2nd blog period

The scores break down as 15 A‘s, 25 Bs, 9 C‘s, 4 D or less, and 15 non-participants. Much to my surprise (this course is a constant surprise), most people did not much improve their mark from the 1st blog period. The slight upward march from last time comes from just a 5% gain across the board. I can only conclude that most students paid little attention to the feedback I gave them personally on Angel last time, or generically on the blog, or to the rubric.  Most disturbing were the minority who simply cut-and-pasted from other websites.  I honestly dunno.  Where does the temptation to do that come from?

There were some outstanding posts, including time, jellyfish, cancer vaccines, life, and bees, all of which had the feature of making surprising points, or synthesizing across several sources and ideas.  There were also some great comments (multivitamins, cancer vaccines, extra-terrestrials), notable because they really extended things in addition to giving a personal reaction.  But my comments on the 1st blog period are as relevant now as they were then.  
My biggest quandary: whether to give the really good bloggers really good marks.  I did in the end, but I guess students being students, those good ones will vanish from the blog, their A’s safely in hand (I take the best mark from the 3 blog periods).  Yet, ever the optimist, I hope they’ll rise to the challenge of going for the extra credit with a post to beat all posts…

2 thoughts on “2nd blog period

  1. CHRIS STUBBS

    Do you feel as though those students who are blogging at an “A level” are learning or articulating the same core ideas that you would like them to be showcasing on, say an exam?

    I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about whether or not it makes sense to give students the freedom to “prove” (though “showcase” might be a better word) their learning in ways that are the most relevant to them. If you feel like good bloggers are getting at the same core values you want them to express in an exam AND they are providing value to the course – maybe we can think of a way to incentivize it more.

    For example, everyone has to test a little, blog a little etc to push people outside of their comfort zone a bit. But if blogging comes naturally or turns out to be something you really thrive at, maybe you as a student can opt to blog more and test less. I’m not sure how it all breaks down – its just an idea at this point. But reading your concern about good bloggers drifting away, maybe its something we can talk more about.

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  2. Human Hair Wigs

    This is an intriguing and comperative post. This is a well written post about the good and bad bloggers in class. I hoe you will be able to find ways to help others improve their perception and attitude when in it comes to online blogging.

    Reply

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