Reflection on blogging

Blogs, in general, are informative and a 21st century way to allow other people into your thought processes. By keeping a blog, individuals can create entries that can be shared and commented on by others. The internet has opened up so many possibilities it should be our goal to learn these new technologies and share them with our students.

My IST611 blog (very uncreative name as I look back on it) was my first attempt at creating a blog. Overall, it was a positive and fun, learning experience. The initial setup of the blog was relatively easy. For both segments, podcasting and digital storytelling, learning about the new technology and finding relevant links took up the first few blog entries. During this I learned quite a bit about the technology. But then, I had a little trouble thinking up new and different discussion points about the same topic. If I had to do it again, I would plan out how many total blog entries I needed, and then I would create a “lesson plan” to follow. That way each week I wouldn’t have to try and remember what I had already written while simultaneously coming up with creative explanations about the same topic.

When I first started I was a little taken aback with the html language in the blog template. But after getting my courage up, perusing through the html document, and reading the help; I decided I could change a few things within it. I created links on the side of my blog and changed a heading. I was also able to create a pop up window for the comments to appear in. For my last entry I attempted to import a picture and was successful on my first try.

As I ponder the rest of the assignment, I liked how we had to comment on the blogs created by our fellow students. This allowed us to learn about different technologies from a spectator point of view. It also gave us experience commenting on another blog. One week, when I was commenting on another blog I noticed the comments were not appearing. I became concerned and notified the blog owner to find out why. She informed me there was an option that allowed her to screen comments. I instantly realized this would be a great option to use in the educational setting. Wonderful ideas began formulating about this fabulous tool and how it could be used in the library media center. Students could comment on the main topic of the week but the Library Media Specialist, as blog owner, could screen the comments. Any unnecessary or inappropriate comments could be eliminated before they appeared on the page. If used in the high school setting I could see educating a student screener in this process.

Providing us with roles to assume, such as instructional partner, when commenting; helped create a mental picture of the role I was undertaking. It also made me think about how that technology could be implemented in the educational setting.

I am happy with my progress. My technology comfort level has increased dramatically; I am no longer afraid of html and am not intimidated about creating bigger technological headaches than I started with.