thoughts on the pedagogy

Proprietary software has a weird, creepy surveillance feeling to it. It is closed off from the world, perpetuating the myth that the walls of academia somehow keep us “safe” from, different than, separate from the outside world. Keeping information and knowledge closed and private continues the narrative of the “ivory tower.” By contrast, blogs and other various forms of open source/free software allow for a shared space, a space that numerous users have access to. The narrative that education is about sharing knowledge and disseminating information stands a chance through the sharing of ideas/writing online in an open forum (such as blogs/blogging). It is for these reasons–in part–that I want to integrate blogging into my writing classes.

Current writing pedagogy is interested in ideas surrounding the publication of student writing. Blogs give a space for self-publication. Utilizing the comments function also allows for an interactive writing/publication space–one where students learn to converse and share ideas not only with their peers and not just for teacher, but with (potentially) the world. It is for this kind of dynamic writing environment that I want to implement a blogging reqirement in my writing classes.

Blogging is easy and managable, while also allowing for a wide-range of user ability. Students can be introduced to technology usage through blogging, but they can also push the knowledge and skills that they already have–learning code, creating and altering templates, changing colors, importing links and photos. Sharing links to other blogs and news events allows students to have their thumbs on the pulse of the web and the world–staying on top of rapid changes in both events and technology.

Finally, as cliche as it is, many of these students in our writing classes (and all of our classes) grew up in front of the computer–and particularly–in front of the internet. Blogging places writing–for many students–in their domain. These are further reasons for blogging in the writing classroom.