One of the purposes of the blog is to provide students an opportunity to reflect on a previous class topic and/or content and discuss their ideas outside of class time. "In class" time would be devoted to the current topic.
I'm curious as to what students believe would be a good reason to give credit to posts that are submitted during class time that are about a previous topic. Is this rewarding inattention during class?
I think that although it would seem that someone was not paying attention if they posted on the blog while class was taking place, and that giving them a grade for it would be rewarding innattention, I personally can look at things at the same time as paying very close attention to what is going on in class and can have full participation. Sometimes if I am taking notes on my computer and you mention something I want to know more about and the class has already switched topics, I will quickly look for my answer online. I am able to learn from the internet as well as learn from your teaching simultaneously. However, because I do understand that we are in the class room and that is the only place our mind should be, I do see why a professor would feel that way about the situation, and you or any other professor would have every right to use your own discretion on that. I just personally believe it depends on the student and their participation in the class. If they are fully engaged for the majority of the time and they post on the blog during class, I dont particularly see it as a problem. However, if someone is unengaged, and on their computer not paying attention, and then they post on the blog, I, as a professor would be frustrated.
ReplyDeleteAs a professor or even just someone doing a presentation I would think that was rude. I am guilty of messing with my phone while in class, but if I was in class and just being in the enviornment made me think about my response that I needed to do I would've done the same thing. As long as a student doesn't always do their blog responses in class I wouldn't think its rewarding inattention.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree with Brooke and Katie. Some people are auditory learners and efficient at multitasking. If I could hear better, I would certainly say that I fall into this category. I think that it may be a bit irresponsible to wait until class has started to do last week's homework, but I do believe that some people are capable of absorbing and comprehending what is going on in class while also submitting work. I don't feel it would be appropriate in circumstances where the individual has a poor grade or is disrupting class. I also don't think this is a good habit to get into! Emergencies only would be a better practice.
ReplyDeleteI agree I think that students should be responsible and get their work done before class begins. It does not take very long to sit and comment on a couple of blog posts prior to class.
DeleteI can agree with Katie on the point that if I miss something that was said in class, I have access to my computer and can easily look something up. I also agree that if a student is actively engaging during class and posts on the blog, or if a student sits idly by and posts on the blog because they forgot about it, then the teacher should make that call.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I am terrible at remembering to post on the class blog. So if I ever make a post during class (and not a week later, like I'm doing now), then I could see where the frustration comes from. But I also try to stay active during class and participate during discussions.
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ReplyDeleteWhen discussing a current topic, the discussion may trigger a point from a previous post. The student may decide to post before he or she forgets the point to convey. It should only take a few seconds to comment and should not disrupt the learning process. The individual should not make a habit of submitting in class. That being said, the student is able to put pen to paper and write down the thoughts to post at a later time. Expanding on a topic will enhance the learning experience. The grading should be at the professors discretion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Angelina, the final decision is up to the professor. I don't think the couple seconds of making the post would cause the student to completely lose sight of whats happening in class if something was to just pop in their head and they wanted to get it done then. Though writing it down would have been just as easy and a good way to remember. Though even just writing the thought took just as much time as typing it. I am constantly writing little side notes in classes but don't find it causes me to lose attention even if it isn't exactly on class topic. Even though it could be viewed as disrespectful to the professor jotting things down is done by everyone either on paper or computer, if it popped in their head and they needed to write/type it to remember it's going to take just as much as their attention no matter where it's written/typed.
DeleteI think that writing the thought/comment/question down on paper would be better, but if the student already has their computer or phone or whatever open, it may be easier for them to go ahead and post. If points were to be awarded for posts made during class time, maybe they could be significantly less than those awarded for posts outside of class. Perhaps this might encourage students to maintain activity in both class and on the blog as well as motivating students to pay attention to the blog outside of class instead of during.
DeleteI think that it is completely okay to be on your computer doing a blog post if it was assigned in class and the teacher is giving time in class to write down our thoughts and ideas about what we are learning then and there. I think that if they are on their computers writing a post about a different lesson, they are not focusing on the lesson that is in front of them. I think it is a way to get some of your homework done while in class. Although it is for the same class which is way better then doing homework for a different class. I think it should be saved for after the lesson. I think we should be taking notes for the lesson at hand and waiting to post in the blog till our free time.
DeleteFor me personally, I would benifit from bringing my my computer to class to complete blog posts because I always forget about the blog. I think it would be a good review tool for the professor to look back on the posts and see what was troubling the students in real time.
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