Before taking the Writing for the Internet course, I would have read this article and been baffled at the thought of using weblogs in the classroom. I thought blogs were strictly used for personal expression such as journals and short story writing. I now see how important academic weblogs are.
Firstly, I think it’s very important for the student to gain reaction not only from their professor but from their peers as well. I know I personally gain a lot of knowledge, confidence, and interesting feedback from all the SHU bloggers, as well as Dr. Jerz. When a professor or peer comments on my blog it makes me feel like my writing means something not only to myself, but to my readers as well.
Also, writing for an academic blog instead of writing strictly for my online diary has dramatically changed and improved my writing style in a short amount of time. I’m now able to express my idea without being bias, write more informative pieces, and I’ve learned to cut my writing down to the bare facts while still making the entries fun to read.
I strongly agree blogs should be incorporated not only in one’s personal life, but in the classroom as well. Blogs open up a wide spectrum of readers and the student is able to gain so much more because they’re receiving feedback from not only the teacher, but students and outside readers also.
Blogs, in a sense, teach a discipline too. I have learned to practice “netiquette” in every entry I write. The wave of the future is computers. Well, I suppose computers are the wave of the present also. So learning to write for the internet is a very important skill that should definitely be incorporated into not only the college classroom, but high school as well.
It's good to hear that even a skilled journal-ish blogger like you is still learning something from all of this, Stormy. I agree that your writing style is getting even better. :)
Keep it up!
Posted by: ChrisU at November 26, 2004 9:34 PM