This was my first experience with blogging, not only as a poster but also as a follower. In terms of following the blogs of others, I found that those of my groupmates who actually posted regularly did a fantastic job of educating me about their topics. I am disappointed that not everyone in our group actively participated and that I was called out for not specifically posted a certain number of times to fulfill the requirements of the course. I enjoyed reading blogs about the same topics that I was posting about to see how different people pick out different information to share. I also liked that because we are all doing different things with our time; full time grad school, full time working, some teachers, some not, that various perspectives and points of view were shared.
As a blogger, I found it was very important to be invested in the blog topic. I absolutely loved posting about Interactive WhiteBoards and have become a little obsessed with them. I really enjoy making connections between course work and my teaching and the IWB has become a tool that I now use on a weekly basis. Looking back on my postings about IWBs, I used pictures, videos, links, and text to bring life to the blog. I was looking for a different way to disperse the knowledge I had gained to my followers so that they would enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoyed creating it. I learned how to post video clips from YouTube onto the blog which I had never done before. It was fun to incorporate other technologies that were discussed in this class into the blogging experience.
During the second half of the semester, my topic changed to iTunesU. I debated whether or not to stick with the IWB topic and now wish I had. I just couldn't get interested in iTunesU to the same level that I was with IWBs. I struggled each week to find something relevant to post about. I admit that I took the easy way out a couple of times and posted random clips, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. I also started to slack on the responsibilities of the blogging assignment because I didn't want to sign in and deal with it.
If I am going to continue to blog, it would have to be about something that I am really invested in. I don't think that it would be something school based or for a class. I keep a log of what I cook for dinner and have for over 2 years so maybe that would be something that would be more fun to blog about. I also go and see live music at every chance I get so that is another potential topic. I am glad for this experience as part of IDE 611, but as of right now, I don't see it as something I am going to maintain. I like the idea of it being a class assignment and do think there are many benefits from participating in it. Thanks to all who have read my posts and made comments.
Hi Greg:
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting your reflection on blogging for IDE 611. I think that you did an amazing job in blogging about Interactive White Boards (IWB). Your posts on IWBs were always informative and engaging. I really enjoyed commenting on these postings. Although you state, "I just couldn't get interested in iTunesU to the same level that I was with IWBs," I think that you did a good job in posting about iTunesU during the 2nd half of the academic semester. I especially liked your last posting on the UK's Teacher TV and the challenges associated with transitioning it from a television platform to an online resource medium.
Second, I am glad that you brought up the issue of our Group 6. I would like to say that I think our group was at a slight disadvantage than the other IDE blogging groups because almost from the start of the academic semester we lost 2 group members due to their seemingly dropping IDE 611. This left us with only 4 group members as oppose to the five and six membership that other groups had throughout the semester. I enjoyed reading the comments that you, Sue, and Leah left on my blog, but I think that our blogging experience would have been further enriched if we had the full complement of group members.
Finally, I want to directly thank you, Sue and Leah for making my first blogging experience so memorable and rewarding.
~Aja
Thank you Aja for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteGreg,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments - and Aja's comments - about our group and want to in turn, thank you, Aja, and Leah for the great information and interaction.
Also, I wanted to mention that I am impressed that you have kept a log of what you have cooked for dinner for so long. I think that would make a great blog topic and I'd follow your blog in order to learn more about cooking (which isn't my specialty).
Greg, thanks for your thoughtful and honest reflection. I agree that blogging is something probably best done for something you're really interested in. I've done one for a class, and while it wasn't always my interests, it did help me move forward on a class project because I had to think about it every week. Great job!
ReplyDelete