Post 11

I feel that after experiencing about a month or so of blogging in this class, I understand a lot of fundamental concepts in literature that can come about from simply adapting the discipline of blogging into the curriculum. “This course emphasizes doing things with texts instead of reading passively” and I believe the majority of this “doing” comes from the work from the blog. In class, we interact as a whole class and in small groups. We have learned the importance of effective dialogue. Not just simply sitting and talking about our day, but incorporating literature into our small group dialogue. The discussions we have in both class and our small groups carry out into our blogs. I feel that this is where effective participation takes place. This is because blogging feels less restrictive then just writing an essay. As bloggers, we get to explore a range of expressions via the “blogging land”. Our interpretations of the text we read in class can be spilled out onto our blogs in many effective ways such as just simple putting our ideas and own personal interpretations on the text. We can way out different positions on the text. We can point out problematic elements to the text or give our own personal reflections. Most importantly, we allow room for comments and criticism from the rest of the class. We continue our class discussions outside the classroom. Because we have allowed these many forms of expression into our homework assignments, I have learned to engage in the text in class. I understand the effectiveness of painting in response to the Book of Joel or observing Professor Corrigan shed the layers of an onion. All of these things help us as students to participate in the text instead of letting it go over our heads. Blogging has been a major contribution to this concept. I enjoy finding connections in the text and applying it to my blog. When I sit back and think about how to reflect about the text I gather many questions and ideas. Blogging as helped me as a reader and a student dig deeper into the text and get value out of what we read and discuss in the class.