Thing #4

After reading the discover resources for Thing #4 it was quickly revealed to me that I knew absolutely nothing about blogging or the blogosphere in general.  This exercise has exposed me to an entirely new virtual world and I was surprised to discover that it isn’t new chronologically at all.  The art of blogging has been developing since the mid 90’s really, and there seems to be a few unwritten rules regarding blogging etiquette, or perhaps “webiquette” could be a new word coined for these virtual morays.  One of these etiquette-related blog issues involves commenting.  I suspect that most bloggers generate their comments based on the things that they are interested in or passionate about and it would follow that most would appreciate feedback on the content that they author.  I believe that these comments serve to validate the blog, therefore bringing relevance in the form of meaningful feedback.  Comments can also serve to shape and form the content of a blog, inspiring the author to expand upon previous thoughts or to introduce new content which may parallel the reader’s similar interests.  These comments, I believe, serve as a sort of virtual body language in the absence of face-to-face communication and really provide an important impetus for further blogging activity.  As with traditional communication forums, a response to a reader’s comment is thought to be in order, especially if the comment made serves to supplement the original post in a meaningful way; not unlike a thank you letter written for the purpose of displaying gratitude for services rendered.  I really appreciate the section written by Vicki Davis regarding “Darth Commenter”.  I have noticed that with the advent of social media sites like Face Book, Twitter, and My Space, that there are individuals who seem to become emboldened by the anonymity associated with interacting with others in the virtual world.  As a consequence, some may find it easier to post some very rude and sometimes malicious content.  The ramifications associated with this behavior are sometimes nonexistent and this fact allows others to post some pretty negative and hurtful things online.  I believe that it is extremely important to respect others while commenting on a blog and to demand the same. 

The following is a rollup of the comments that I made on both my fellow student’s blogs and the two additional that I chose along with a brief description of why I made these comments.

                Response to Adrienne Vergos:  I think that we coddle our children too much these days.  We seem to be in an age where everyone is a winner, everyone is special and everyone is brilliant with unlimited potential.  This is, of course, is not true.  Instead of creating the false idea that someone is always going to be there to hold a child’s hand through the situations associated with daily life, perhaps a better course of action would be to create a learning environment where children are allowed to make personal decisions, be criticized when needed, and to deal with the consequences of their actions, both positive and negative.  I believe that this approach would better prepare children for the realities that they will surely encounter in their futures and will help to promote a more fulfilling learning experience. 

                I made this comment on Adrienne’s blog because I could relate to her discussion regarding the fact that individual’s tend not to take responsibility for their own actions in today’s world.

                Response to Martitza Baer:  If you are a cave woman then I am surely in that cave somewhere drawing on the wall with a piece of charcoal.  Having no previous experience with blogging, it was very challenging for me to begin the 23 Things process. I am determined to become more familiar with the web 2.0 tools because I truly believe that technology is going to define the future of the profession of teaching.  Good luck to you on your blogging journey! 

                I made this comment on Martitza’s blog because I can definitely relate to the uncertainty of dealing with new, technology-based tools like blogs.

                Response to Michelle Clark:  I really like the idea of using a class blog to maintain an open line of communication with parents.  If done correctly, I think that it could serve to promote a lot more interaction with their children regarding their day-to-day activities and to be more proactive with the status of their individual progress.  It could also serve as a tool to reach out to those parents who are a bit more apprehensive toward visiting with the teacher in the actual classroom. 

                I made this comment to Michelle because she mentioned the idea of using a blog to communicate with parents.

                Response to Emily Scott:  I believe that taking responsibility for your own learning is the most important habit of those that were listed.  You used a lot of the same language that I did in my post regarding this activity and I believe strongly that the degree of learning is directly associated with the degree of effort put forth by the individual. 

                I made this comment to Emily because we shared a similar view regarding the 7 ½ Habits listed in the tutorial. 

                My two additional comments were also made on fellow student’s blogs because so far, that is my only frame of reference.  I will be searching out more blogs in the near future as I recognize the value of becoming familiar with this communication forum. 

                Response to Kasey Howe:  I really like the idea of blog pals.  This would be a great extension of the ancient practice of pen pals back in the day.  The idea of sharing different viewpoints, defined by demographic, culture and geography is very interesting. 

                I responded to Kasey’s blog because she sits next to me in class and I am somewhat familiar with her.  I found her idea of blog pals to be a very good one with a lot of potential for additional learning experiences. 

                Response to Anetta Patterson:  I have a very similar view regarding yours on the value of commenting.  Without comments, I don’t believe that I, as a blogger, would continue to discuss a particular subject; not knowing whether or not I had an audience, let alone an interested one. 

                I made this response to Anetta because she was directly above Kasey Howe in my queue.  I also made it because we used some of the same language in our blogs.