BLOG 5

1. Compared to writing traditional essays as you have in other classes, were the expectations of the blog assignment easier, harder or just different? In other words, was it clear to you what the format of a blog was and how to produce one?

It was not clear to me what the format of the blog was. I am very used to writing assignments being in the form of an essay, so when I wrote my first blog for this class I was feeling very unsure of the format and overall structure. Although the grading rubric for the blog assignment provided insight as to what content the instructor was looking for, I didn’t feel like it gave much insight into the actual form or structure of the blog. I feel it would have been much more helpful to the class if a sample blog assignment or sample outline pertaining to structure had been provided.

2. Did the blog assignments, and the requirement to create a blog, relate to the class topics and course objectives? Why or why not?

I feel the blog assignments, and the requirement to create a blog, related to the class topics and course objectives to a certain degree but could have been altered to relate much better. It seemed as though the blog assignments were just random questions picked out for that particular blog post and I didn’t see much correlation between the questions for the blogs and that particular unit’s course material or learning objectives. Although the blog assignments didn’t seem to relate directly to the class topics and course objectives, they all required critical thinking in answering the blog assignment. Because critical thinking seems to be such an important element in this class, the blog assignments related well in this area.

3. Did the non-text elements of the blog program contribute to your learning in this class? Did they get in the way? Or did they have no affect at all?

I am confused what you mean by the ‘non-text elements of the blog program.’ I don’t clearly understand what you are referring to in this question, as the blog assignments seemed to be fully comprised of text elements. From the researching to the formulating of your answer you are forced to utilize text elements throughout the process of responding to a blog question and posting it to your blog website. On one blog I chose to post a video, which is a non-text element, although it was not required I felt it helped to get my point across. It would have been good to require more things like this in answering a blog assignment, as it would have forced students to learn to utilize other mediums than text to demonstrate and back up their point in an argument.