The blogs I’ve read are as diverse as the people who have written them.
I chose the following:
I chose the following:
While blogging or writing the blog you learn to articulate your thoughts due to the fact that others are reading them. I noticed that most of the bloggers just let it flow and spill out their thoughts from their thinking so as not to lose their train of thoughts and ideas. It’s as if the brain is on overload and they must “dump” it before they forget what instantaneous thoughts they had. Reading these blogs is interesting. You are reading someone else’s thoughts. Who doesn’t want to know what is in a person’s head? How powerful!!! You profit from their research, reading, and understanding. You gain a different perspective and are able to build on their ideas without having to read everything they read. It is different than other forms of reading due to the venue. It is like other forms of print media such as editorials and comments in the newspaper. Writing blogs is similar to journaling, yet unlike it because so many others are able to read it all and comment.
When others read and comment on a blog its feedback. Sometimes the feedback gives the originator a new spin on things and stimulates thinking to the point of changing one’s perspective. It sparks change, and elicits emotions.
The blog comments I have seen all seem to be informative or positive. I don’t recall seeing anything negative. I’m impressed. Blogging seems to be a place to be able to express yourself without being ridiculed. Another positive is that there are no identifiers as to the characteristics of the writer except for their written word. People are more accepting and less judgmental of others in this arena.
The use of blogging to learn is such a fascinating tool. There are no boundaries. What an excellent medium to communicate ideas and share thoughts. Everyone has something to say and this form of communication allows each person to share in his/her own time, pace, and level.
I love the way that you explained what blogging was to you. I never thought to explain it as just letting it flow and spill thoughts. I do like this terminology much better than dumping.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the new spin on a topic...I think that is the best part about blogging!
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I agree with you completely that blogging has few boundaries and so many different formats. In fact, I have been reading blogs for some time without even realizing they were blogs!
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You made me think of a writing activity we do where the students/teachers have to write using a mechanical pencil with no lead and a piece of carbon paper in between. They can't see what they are writing. The results are usually pretty profound. You activate that part of your brain, and tap into thoughts/memories you have forgotten. It is opened up by not having to worry about mechanics.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great activity. We have Acceleration in our middle school and this activity will be great and spawn some discussions. Thank you for sharing! I'd enjoy hearing from you about what types of conversations were created when you did this activity. We as adults and educators are so concerned about being 'perfect' when we write that we don't get the big ideas down from our brains. I am also going to try this activity with my teachers in their FLIP meetings. If I model the idea, maybe they will see the value and enjoy it with our kiddos.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Blogging helps me articulate my thoughts especially since I know someone will read it and comment about it. I agree that blogging can be a useful tool for education.
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