Thursday, June 10, 2004
Blogging and studying
This blog has been recently mentioned in several other blogs I regularly read (among them, the Bible Software Review Weblog, the Biblical Theology Blog and the NT Gateway Weblog). I thank the authors of these blogs for their kind words, and above all for the resources they make available. I find them extremely useful.
Reflecting upon what Mark Goodacre and Rubén Gómez write about student blogs, I believe that the value of this blog for me is that it is personal: that is, it is really a place to jot down notes on what I read (or should read, or intend to read) or think. Group blogs and mailing lists are perhaps a different thing: there is (or at least there should be) more structure and formality, and normally the writing process is more event-driven. And the difference in context (for example, a class blog) clearly influences text, reader, and author (whereas here to some extent the role of the reader is confused with the role of the author). Also, blogging and assessment are perhaps not mutually exclusive, but I wouldn't want to think, before posting an item, that what I post here has a direct influence on my assessments (but details can certainly vary in this respect).
Having said that, I think that encouraging students to participate to e-list discussions (or group blogs) in the context of a course is a good thing, and one that I definitely miss as an external student. As a matter of fact, one of my perceived biggest disadvantages of being an external student is that it is basically not possible to get feedback from your teachers (exception made for the marks, which are of relative use).
Finally, I would be more than happy to see other student's blogs. I've put my email address on this page (dsalomoni at yahoo dot com), so if you are out there and would like to let me know of your blogs, or send me private comments, feel free to drop me a line.
Reflecting upon what Mark Goodacre and Rubén Gómez write about student blogs, I believe that the value of this blog for me is that it is personal: that is, it is really a place to jot down notes on what I read (or should read, or intend to read) or think. Group blogs and mailing lists are perhaps a different thing: there is (or at least there should be) more structure and formality, and normally the writing process is more event-driven. And the difference in context (for example, a class blog) clearly influences text, reader, and author (whereas here to some extent the role of the reader is confused with the role of the author). Also, blogging and assessment are perhaps not mutually exclusive, but I wouldn't want to think, before posting an item, that what I post here has a direct influence on my assessments (but details can certainly vary in this respect).
Having said that, I think that encouraging students to participate to e-list discussions (or group blogs) in the context of a course is a good thing, and one that I definitely miss as an external student. As a matter of fact, one of my perceived biggest disadvantages of being an external student is that it is basically not possible to get feedback from your teachers (exception made for the marks, which are of relative use).
Finally, I would be more than happy to see other student's blogs. I've put my email address on this page (dsalomoni at yahoo dot com), so if you are out there and would like to let me know of your blogs, or send me private comments, feel free to drop me a line.
Comments:
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I agree that there is a far greater motivation when you feel something is "personal". Also, the fact that you force yourself to put down in writing some of your thoughts and findings enhances the whole learning process in no small measure. All in all, I feel it is worth the effort to follow the "blog route".
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