Blog: a definition and affordance (fancy word for "what can you do with it without knowing anything about it")

 A Blog

For years I had always escaped into anonymity by using a blog.  Blogger provides the space and time that allows me to express without the burden of judgment by anyone I know.  I'm a poet by nature and I spent countless hours formulating verses at times too cheesy and a blog is the platform where I could publish them.  I also create short stories that spark at any moment.  This space has provided me countless hours where I was able to elaborate on feelings that I felt on emotions that needed to be emitted into the universe in a text form.  Now as a teacher I could see the same purpose now used by my students. They can also experience the same untamed freedom of expression that this platform can provide.  

Another use for blogger that I can think of is to further explore a concept and create a place for elaboration by using the comment section.  The student can present a statement and let the peers elaborate and give feedback to adjust trim or innovate it. I teach science so a student can provide a concept they have learned and end with an open ended question.  For example we are studying landforms and one of the characteristics of clay is that it keeps its shape and form when it is humid.  The student can present a question about what other uses can be potentially perceived in clay.  Allowing them to jump to the conclusion that due to the molding characteristic it can be used to mold tools and sculptures.  

This can spark the curiosity on the potentials of pottery and maybe the historical and cultural value it withholds.  Blogger has the potential of creating discussions at different times and keeping the conversation going, giving it time to deeper research a topic.  Not having to be attached to the computer to receive the comments or interact allowing you to respond anytime gives you that space and time to elaborate and construct productive responses. 

I have experience with WordPress which we use at a firm that I work at times doing marketing work.  It is very easy to manipulate and has visual tools that can enhance your experience with it.  I like the simplicity of Blogger and how it is very similar to the Office Word tools layout.  I already have previous knowledge about the tools and what each icon can do that allows me not to worry about editing or adding media to my content.  

Differences between blogger and WordPress are minimal, it is more about the name than anything else. Now when using a discussion board such as Reddit there isn't anything more than just a question or topic and then just a thread that keeps evolving and growing. 

I added this visual so you can see how it looks. You can go to search and type an interest then anything related and including that interest will pop. In this example I've chosen teachers and you can see the "threads" once you click on any of them you'll see a post on top and then a place where you can place your response. The threads can be connected by line on the left side where you can follow where they left off. Pretty fun and interesting, straight forward its affordance is very effective.  There are up and down arrows that help the comment acquire popularity or get demoted into oblivion by the public. All those votes are anonymous which give the thread a sense of mob mentality at times but it also filters many messages that might not help the thread. It is a constant battle with those up and down arrows. 

There is a "Give Award" button where you can award the person that wrote the comment reddit gold which you have to buy with real money. This gold gives more weight to the comment and validates individuals.  A popularity contest.  The report option gives you premade options where to choose from if you feel that the comment is breaking a rule such as the rules of the forum where the thread is at or has just illegal information. 

As you can see reddit is a place where it cancels itself or improves itself from the secrecy of anonymity behind a username.  The blogs on the other hand for example blogger is owned by its user and the user holds the authority to erase unwanted comments or accept them but at the cost of your identity depending how much information you are giving them from you.  You also have the option to allow reader comments to be shown to other people or just you.  There is more control over the content inside the blog. This control comes over a price because the more you censor unwanted comments that might be suggesting changes or contradict your ideas it does not improve you as the creator on your methods or ways of sharing information or getting help from other people. 

The way I will use blogger in a class will be by creating a running journal from students where they can share and expand on their perception of an everyday item. I have chosen a page at random that gave me that idea. Here is a snippet of her blog. 

Enhance (augmentation) This tool will directly substitute paper and pencil and the usage of illustrations, which they can just google up or directly share a picture they have taken. Students can elaborate on an everyday item and emerge themselves on the reasons behind their usage.  Other students can share their comments about the students findings and they can also add to the experience.  This activity can help them deepen their views on random items they become in contact with on a daily basis and deconstruct an automatic learned feeling. For example share a picture of a soccer ball and explain how it was built, made them feel and a personal narrative about their first time experiencing the euphoria of a goal. 

For a transforming activity (Redefinition) we can start a story and make it organic. Let it roll by adhering new chapters by the comment section where students can comment and have deadlines set by time.  One student can be the creator writer of the story and have groups of commentators.    The comments will help shape the story and how it develops and the writer will decide how to write it. Once it is done they can limit it by chapter and then create scenes and record. It will go something like this. The writer writes the first sentence and lets the students decide where this is going to go by their comments. The writer will pick one of the comments and write a few more sentences until the character has to make another decision. The writer will have the power to pick a decision on their own. The story will be limited by 5 paragraphs. At the end they will decide what to do with it and how they will share it with the rest of the class. 

The content can address the need for them to develop their creativity focusing on theme, scenario, and previous knowledge that might be tied to science content. This lesson will be focused on the create aspect in the bloom's revised taxonomy.  On the pedagogy stance I based this lesson on personal experience. I've seen what students can come up with the tools given and if the limits to their creativity are not set their products can be endless.  All you gotta do is set a limit on sentences and paragraphs they will do the rest. The blogging tool affordance will support my pedagogical approach by delivering the canvas where it can freely interact as creators and spectators in unison.  In a comedy show where the comedians ask the audience for topics to work with. Bloggers can help me achieve that. 

Obstacles for this lesson to be brought to fruition will be the lack of proper introduction to the tools provided by bloggers. If I don't make it my goal to properly explain every tool of this platform the students will waste time trying to figure out how everything works. I will need to create a step by step process to properly slowly release the features to them.