Example 2

Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide of Edmonds, Washington maintain a blog on Neurolearning. For this discussion, read their entry and following comments on "The Brain of the Blogger."  Based on your readings, write a response to the Eides’ post and the readers’ comments following the Eide entry.  What kinds of higher order thinking do you see in the post and in the comments?

Participant Response - Thoughts on the Article  

It was obvious the article was well researched and thought about. It seemed to prompt some of the commenters to evaluate their own blogging habits as well as engaging others to a point where they want to know more.

While I thought the article was very informative, I just felt like the article was more geared toward the blogs that are written by professional, well-educated individuals rather than the average 13-29 year olds the article mentions. As I stated in my comment (which I don't think has been approved on the site yet, so might not be appearing), a significant chunk of those 13 - 29 year olds are not blogging "quality information" or "promoting critical or analytical thinking." A blog is "an online diary ; a personal chronological log thoughts published on a website" in most contexts. Based on my own personal experiences, I just don't feel that the majority of blogs written by younger people are exactly what this article was referring to, but I felt like some of the comments that were made were not entirely aware of that. I hope I am making sense.

Everyone who has access to the internet can have a blog whether it's on Blogger or LiveJournal or MySpace. Just because it's technically a "blog" doesn't mean that they serve to provide information or social interaction on a higher level of thinking.

With that said, I appreciate the fact the article was written so that it states, "Blogging can...." Just because it can doesn't mean it will.
 

Facilitator Response - RE:Thoughts on the Article

So, does that mean we have been challenged as educators to teach students what "correct" blogging is and help them develop the skill of blogging just as they develop other writing skills?

Notes on the Facilitator Response:

• Levels of Knowledge: The facilitator response, although technically hits at the underlying analytical or synthetic issue of "What works?" or "What to do?", the question itself is rhetorical, implying a simple "Yes." A possible extension might be "So, is this a problem with the technology, the 'place' (such as MySpace), or the age group? Using your answer to that, describe a strategy you might use to draw your students out of the blogging habits they see elsewhere."
• Community: The response has no mention of the course community. Since this participant posting is actually an indictment of the use of online writing in the classroom (the subject of the course), this would be a perfect place to step back and allow others to respond first. Then, differences and commonalities could be discussed in an attempt to gel a community "We believe" discussion going.
• Voice: A perfect use of voice here might be to cite a humorous or backfiring student posting to a blog. It would "loosen things up" with personal experience, humor, and at the same time validate the participant that their observations are not without merit. This would set a good scene for the "Levels of Knowledge" suggestions above.