Reading through our first three blog posts and series of comments, I am struck by how well you’re all collectively responding to my initial questions. It seems to me that as a class, you’re able to respond quickly and thoughtfully to the ideas we’ll be wrestling with and the kinds of writing we’ll be doing in the first part of this course. In this way, you’ve made a really good first impression. Thanks.
When I use technology like this blog in my writing courses, I am often struck by the quality of student writing. Sometimes, though, it seems like students find it challenging to move from this online environment to the writing of papers, and I’m wondering, is this true in your experience? As a writer, do you find it easier to write an effective blog post than you do a formal essay? If so, why do think this might be the case? What’s the difference, for you as a writer, when you write for your peers in a digital situation versus when you write for a professor in a more formal, academic way?
On a related note, how would you describe your expectations for the writing in this course? Are you nervous at all? Do you feel confident? What questions do you have? What are you curious to learn from me, the course, or each other about writing and research?
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Our generation is very technological and technology is a very large part of our daily lives. Thus being said, I feel that sometimes it if often a difficult transition from the “digital” world. I even catch myself talking in “text” in normal daily conversations because I am so use to cutting down phrases and using abbreviations. When I normally am writing on blogs or websites, it is informal and has a laid back tone which does make it a difficult transition to writing papers. When I am writing online, I feel almost free from restrictions and can just write what my thoughts, but when I am writing papers, there is a lot of focus on vocabulary, punctuation, figurative language and support necessarily. I think this is the case because I have become so adjusted to the online world of incomplete sentences and words that it is difficult to process my thoughts in a different more sophisticated manner. When I write for my peers even if it is on a digital situation I feel that there is a lot of pressure because I am voicing my opinion in public. What I say online to my peers will form an opinion of me to them that will carry outside of the classroom but when I am writing to a professor it is more private and for a grade. The worst that can happen with an academic paper is to get a bad grade so I feel that there is less pressure writing for one person even though it is more difficult with the transition of informal to formal language and setting.
My expectations for writing in this course are to be able to find reliable sources and use them to enhance my writing. In the past I would only include a few phrases of one source into my writing but I would like to truly do research to support my argument strongly. I am nervous and not as confident as I should be because I know that writing is weakest aspect academically and often times I feel that it is a skill that does not improve. In this course, I would like to learn skills on how to improve my writing on a daily basis with simple changes that are easy to adapt to. I would also like to learn how to integrate research and sources in a more effective manner that will support my argument and build more credibility as a writer.
I think that it's fantastic that we are seeing a move towards the use of blogs and online media, both in the classroom as well as everyday life. The fact that this class requires posting online blogs for the entire class to view rather than a majority of the work being formal essays handed in to the instructor does not cause a decline in quality. On the contrary, I believe that because these writings are available to others in the class an individual attempts to do work above and beyond that of work of a formal essay, simply because we realize that our peers are going to be reading our material and we have a tendency to want to seem knowledgeable in the subject matter to others.
The use of the Internet and blogs has several different effects on writing skills and abilities of the individuals who use them. A negative effect of that technology, especially pertaining to a younger generation, is our basic grammatical, spelling and punctuation skills lack significantly from those who utilized non-technological means to produce a piece of writing. The younger generation is much more reliant on Microsoft Word and programs that will check for spelling and grammatical errors rather than a better understanding of the basic skills of writing. Much more emphasis nowadays is placed on style. Ultimately, however, the advent of easily accessible information has a positive effect on the people of the culture in which it is utilized. Ultimately more information is available, and it easier to get the information that interests you.
I feel quite comfortable with the writing expectations outlined in the class syllabus. I don't feel nervous about the class in general, and hope to gain a better understanding of the subject matter through the quarter. I am interested to see what other databases are available to us and how we can utilize those in our writing assignments.
