Weekly 2

      During the first week of school, we were introduced to the concept of blogging. Before this project, I had little knowledge of what blogging even was. I used to hear it associated with journalism and publishing but never thought students would actually use them as well. With an online textbook, teacher website and project system, I realized that this would be a very technology-driven class from the start. I believe this aspect makes materials more available to the students in our technology-thriving generation.
      I agree with the concept of blogging for several reasons. A common excuse for laziness is to just "blame it on the generation." But let's face it, kids are not as motivated today as they were even 20 years ago. We all tend to slack off or not give 100% at times but it seems that as time progresses, so does the laziness. I can admit that I procrastinate, even with these blogs as you can see. And I would be lying if I said I couldn't wait until our new topics were assigned so I could blog about them. Even though we may complain about taking the time to write them "everyday" or trying to figure out how to turn a simple question into a 600 word answer, I think the blogs are beneficial. They force us to be constantly writing and researching. In order to improve on something, you must frequently be exposed to it and practice. Having 3 or 4 writing assignments each week helps us become better writers and scholars. I think that since the blogs are online, not with just a pen and paper, students are more motivated to research information they are unsure about. With our "lazy generation", if the resources aren't in front of us, we generally won't spend too much time looking for them. I make these statements because they apply to me as well. Blogging also helps us learn the material. As I previously mentioned, writing forces us to research. So therefore, blogging is kind of like a method of studying. For me, I feel that writing (or typing) the information out helps me remember it better than just staring at it, trying to memorize. I may be semi-biased on this topic because writing, in general, doesn't bother me. For a biology project last year, we were all told that we were to carry around babies for 2 weeks to experience what it would be like to be a teen mom. I loathed this idea so much that I said I would do the alternative option of writing a 20 page research paper. Unfortunately, the teacher wanted me to actually do the project, not thinking anyone would rather write the paper. Maybe writing it would have given me a better understanding about child care and development but I'm certain I would have procrastinated that as well.
        I think as the year progresses, we will become more acquainted with the blogging system and requirements. From this project I learned what blogs were, that "every-day people" could write them and that following the guideline of the midnight deadline is something that should be followed. I think the concept of not actually making them due until the end of the quarter helped us and hurt us. There were weeks where I knew I would have no time for blogs so I didn't have to stress out over them. I'm greatful that we had the opportunity to complete them at our own pace but I think that idea was too tempting for procrastinators like me. Next quarter, I will try to follow the midnight deadline and keep my blogs up to date.


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