Developing an Unexpected Skill...

In the course, American Literature 1915 - present, students are expected to blog outside of class time to initiate a discussion about a literary work to be continued during class time. Before this course, I had a vague idea of what blogging was, and I never imagined that I would become a "blogger". However, I find blogging to be a very effective exercise. I not only get to express my ideas, but I also get to learn from my coursemates' ideas. By anticipating the creation of my own blog with each reading assignment, I am encouraged to look more deeply into the work; furthermore, by reading my coursemates' blogs and the comments they leave in reaction to my blog, I gain different perspectives of interpreting literature. While I do not consider myself a "deep" blogger in comparison to some of my peers, I have made substantial progress in terms of my own growth and depth of understanding literature.

Coverage

All of my blogs examine a direct quote from the assigned reading; however, I did not learn how to include a link back to the course web page devoted to the reading until a few weeks into the course. Here are my blog entries that satisfy both of these requirements:

You're Having a Girl...Congratulations???

Out of Options...That Were Never There...

More Options, but Still Limited...

Flipping the bird...

Self-Sacrifice???

Timeliness

I am proud to report that all of my blog entries were submitted on time. To be thorough, I will merely list here the blog entries that I did not list under any of the other categories.

After Apple Picking (Robert Frost)

The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

How to Read Lit Like a Prof

The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)

Oh, to be young again...

Interaction

Early in the course, I failed to respond to the comments posted in reaction to my blog entries. However, as the course progressed, I not only continued to react to my coursemates' blog entries, but I also replied to the comments that were left on my blog entires by my peers.

You're Having a Girl...Congratulations???

More Options, but Still Limited...

Rebecca on The Great Gatsby

Christopher on Machinal

Rosalind on The Grapes of Wrath

Depth

I demonstrated depth in my blog entries by comparing ideas in one literary work to other works being covered in the course, works that I read for enjoyment, and personal experience.

Sealed with a Twist.

You're having a Girl...Congratulations???

Chelsie on How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Discussion

Rebecca on The Great Gatsby

Jennifer on How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Christopher on Machinal

Christopher on The Grapes of Wrath

My Coursemates' Portfolios