I think the blog aspect of this class is rather interesting. I have never been in an English Class quite like it, so it has taken some time to get used to. I am also not a blogger, so the whole entire process is brand new to me, but I cannot say that I haven’t enjoyed it. I do like the idea that we have an open forum for discussing the books, and that everyone gets a fair chance to express their views, especially because we always seem to run out of time in class. I think this is an excellent experiment, but with that being said, I would find myself rather unhappy if this were the way that all English classes were to be run from here on out. I have enjoyed this experience, but I don’t know that I would enter into it again. I also find writing reviews to be much harder than critical analyses, despite the fact that they are essentially the same. Putting the “review” spin on a book makes it harder for me to focus on the key issues that I would like to discuss, I am also not really accustomed to this writing style so it has taken some time for me to get adjusted to it.
As far as participation goes, I would love to be a more active participant in the blog, but just fully understanding how it works has taken me the whole first half of the semester. And now that I really do understand it better, I would be curious to see how much more active I can be. Also, I try to post stories from the popular media, but quite frankly I find them to be few and far between. I am not entirely sure that this is something which we haven’t discussed, but I do not find it easy to find even one story a week worth posting. I do not think it is impossible, but I would rather not clog up the blog with loads of nonsense.
I think that if I could do anything differently, and this is something I am frequently asked to think about being an education major, I think that I would perhaps offer a variety of assignments, rather than relying so heavily on the blog. It leaves students who are not comfortable with this form of work constantly worrying about their next post and whether or not it will be acceptable. I would like to maybe have some in class work that counts, because while having open discussion is one of my favorite forums for learning, I would like to actually do something that could perhaps help boost my grade if I am lacking in other areas (aka blog participation).
Finally, I do think that this blog is a good idea, and I hope that it does accomplish its purpose of spreading the word about climate change, but I think that at the end of the day, I would rather be without it.
