Aristotle Meets the Internet
Using Blogging Effectively
in First Year Composition
Katt BlackwellTexas Woman’s University
Benefits to Blogging
More students are becoming more comfortable with the blog environment and more resistant to the word processing environment.
Instructors have a chance to see the student’s writing much earlier in the process and provide feedback on the writing at various stages.
Four Types of Blogging Assignments
Essay Oriented
Between Essay
Peer Review
Essay Reflection
Essay Specific
Blogging
Advantages
Gets students thinking about the assignment
Gets students drafting earlier in the unit
Provides students a chance to practice writing without concern for audience
Gaining Student Interest
Share student brainstorm lists with the class.
Use student blogs to discuss what makes a good paragraph in class.
Place several of the best blogs under a section of your blog where you mention them as the best.
Between Essays
Blogging
AdvantagesGood way to introduce the next essay
Gets students thinking about the modes of writing
Provides students a chance to practice this mode before feeling the pressure of writing their essay
Gaining Student Interest
Review student blogs in class and use them to begin a discussion on the topic.
Have students expand on their blogs during a class discussion.
Peer Review Blogs
AdvantagesAllows student to begin responding earlier and
become more accustomed to the peer review
Students learn to be more honest before the pressure of the final peer review overwhelms them
Instructors have a chance to comment on student peer reviews earlier and help guide them to create better responses.
Gaining Student Interest
Have students comment on peer blogs before the peer review.
Assign students a blog that allows them to create a “peer review” of a movie they’ve seen recently, or a CD they recently listened to.
Essay Reflective Blogs
Advantages
Students become aware of improvements they need to focus on in future assignments.
Instructors have the chance to see how well students assess their writing in a more relaxed environment
Gaining Student Interest
Instructor reads through the comments and makes a list of most common weaknesses to be addressed in class.
Student suggestions for improvement for blogging assignments.
For More on Blogging
in First Year Composition
Visit My FYC Blog
http://rhetoricallyspeaking.wordpress.com
There you can view my blog and link to my students’ blogs as well.