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Blogging Contribution

Shawn Iles's picture
Submitted by Shawn Iles on Sat, 09/06/2008 - 6:08pm

I hope that blogging will contribute greatly to my learning in this class.  I have always been reluctant to submit any writing for public scrutiny.  When I began this program, I agonized over every blackboard post.  It took me far longer than it should have to contribute to class online discussions.  I still have a bit of a mental block in this area, but I have gradually gotten more comfortable with it.  I use other social network tools, but I have never really ventured wholeheartedly into the blogosphere.  One of the reasons that I took this class, is because I would like to overcome this reluctance once and for all.  I am a political junkie (a side effect of living in D.C. for four years) and I would like to do more than “lurk” on a few sites.  I am eager to improve my understanding of blogging terminology and how blogs operate.

 

Hopefully this more casual

meredithfarkas's picture
Submitted by meredithfarkas on Sun, 09/07/2008 - 6:05am.

Hopefully this more casual form of discussion will have a positive effect on your willingness to put yourself out there. I'm with you on the "agonizing over every post" thing -- I was definitely like that in grad school myself. Blogging has been good for me, in that it's made me feel better about writing from my gut, instead of obsessing over every word.

Shawn, I can’t agree more

mciocia's picture
Submitted by mciocia on Sun, 09/07/2008 - 9:22am.

Shawn, I can’t agree more with you on feeling vulnerable whenever a posting is out there, even those posted in a Blackboard forum. As for my personal experience, I really pushed myself since English is my second Language: each posting becomes a very self-conscious decision before submitting. Because of this, sometimes I tend to be very formal; a trait I’d like to overcome. The immediacy and responsiveness of the web is another factor that generates some sort of “urgency or obligation to respond” that sometimes translates into a form of anxiety. Thanks for your reflection; it was very meaningful to me.

Shawn, I can totally relate

Submitted by grace.v on Sun, 09/07/2008 - 5:19pm.

Shawn, I can totally relate with your experience.  I was also very nervous about participating in Blackboard discussion.  During my first semester, I remember writing my introduction post over and over because I didn't know what to say.  I also felt a little weary blogging because now I expose myself to everyone in the universe instead of just people in our class.  I kind of feel like some of the students in Jill Walker's article.  But as the saying goes, the best way to learn how to swim is to go in the water!  This is the most I've "blogged" in my life! 

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