Reflections and Feedback

1. When the project was first introduced I was nervous about having my writing be public; however, blogging has made me more comfortable with having other people read my journal entries. Having my writing be public has also forced me to make my writing as strong as it could be (not that I don’t do that already…).

2. The process of learning how to create and maintain a blog was simple. The program for creating my own blog was clear and easy to follow. I was able to catch on a lot quicker than I had thought. There weren’t many challenges I had except when it came to using google docs, but other tan that the “blogger” website was easy. As for my successes, I learned how to blog! I never thought I would be putting up my own website for the public to view; knowing I had my own site made the project more exciting.

3. The researching process was difficult at times but in the end I seemed to always find the material I was looking for. The list of passwords and usernames you gave us made using the databases easy to log on to from home. Also, the directions posted on the class blog were clear and always told me exactly which website I need to use for my research and how I can get there.

4. I really liked the freedom the final presentation allowed us. I especially liked the feature of adding in youtube videos, it made all the presentations more interesting. I thought the best part of the final presentation was that we were able to “show” our information instead of having to tell/write about what we learned.
Using good docs was a little frustrating for me because I would constantly be signed off for no reason, but every time I was signed off my material was always saved. Also, I made two photostory presentations, thinking that I would be able to import them into my Google doc, but unfortunately youtube would not let me upload them so I ended up not being able to put them into my final presentation.

5. I felt what I learned was directly connected with what I read, wrote, and presented about. The blog responses were just like our journal responses, but I knew that they were being shared with the public.

6. The postings on the class blog really made it easy to follow directions and understand what I needed to be doing; it served as my assignment notebook for the three weeks! Also, having both, Mr. Kramer and Mr. Rigler, walking around and be available to help with any technical glitches or questions made the project run smoother. When we were researching for a book I found it very useful having both librarians there.

7. In the beginning of the project blogging was hard because I really liked the “private” aspect of my journal, so moving from having a private place to write to writing for the entire world to see was a bit drastic and hard to get used to, but I think everyone adjusted well. Also, I really like not having to bring home our binders and books! I think revisiting our blogs in the future and using them to post on would be fun. No, as of now I do not plan on maintaining my blog, but I do plan I showing my friends and family what I have created and have them view it! I already showed my parents my blog. They really enjoyed being able to see what I have been doing in class!