I am still learning--about blogging, yada yada, yada

Blogging in this class has been a learning experience. I was first to post my analysis to the Rouzieblog, and it was the first time I had ever posted anything to any blog. With the comments my peers and instructor and my self, in response to them, posted to my analysis, I tried to answer questions and facilitate discussion, pointing out places where comments connected with each other and with the readings. For example, when peers asked me about the idea of patriarchy and fictive father law, or what an egalitarian value system would look like, that gave me the chance to elaborate in the comments on my missing (in my analysis) footnote and push me toward a more specific conception of what an egalitarian rhetoric would look like. Remnants of those discussions resurfaced in later discussions. I feel like my initial analysis blogposting and online discussion hosting worked well, and I feel like even though my command of and comfort with the technology was less than most of my classmates, the content of my Rouzieblog contributions made me a regular discussion leader.

I tried to post thoughtful comments to my peers’ analyses and ask good questions. I tried to keep my comments’ tone friendly, but professional, and supportive. Each week, I posted two lengthy, substantial comments responding to the two analyses posted and most weeks, usually shorter comments following up or responding to other classmates’ comments. These added up to 12 pages of comments. Looking back on them, it is hard to believe I did all that. I see that I included quotes from the readings to support points in my comments or to connect to questions, included my observations about how readings and analyses intersected, and quoted from my peers’ comments at times to try and continue or initiate conversation.

Some weeks, this approach was more successful than others because of the timing of mine and my peers’ responses: if they posted after I went to bed on Monday or Wednesday night or while I was trying to get ready for class Tuesday or Thursday morning, I did not have time to make as good of connections as I would have liked. This was complicated by the fact that every other week, I was returning from my 7-hour commute from Kentucky on Monday night. The timing issue in relation to the blogposting and comments persisted throughout the quarter. I struggled most weeks to keep up with the work of not only reading the assignments so I could inform my comments, but also reading the blogpostings which grew more complex.

Most dialogues were enjoyable.

As the term progressed, and as the class learned more about blogging technology, bloggers added video and images to their comments and responses. I didn’t, partly because I didn’t feel comfortable enough with the technology, because I lacked time, and because I didn’t see an appropriate opening to do so. There were flashes of brilliance in my classmates’ postings: Lydia’s response that began with the smell of cat piss, moved to specific foods, to images of her in grade-school dresses, spoke of her father’s death (this posting brought tears to my eyes, and I see that I did not tell her how moved I was by her writing—but I hope she will read this and know) . . . and turns toward the informal, fun and playful moments—Dave’s crot, Lydia’s pop, Rebecca B’s line about Elbow altering the universe “with his mind.” So, besides learning how to blog and be all academic, I was also learning how to play, which I definitely need to learn to do more. At the end of one particularly late-night response (to Brett’s analysis), I quoted a favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon, visually and textually, “Mad scientist! Boo! (this is what the neon sign flashing on the outside of the castle wall on the hill read) Now be a good little bunny and give me your brain.” That response provoked what I can only hope was productive discussion that several people participated in/ responded to about how teachers handle hate speech from students in a college classroom.

My personal blogpage was less active than Rouzieblog. I posted my OSU conference proposal drafts as works in progress, as they took shape. I gave proposal feedback to the two classmates in my assigned group, and I also tried to read and respond to some outside of my group. Time prevented me from responding to everyone. I posted my book review there, as well as on Rouzieblog. Though I did not get a sense that this was as useful pedagogically as the Rouzieblog—the lack of comments I received indicated that not many were reading my personal blog—it was useful for me to learn how to create one.

Not having had previous experience with blogging, for me the learning curve was sharp and the pace fast. Negotiating how the technology works (or doesn’t work) at the same time as I was reading the material and responding to classmates was hard, especially between Tuesdays and Thursdays. It would have been helpful to me if we would have spent more time in class with hands on demonstration. Still, I think blogging helped me digest the material, raised questions I would not have otherwise thought of, and provided another avenue to encourage us to engage. And I am still learning.