We are a part of the digital age and, like it or not, technology will be a large part of the lives of our generation. I think that using technology like this blog in an academic setting is one of the more useful things a professor could do. We now live in an age where most written communication is done by email and learning to write appropriately and succinctly in a blog post or email is crucial to our futures.
Personally, as a writer, it is more unnerving for me to write in a blog post that will be read by all my peers. It makes it so my writing is compared side by side with my peers and in this way it’s a little harder for me. I think that having this blog will be a good way for me to learn and develop as a stronger writer though.
I am excited for this course. I love the theme and I think that there is a lot to be learned and researched. The course schedule seems manageable and the design of the course makes it so that as a student, I will really have time to improve my writing. I am interested to learn more about homelessness in the Denver area and I am very excited to get to work in a hands-on situation. I hope to see some strong improvement in my writing and also in my ability to peer edit. Overall, I am looking forward to this class.
As part of my experience, I have never had a professor do online blogs for extra discussion so I do not know exactly how different it is to transition my writing from that media to paper. One thing I have noticed in writing though is the difference between first person writing and what most students consider "academic" writing. Considering this is a blog, an informal environment, first person writing and informal grammar rules apply. I know that when I sit down to write a paper allowed to be written in first person I have a much easier time knowing I can take an informal tone.
Something happens though when students are asked to write an academic paper, research or otherwise, that causes them to assume they have to switch to formal, third person diction and find themselves hitting multiple writing roadblocks. Nerves might play into it somewhat, but I think they assume that is what teachers and professors want to see. So instead of concerning themselves with what they are actually saying, they fill their sentences with thesaurus substitutes and spend extra time worrying over simple sentence structure. I actually find it somewhat ironic that this happens because the audience for a blog and the audience for an academic paper differ immensely in size and qualifications. With an academic paper for something like this writing class, there are typically a couple of peer editors that read it but ultimately one person grades it. For a blog, multiple people read it, multiple people judge it, and multiple people have the ability to respond to it-even the ability to contact the writer by email-something that seems worthy of a little extra thought and time.
I guess that is where I am more confused, I do not know if people find more comfort and ease having a computer and internet barrier between them and their judges. That might be a cause for the ease of blogging. It is a phenomena seen with text messaging and email. It is incredible what some people will send or say through text or in an email message, but they do it because they do not actually have to face the person; it is quick and painless. Blogging occurs and is a result of the fast-paced, technological age. It is simple because it is quick and relatively painless to express your opinion when you are never in direct personal contact with your "graders"
I think my main expectation for this course is learning how to better use the resources this school has in my academic papers. I have always enjoyed research writing because I feel confident in my ability to incorporate the sources I do find; however, every time I write for a new person I cannot help but feel a touch nervous. I know that overtime I will build more confidence in writing for this course. In general, out of every professor I have for a writing-intensive course, I expect genuine, constructive critique, but I think I am more encouraged in writing by having a professor point out things I did correctly and well. This whole year, in the writing intensive classes, has been about developing my skills as a writer and becoming more confident in my ability to write.
As a member of the so called “Generation Y,” I am supposed to be technologically savvy. I am of the generation that is predicted to have hearing loss because of the intensity and frequent use of our ipods, the generation who prefer ‘texting’ to face-to-face conversations, and the generation that is so adept at multi-tasking we are able to instant message, surf the web, talk on the phone, and study at the same time. As such, you would think that I would be equally well versed in posting on blogs and would feel more comfortable writing for a blog than for professor who was inevitably going to judge my work and assign a grade. Oddly though, I have found it is more difficult for me to start write these posts than it is for me to begin a formal essay. I have not quite discovered the reason for this phenomena and I find it strange because I am very comfortable sending email and using other digital sources. I believe however that two things cause my unease. First, I have realized that when I read what other people have written in response to a post before I myself respond, I find myself be unable to step beyond the ideas of my peers and am unable to develop truly original thoughts. I need to learn that it is best for me to post my ideas first and then read what others have said. I also believe that part of my problem in responding so informally is caused by years of writing what I think my reader (in most cases a teacher) wants to read. This is something I hope to get past in this class. Though I understand that there are times when it is necessary to write what is anticipated, I also want to be able to write in a way that expresses my own ideas, regardless of the ideas I am expected to have.
