Blog reflection

I used the course blog to respond to questions/assignments posted by Dr. Shavers.  I also used it to get ideas and input from other classmates.  This was the first time I had created a blog so I felt like this was a good experience for me.  Several teachers at my school use blogs with their classes so I’m glad I know how everything works by having created my own blog.  I think you have the opportunity to be more creative with your posts than with just using the discussion board on Blackboard.

Cindy’s posts really stood out in my mind.  To begin with, she seemed to post early so it was always ready to read and it seemed as if she put quite a bit of time and thought into each of her posts.

I think one of the advantages to blogging was communicating with classmates between our on campus meetings.  I think one of the major disadvantages is the privacy issue with posting things online.  There were several times I wanted to discuss some counseling situations but I had posted the names of the schools I work at and did not want to break confidentiality in any way.  You can really only discuss counseling situations in a face to face setting and that is a disadvantage to blogging.

Sometimes you can feel very alone when completing activities outside of class and the blog created a feeling of community.  I wish I had put a link to everyone’s blog on my page because I tended to continue to read the same students’ posts.

I tried not to read other classmates posts until I had posted my own entries so it was interesting to read what others had written on the same topic and then to reflect on what I had written myself.  I especially enjoyed reading the posts on classroom guidance lessons.  I teach sooo many of them and am always looking for fresh ideas.

It was challenging to respond to 2 posts each week because many times people did not post until late and then we had already moved on to another topic.  I was guilty of this on several occasions.

The only suggestion I have about using blogs in future courses would be to have a link to everyone’s blog on your home blog page.  Also, it might be beneficial to have an earlier deadline for original posts so there is more time to respond to others.