Hybridity and the Benefits of Journaling
As I was reading the articles assigned for this week concerning online writing environments, I kept wondering, what is so original or unique about web-based learning? As Danowski and others note on journaling, it is a practice that is valuable in any environment, not exclusive to online spaces. Reading further, I realize that it is two main aspects of web-based learning that make it special: (1) its hybridity and (2) its interactivity. First, it is a hybrid combination of types of writing--for example, this blog is neither exclusively personal or exclusively academic. This online writing environment, along with other distance and web-based learning spaces, hybridize writing into a mix of formal and casual. This hybridity more accurately captures the new media literacy that has come out of electronic media such as this. Second, the space's inherent interactivity is also what makes online learning unique. I would say that my students in our CMC are interacting more with their writing than previous traditional classroom formats. The reason is because spaces like Blogger encourage responses from others--responses that we often give and get in this class. This interactivity fosters students' active learning.
--eliz25
--eliz25
posted by eliz25 at 10:24 AM
1 Comments:
I agree, Elizabeth, "hybridity" is an excellent way to typify the best aspects of online learning. What are the private vs. public, the visual vs. written, ways we can reach out to engage learners who may feel isolated in completely virtual spaces? I wonder what ways an ejournal can also provide a forum for reflecting about the online learning experience itself, particularly those new to the format.
I think it's great you're doing blog work with your students and encourage you to think about submitting a proposal to the Computers and Writing conference in Detroit next year; the deadline is in December.
kris
Post a Comment
<< Home