I have never in my entire educational life had a teacher use a blog as a way to write down our comments and extra thoughts. However, I do enjoy writing in blogs because of how different it is from writing a formal paper. In a blog, you're able to write your thoughts down in your own voice because it's somewhat informal and relaxed. But because this blog is read by my peers and teacher, just like it would happen during a discussion in class, I know that what I write here will be judged as part of who I am and how I think.
We've moved into a world that now enables you to read several novels on a digital reader book, and where writing text-messages and e-mails have become the biggest form of interaction between people. Because of this, I think that the ability to write a blog and be able to move into writing papers is a good skill to have in our high-tech society that we live in now.
I'm comfortable with the writing expectations of this class. They have been defined and outlined in the syllabus thoroughly. As for my expectations in this class, I think that I will learn how to write an effective research paper and how to become a more engaged citizen.
Prior to coming to DU, I had never been in a course where we were required to respond to a blog or use technology as the primary means for discussion and submission of different projects and papers. For me, this transition has been somewhat of a challenge to get used to, because I am used to submitting all of my papers by hardcopy, and having them returned to me with red ink circling errors and corrections. When I correct my own papers, I still always print a hardcopy and edit them by hand.
However, our society and the whole world is moving in a direction where the absence of technology will leave you behind and at a disadvantage in the world; both socially and from a career standpoint. I have yet to submit a paper at the University of Denver by hardcopy, which shows how far colleges and society have come in such a short amount of time.
I really like this type of submission (over a blog) because in my own situation, I can voice my opinions much better over writing than I can by voice in class. I think that by having a blog, you can practice writing and doing so to the best of your ability, but at the same time you can post your opinions in more of a casual setting, and have time to think about the response you want to give. I have never responded to a blog before this class, so this is a new experience, but I do enjoy doing it.
My expectations as far as the class goes is that I would like to learn more about finding sources that are credible instead of just googling facts, and learn how to pick out the important parts from that article that relate to my paper topic. I would also like to enhance my writing skills, everything from grammar to important details, and see improvements in all of my writing, not just in this class.
I often find that writing for blogs is easier than writing formal essays, simply because blogs are very informal and formal essay, obviously are not. I think that formal essays take a lot more time and effort that just shooting out a post to a blog. More is required of your writing and sometimes formal essays call for further explanation of certain details. In addition, blogs are not being letter graded so the pressure of getting a good grade is nonexistent. When I write for my peers in a digital situation, although it is informal, it is often times more nerve-wracking for me because everyone can look at my post, but not everyone can read my formal essay that I may handing in. However, the main difference for me as a writer is that, while I put thought in to the things I post online, I maybe do not put as much thought into it as a would a formal essay. I kind of just write things as they come to be, instead of pausing to think about what I am saying, or slowing down too much. As far as this class goes I would say I’m fairly confident, but a bit nervous at the same time. I feel confident because I have written research papers before, but nervous as the same time because I have not written a lot of research papers. I am curious to learn about some of the misconceptions we have about homelessness and I am exciting to do the service learning projects that go along with the course.
For me, I find it easier to write a formal essay. Though it is more convenient to write a blog, a usually like to outline my thoughts so that my work flows better. At times, I feel when I am writing a blog, I just jump from idea to idea without connecting them. I feel the digital situation is not only less formal, but also a better way to share my thoughts. With a formal essay, I feel less apt to include some of my own ideas and I am more likely to write less argumentative.
For the most part, I am looking forward to the writing in this class. I feel we will have an opportunity to write more formal essays, but also to do more of our own creative work as well. I feel relatively confident that I will be able to produce work that accurately reflects my writing style. I am hoping to learn more about Project Homeless Connect as well as read the different novels which portray poverty in different ways. I already feel that I am interested in this course and the topics we will cover.
