The authors say on page 167
that the purpose of chapter 8 in the New
Literacies Sampler is to get us “interested in exploring the way in which
blogs work as interactive texts”.
This chapter did just that!
I had never thought of blogs as literature before, or as this chapter
refers to them, “a new type of text” or “digital communication”. There were so many interesting things
about blogging discussed in this weeks reading. For example, it discussed the way blogging is used as a
social practice. I am basically a
private person. I don’t share
intimate details of my personal life with just anyone. So I really don’t think I would be a
good ‘blogger’. But some people
really enjoy putting it all out there, expressing their thoughts and feelings
with the world. They must thrive
from the feedback they receive from “frequent commenters”. In this chapter, it has described these
comments as giving people a sense of audience. Now, I have never been the type of person who loved an
audience, but according to these authors, there are millions of blogs
worldwide. Apparently a few people
in the world are slightly different from me!
I
enjoyed reading about the blogs the authors set up and used as their focus
study. They discussions about how
the comments were just as useful as their own blog texts were interesting. The quote on page 187 stood out to
me. “While bloggers—ostensibly at least—seem to set up their blogs in
order to serve their own purpose, it has become clear that certain aspects of
blogs are responsive to comments by and declared interests of others.” Sometimes you learn a lot more through
others perspectives of you, then you do about your own writing. The comments of others can help you
learn more about yourself. This
was an important aspect of blogging that I had never considered. I am starting to see how blogging can
be a powerful tool in the classroom.
Our students can put their thoughts and feelings out there, and learn
about themselves and about others in a meaningful way. Blogging can be a
powerful tool for communication.
Crystal, I am right there with you about not wanting to share personal details of your life. Would you ever consider keeping an anonymous blog? I am considering it since I have enjoyed blogging in this class, but I am not sure if I could completely come out with everything. I agree with you that blogging can be a powerful tool for communication. Similar to social media, I think it is interesting how this form of communication has had an influence on world events and politics.
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
ReplyDeleteI am with you and Kelly, I don't share intimate secrets about my life with just anyone. Part of the quote that you mentioned stuck out to me as well "Sometimes you learn through other people's perspectives of you, then you do about your own writing." This is so true. I have learned so much in this class from reading other people's perspective than I would have totally on my own. After using Blogs, I can see how useful that they would be in upper grades!