There is no argument that growing up in the digital era, solely
dependent on the technological interaction with our peers, that we as students struggle
with academic writing. A lot of times when assigned research papers it’s like
pulling teeth to write. I become extremely stressed about the assignment and usually
procrastinate to avoid the anxiety. However, because we DO live in a digital and
social world there are endless possibilities to learning and teaching that can
spice up a traditional class.
Recently I read the article “Blogs vs. Term papers” by Matt Richtel. In this article Richtel
talks about the stress term papers bring students and teachers and also
discusses the arguments (pros/cons) of using a social media based classroom.
In the article I find myself asking “WHAT?!?”. William H.
Fitzhugh protests against moving away from rigorous academic writing, and
believes the solution is not blogs but more reading. Fitzhugh also proposes
what he calls the “page a year” solution: in first grade, a one-page paper
using one source; by fifth grade, five pages and five sources. –again WHAT!? Could
you imagine being responsible to write a five page paper with sources before
even completing middle school. I do agree that our generation has shied away
from reading and extensive writing, but this method might just be a little too extreme.
Personally I really enjoy this style teaching. (Teaching in a more interactive environment)
I believe by using tools that students already use, like blogs, can be an enriching
way to teach. I agree that blogging is less stressful. I actually think that
having classes with blogs are a refreshing change. - 1.) I do not feel the urge
to OD on coffee or wake up wishing I could just have an IV of caffeine. 2.) I
learn more with constant feedback on my work. 3.) Students have the chance to
be the teacher. – I agree that students should have some scene of academic writing
but outside of school when is this relevant to most people. I think Professor
Davidson had the right idea by using blogs and teaching students cover letters,
business letters, and have them write short stories and essays about their
chosen careers.
This just so happens to be one of the most practical classes that I've ever taken. For once, there's actually some true-to-life application in the writing projects that we have to accomplish. While other writing classes focus on the emphasis on writing in a public setting, this is seemingly the only class that actually places you in that setting so that you can see first handily what exactly this material is speaking about.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that blogging has lifted some of the stress of writing for you. One thing that I have discovered during my years of teaching writing is that the more anxious/stressed about writing that students are, the worse their writing is. I picked blogs for this course because I want to get you comfortable with writing before you move on to course that require you to write in new ways. If you're confident about your ability to express yourself in an organized and meaningful way, the having to write in these new forms won't be so stressful and intimidating.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I completely agree that blogging is less stressful than writing traditional term papers. We have the freedom to write whatever comes to mind at this point in the class and when blogging you can easily make the content funny, sad, or any other emotion. There is way less pressure.
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