I think that in a way, technology has crippled the students of our current culture. Sometimes it is difficult for me to switch from writing an informal statement to a formal essay because the difference between the two things has become so big. Text messaging and IMing online, in my opinion has been detrimental to our generations ability to write formally.
Personally, I find it easier to write a formal paper than to write something like an informal speech. For me, formal writing has strict guidelines that you have to follow, and that makes it simpler to write. For informal writing, I never know what is too informal, and if using colloquialisms is okay. Writing for peers is even more difficult, because having your writing displayed for others to see really puts on the pressure.
I am not too nervous about the writing for this course though. I feel that I have had some good writing training throughout my high school years. I passed both of my AP English tests when I took them, and I am relatively confident about my writing skills. I will however work very hard in order to earn good grades. A may be able to write well, but it still takes effort.
I am very intrigued by the use of blogs in our classroom, as I have never written one before. While I am an avid reader of online written material--from The NY Times all the way down to Perez Hilton (and he is all the way down, too), I have never authored a Livejournal or Myspace blog. I am excited to experience blogs from the other side, then. I think this forum will in fact make writing our formal essays much easier. I’m a realist, so I know that EVERYONE won’t read EVERYONE else’s posts every week, but I think that, in a pinch, they could spur new ideas. I have used discussion boards in two of my other classes, and I always found that ideas come more easily through that medium--perhaps because it is so informal. Writing formal essays is difficult for many reasons: you know you are being graded, more emphasis is put on structure, and there is usually some sort of parenthetical citation situation going on.
I am very excited about the structure of this class--or at least my perception of it. I always feel very accomplished writing a research paper, much more so than an original essay. There is something so satisfying (for me at least) about the whole process; I love going on a hunt for the right book that is going to support my thesis. I also like trying to bridge multiple sources, make connections, and come to my own conclusions about what they mean. That is one thing that I’m very excited about: using novels, movies, pictures, reports, and personal experience. I love the challenge that such diverse sources present. I think this class will, beside improving my writing, improve my basic research skills--I’m already much more comfortable with Penrose after the first week!
Yes, i do feel that it is a lot easier to write a blog over a whole essay. In blogs i get right to the point of the topic and state my opinion clearly. When i am writing full essays, a lot of the times i start to ramble off and away from the subject matter. This has been problematic for me and has interfered with my writing capabilities.
My expectations for this writing course are simple. I feel confident enough as a writer that i will be able to manage the assignments well enough to succeed .
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful and engaged response to my questions. I am struck by how clearly you already grasp the importance of context and situation when it comes to writing. Even more interesting is how you each individually respond to blogging vs. writing more formal papers. Keep paying attention to how you imagine these different kinds of situations, for it will help you as you begin to write in different disciplines and for different academic audiences.
Living in this "age of technology" it only makes sense to use this type of medium to add to the class experince.
It gives us a chance to reflect some more on subjects that come up in class and gives us the opportunity to respond at another time and place.
I myself had never published on a blog before I tokk Prof. Bateman's 1122 class. I am not really used to writing in blogs or using it in a class. I am more comfortable writing regular essays or papers, but it is a new experince, one to which I am getting a little more used to.
Living in this generation, everything seems technology driven. I really enjoy doing everything on the computer because it becomes very reliable for just about everything I do. However, it seems as if everyone is technologically dependent and cant live without having a screen right in front of them. Overall, I think that it is a great thing to live in such a highly developed world and only know that our future will keep improving. Because of this, it will be an absolute necessity to get used to this digital world because everything will involve great technological knowledge.
It is a great a idea to have blogs for this writing course because it gives students the ability to express themselves. Because it is such a great idea, it also gets students more used to doing things online and become familiar with this technological change. This gives people the opportunity to post various types of writings and is also more convenient than having to do everything handwritten.
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