Transcript Blogging Technology in ELS & Writing Courses

Something Old, Something New:
Reflective Journals and Social
Networking.
VERONICA BAIG
Academic Coordinator, English Language & Writing Studies ,
Athabasca University
TESL CANADA, HALIFAX, 2011
The Old—The New
• Writing Journals
– Hard copy
• Social Networking
– Possible studentstudent interaction
– Internet mediated
The Students/The Courses
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Advanced level
Both NS and NNS
Adults
Skills Courses and Integrated Courses
Constraints
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Any internet activity must be pedagogically sound
Students are self-paced
Courses are asynchronous
New students start each month
Some courses are low enrolment
Internet activities must apply to all students
wherever they are in a course
• The instructor must be comfortable with the
technology
• Institutional limitations on the use of technology
Classroom based
Online
Synchronous
Synchronous
On
Classroom based
Online
Asynchronous
Asynchronous
Something Old…
A journal fulfills several functions; it
allows students to
• write more—practice more
• write in a different genre—less
formal
• reflect on the writing process
It also allows insight into the student
perspective
Some “Old” Drawbacks
• The interaction is restricted to instructorstudent;
• The student often ends up writing for the
instructor;
• The content can become too personal;
• The content can become more of a diary than
a learning journal.
Problems in Writing Courses
• Students ignore the feedback provided by the
instructor—same old mistakes every time!
• Students submit more than one assignment at
a time—counter-productive in the writing
process
• Students do not reflect on their learning
• Students do not understand that improving
writing takes time
Something New—E-Journals
• Another way to contact students
• An additional way to interact with students
and increase their level of involvement
• An increased audience
• Another opportunity for students to practice
some of the course concepts and writing
• A way to reduce the isolation that can occur
with distance education
Reflective Online Journals
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Compulsory
Uses me2u or Athabasca Landing
A real blog
Think about and respond to writing feedback
Submit only one assignment at a time
Possible social networking
Reflective Online Journals
• English 177—currently in me2u
http://me2u.athabascau.ca/elgg/engl177oj/
• English 143—will open in Athabasca Landing
https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/groups/19959
/engl-143-online-journal/
There is a need for privacy and security in a
compulsory activity in which students are
writing more personal commentaries.
Other Issues …
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Involving the instructors
Modeling blogging/journaling process
Providing feedback
Marking the journal
Introduction (1)
My name is J. O. It has been some time since I
have written anything in a formal sense and
that's why I chose this course. It seemed to be a
good place to start my academic pursuits. I truly
desire to do well but, because I don't know what
to expect, I am terrified of failing. I hope that
this first assignment will ease my fear.
J.O.
Reflection on Feedback (1)
It always makes me a little nervous to write longer sentences, I feel that the
reader would never be able to take a breath if they read it. But obviously
there is a adequate way to write them. With these paragraphs, with so
much information to summarize, you really need them to make the
paragraph have all the necessary points. I'm interested to write my own
paragraph and see how I can do, with my own amount of information to
sort out. But maybe when your writing about your own topic, it just
comes easier, knowing what information that you want to keep. I like the
comment about the passive voice "de energizes the writing" when I read
that again, and what Veronica's suggestion was-it does take it down a
notch!!!
All is well, hope the same for everyone.
C.R.
Reflection on Feedback (2)
With this assignment I learned how to distinguish classification and division from
cause and effect writing. This was difficult for me and took some time. The
resources that Cara gave were very useful and helped clarify what classification
and division was.
The economy of Grenada was an interesting topic for me as I am moving there
in January for two years. Learning about the economy and getting a better
understanding of the challenges have helped me prepare for the move. The
different types of sentences are still confusing to me. I will continue to practice this
part of the lesson.
In the next assignment I realized I need to work on wording, so it doesn’t feel as
awkward. I hope my studies are going to be easier from now on as I was accepted
to medical school! This reduces the number of commitments I have, giving me
more time for this course. I hope to complete it by the end of September!
V.M.
Reflection on Feedback (3)
I realize that I made a stupid mistake. I have been working on the course for more than
two months. I do not want to give it up right now. I hope that I still have the
chance to complete the course. I will rewrite the assignment. If you give me one
more chance, please give me some feedback on the rewritten assignment.
I have finished the eighth assignment. Before I wrote this essay, I downloaded the
music and listened to it many times. I tried to get into author’s imaginative world
to understand the underlying meaning of the lyrics. I think that the lyrics express
author’s devotion to freedom. I picked three most representative features of
romanticism which are solitary life, yearning for the sublime and emotional
devotion to beauty, love, and worship of nature in Cohen’s music. I tried to find
convincing clues from Cohen’s lyrics to support these three features. I put specific
references right after each statement I made in the essay.
X.Z.
Reflections on the Course (1)
I postponed this last entry until this weekend because my job has been very
demanding lately. As you all know, coping with work, studies, and family
life can be challenging. Of course, there is no doubt that I significantly
improved my English writing with this course. Understanding the
mechanics of this language is not only useful for reading and writing, but
also gratifying. Although I felt sometimes overwhelmed by these
numerous assignments and a full time job, I am proud of what I have
accomplished so far. Also, I enjoyed reading comments of other students
about assignments; I felt supported through each step of the course.
Finally, thanks to my tutor for her valuable advices. Good luck everyone!
G.L.
Reflections on the Course (2)
I would like to add a few comments on the subjects of the course
before I sign off for one of the last times. I did enjoy the
subjects we were forced to research for our essays. Left to
myself, some of these subjects I would never have
explored. The immigration process to Canada was particularly
interesting. I see ethnic groups and the integrated mosaic of
our culture with new eyes. Learning of tsunamis was also
very interesting. Thanks again for everything.
J.T.
Reflections on the Course (3)
Who says English can't be fun? At first I thought the topics were
horrible. Once I got researching them, I could always find a
branch of the topic that I found very interesting and may have
even had questions about sometime in life. I was able to
satisfy my curiosity about it and write a paper on it. It was
always challenging but enjoyable on most moments. I have
not got marks back on my test so I am scared! But thank
you!!!
J.T.
Supportive Posts (1)
Welcome to the course L…! I'm about halfway through and so I thought I
would write this note to encourage you along! It's definitely a challenge,
but you will find yourself learning a lot of things along the way that you
may have wondered about before. I also have a science background, and
haven't done much writing. I needed some humanities courses to get into
Naturopathic medicine and I'm very glad I chose this course as it's a great
foundation.
Working at a camp for special needs kids sounds very rewarding. Is it
something you've done for a long time?
Good luck with the course and Physio school, I'm sure you'll do well!
M.O.
Supportive Posts (2)
You made me laugh when you wrote "the subjects we were
FORCED to research". Yet, it's so true... In our current society,
we are expected to be specialized (if not OVERspecialized) in
our field of expertise, and it becomes easy to stop worrying
about other subjects. I felt that having to write on new topics
really raised the bar as it not only forced us to write properly,
but also challenged us in our comprehension skills.
Good luck with your test!
J.G.
Supportive Posts (3)
Bless you, I understand totally! I put in the wrong tense of words more than
once. And made the worst spelling errors too! I understand the feeling. I
hope you can make your grades go up. Unfortunately for me, I learned to
accept my grades. I tried very hard to keep them going up but with each
assignment, I made a fresh batch of mistakes. I just kept doing my
best. So, in the very end, I know that I did my very best and regardless of
my marks, I can feel proud of what I have done. So, keep trying.
All the best to you!!!
J.T.
Questions?
Contact:
Veronica Baig
[email protected]