support their efforts to move beyond. The passivity is boring and short-sighted; inquiry grows more powerful over time and serves oneself and others. I try to make the difference clear.
6>Which weblog tool do you choose? Is there any special feature of it, compared with other blogging tool? Is there anything you think needs to be improved in this blogging tool to suit the education need?
I have been using Expression Engine, but as strong as this software is, it does not currently have the authentication module necessary for use by a large number of students at a college or university, I believe.
7> How do you plan to assess your students’ weblog?
I look for clues that the student has named a project of some consequence and considered how to launch an inquiry into some aspect of the project. I want to see evidence of research, of thinking, of writing that goes beyond summarizing sources, of engagement with a community, of making contributions to the matter at hand. I'd like to see clear, forceful writing, too, shaped with the nature of web publishing in mind.
8> How do you usually assign them to write on blog?
I ask students to write three or four times a week, to make links, to quote, to talk about what they are quoting, to write substantial entries most of the time, and then look for ways to respond to the work of their classmates. [0 & P]
2> Describe a little bit about your students.
Most of my students are traditional college age Americans from the region here. Some are older, returning to college to improve their careers. They often don't think of themselves as writers, though some do. Only a few are EFL students.
3> What’s the most challenging problem you face in your practice with weblog in education?
Blogs are practices that build on the freedom of the writer to make an inquiry that matters to herself and to the community. A fair number of American students show by their actions that they believe that school work is not a practice of inquiry. Rather, their actions imply that school work is a practice of indoctrination or rote learning, and so they struggle to risk a meaningful connection to the personal choices that make blogging meaningful. They don't seem to understand or believe in the genre, then, in the context of school.
4> How do you analyze that problem? 5> How do you try to solve that problem?
I suspect that students are carrying on with behavior that has worked for them in school before, behavior that has been rewarded by teachers. So I don't entirely blame them for it. But I do try to describe the consequences of their passivity and invite something different and support their efforts to move beyond. The passivity is boring and short-sighted; inquiry grows more powerful over time and serves oneself and others. I try to make the difference clear.
6>Which weblog tool do you choose? Is there any special feature of it, compared with other blogging tool? Is there anything you think needs to be improved in this blogging tool to suit the education need?
I have been using Expression Engine, but as strong as this software is, it does not currently have the authentication module necessary for use by a large number of students at a college or university, I believe.
7> How do you plan to assess your students’ weblog?
I look for clues that the student has named a project of some consequence and considered how to launch an inquiry into some aspect of the project. I want to see evidence of research, of thinking, of writing that goes beyond summarizing sources, of engagement with a community, of making contributions to the matter at hand. I'd like to see clear, forceful writing, too, shaped with the nature of web publishing in mind.
8> How do you usually assign them to write on blog?
I ask students to write three or four times a week, to make links, to quote, to talk about what they are quoting, to write substantial entries most of the time, and then look for ways to respond to the work of their classmates. [0 & P]
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