This blog is intended to describe my thoughts on various topics at various times. My interests are many, so my topics will be pretty eclectic. I will try to stick to one a week, and take different angles on them as the week progresses, but that might prove difficult for me. I apologize in advance.
Good first topic for a new blog? Why I like blogs.
Week One: Blogs
Blogs are a great way to document a point of view on a variety of topics or on a very specific topic. As the author, I like them because I can choose the topic and put forth my point of view for the taking. Since I intend to talk a bit about the new literacies, the blog is the perfect example and format. So welcome!
I always thought that the blogs with strict formatting that always use the same font and text size seemed more legitimate than the random and chaotic ones. Perhaps the adherence to a textual format mimics that of a book in it's uniformity. Much like a novel, most consist of a standard format of a column in the middle with the blog posts and a column with links and an index. The font used throughout is the same, giving a planned and coherent look to the website, much like a book uses. Blogs that do not seem legitimate sometimes have crazy fonts and strange punctuation and spellings. I, being the perfectionist that I am, will definitely stick to one overall format.
The other thing I like about blogs is that people can leave comments on blogs that they agree with or disagree with, providing some form of review or alternative point of view for the reader of the blog to consider. Although mine is the most important since I am the author of this blog, I like that others can call bullshit on me when needed. It keeps me in line.
Megan Marks
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Yeah. Blogs are pretty cool. Although I probably wouldn't use them as a referenced source the same way I would use a book.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope that no one takes this blog over, I heard a story about some OU student doing that in a class, it really freaked out the teacher. He thought he was so in charge... that'll teach him. Anyone can make a blog- another reason not to cite them for factual information.
Oh, and cool picture.
Why not reference blogs? Especially if they are news blogs like CNN's many blogs? It seems to me that much of the information is exactly the same on the blog as it is in the news, so why does it matter which medium you use to get your information? For example, the Cafferty file blog is legitimate, AND you can comment on the stories to share your opinion. Check it out: http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/.
ReplyDeleteGod, if someone took over my blog I would have a heart attack. Don't even mention that idea.
Oh, and the picture is from Flickr, which is another cool web form. Perhaps I will make that website a topic of the week soon... it's very web 2.0. I searched for literacy, of all things to search for in a photo tag, and this perfect picture came up! And it was Creative Commons licensed, free for the taking. It's an interesting way of avoiding copyright entanglements. I like this picture because it puts physical distance between the viewer and the books, and has a bicycle. Both of these things are useful, but we are temporaly separated from these ideas by innovations that have changed our habits. Now we drive cars and search for online books. Welcome to now.
Check this out: some pretty cool ideas are here.
ReplyDeletehttp://briansnewliteracies.blogspot.com/2009/10/formal-post-for-wed-1028.html#comments
These students have a lot of great ideas about the use of blogs. Although they bring up some interesting downsides, there are some excellent points for and against using blogs as legitimate sources. I tend to lean towards using them, but feel free to agree with another student! Although it is a blog, so maybe you won't want to read these ideas at all...
Megan
Well I might read them, because now you have piqued my interest, but let's be honest. These are just students posting here. Maybe (MAYBE!) if the blog was written by a professor or something like that then I could see its value as a source a little bit more.
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