I definitely agree with Kajder’s assertion that these tools help students grow as thinkers, readers, and writers, especially when it comes to discussion boards. I think that they offer a paper-trail discussion which is very valuable and impossible to realize without the technology. As I mentioned in one of my postings for this course, I think discussion boards allow quiet students to engage in the dialogue, and they force those who “participate” without reflection or direction to think and review the coherence and relevance of what they contribute. And, they allow everyone to literally “see” the conversation (especially with the graph form of the WebCT discussion board. as I also agree with Kajder in that they require infinite patience—I have experienced it on the side of the student and I can only imagine it is equally so, on the side of the teacher. This is not only from a technology-use standpoint, but also from the workload perspective. As I also mentioned previously, taking part in these online dialogues can be like writing a mini-paper each time. I think this is incredibly valuable practice, but it is also a lot of work, both for students and teachers. When Krause describes his experience gone “bad” with blogs, this is one thing he never reflects on, which I think needs to be taken into account when we incorporate these community-building technologies into our course work expectations (see my posting on Krause on Engltech.blogspot).
Would I take a course exclusively online? Not if I could avoid it. The distance and “disappearance” factor which takes place online—because responses can be delayed or not given at all—and the possibility for misunderstanding, which needed immediate clarification, both of these are less possible face-to-face. I really need the immediacy and accountability of the in-person class (even if it’s every other class).
Below is a very rough idea of how I might try to use a blog in a class. I thought of it and posted it as part of a comment on other people’s comments to one of my postings, and I’ll include part of that text here:
--I think that perhaps new techniques and formats might most beneficial when gradually incorporated, making sure to use a foundation of what is familiar and comfortable to students. For example, if I wanted to incorporate a classroom blog to a classroom of high school students who were already familiar with writing in reflection journals, I might ask students to make one posting about one same theme (perhaps a novel chapter, a play scene, a journalism article); then I could ask each student to read one other person's post and write a reflection on both (their own and the classmate's) in their journals in relation to the text; once I have read these reflections and given a prompt for further dialogue, I would explain the use of the comment feature on the blog site, and ask students to make a comment to that same other blogger taking into account their own journal entry and my comments. My hope would be to take advantage of the publishing aspect of blogs, while fostering dialectical thinking in a medium which I don't really view as dialogue-driven, and also to scaffold the use of technology, so that students don't get discouraged by the medium.