Please post comments about the experience of using the blog as a seminar device. Be specific and detailed, and add as many comments as you want. This is for me, and for other profs interested in using blogs for seminars. As you have noticed, I have changed the front page layout based on our discussion. Let me know how it works, as well as other layout suggestions I can try before we are done.
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10 comments for “The Blog Experience!”
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The new layout is much much better. This way you can see the topics come together.
I like the new format as well. I wonder if, in addition, you could have each person’s topic on the side which would lead straight to all of those articles. That way if someone is interested in one particular area, they don’t have to scroll through the other stuff if they don’t want to. I also wonder if it might be good to have some sort of class statement expressing our overarching view that, by 2100 the coast will have subsided ____ inches and the water will rise between 1.5-4 feet. Maybe that could link to the presentations we saw. That way people can see how we got to where we got. This could be somehting the whole class comes up with, so it’d have to be negotiated. That would sort of set the table for the blog as a whole. Maybe then, at the top of each person’s feed they can have a personal statement about the topic… and then can add/change it as they do their research. It might be getting too involved, but you could even assign each person to “peer review” another’s feed. Not so much keeping them honest as giving a fresh read and providing ideas for moving forward. Then, in class each week, everyone has to present what they’ve been working on that week. Or every other week. Or less. Whatever works for everyone.
Enjoyed it and like the format. Makes me feel like a reporter again- I forgot how much fun it is to pester public officials.
I loved it. I appreciate the ability to follow the progression of my classmates’ work and the ability to comment on it at my own pace at 2 in the morning or whenever without the pressure of doing so in class time. Why has no one commented on my burning man post!
My Blog experience:
Throughout the semester I had the opportunity to choose my own topic and do research on a plethora of related issues. I really appreciated the freedom to learn about environmental and coastal adaption issues that were actually interesting to me. It was a nice break from the mundane law school Socratic method style teaching where all questions are answered with even more questions. It was also refreshing that there were no required textbooks. Not only is my pocket book grateful but I also appreciate not being able to just accept one interpretation on this complex issue of coastal adaptation and global warming. I believe that not having a text book forced me to do my own research through peer reviewed articles, seminars, news articles, documentaries, etc. I was forced to be more creative and was not able to simply rely on one point of view. This not only fostered my exposure to many conflicting but equally valid points of views but it prompted me to reassess- and in some cases reaffirm- my position on a lot of controversial issues.
Contrary to some of my classmates, I actually enjoyed the guest lecturers. I enjoy learning form those who are experts in their field of study. Although some of the science did go over my head, the main position and theme of each lecture was very apparent. My only regret is that I wish that I could have heard a little bit more from Professor Richards, he seemed to have some interesting perspectives on coastal adaption and Global Warming and I wanted to hear more on his point of view. Although he touched on his beliefs and pertinent scientific facts on global warming from time to time, I think an entire class or two dedicated to his perspective and research findings on these topics would have benefited the entire class.
The entire Blog experience was new to me and I enjoyed the interaction with my classmates online. As I stated before, I only wish that we could have reserved 15-30 minutes of each class time to address the Blogs posted during the previous week. I think that would have been a more productive use of our class time. Sometimes I felt like the class discussions had no direction and far too often we went off of tangents that were unrelated to our topics, the Blog, comments and replies posted.
Overall, I really enjoyed the class. I like the professors easy going and engaging disposition and I would enjoy taking his class next semester As for the Blog, it was hard to get used to at first, but once I became comfortable voicing my interpretation on social issues and coastal politics related to my topic I really got a lot out of the entire posting, commenting and relying process.
I enjoyed the blog as well. This allowed us to facilitate class discussion at our own pace. I have been in a seminar class at school before and this was much more in line with what seminar classes should be all about…class discussion. As mentioned, the blog allowed us to take our time and voice educated responses and back them up with links/facts. Although some liked to just spout off at times, this was acceptable too. The flexibility of the blog really makes the blog a class plus.
I liked the guest lectures as well, but wished there would have been more of them. Just because some disagreed in certain aspects with what the speakers had to say does not mean that they were not enjoyed or appreciated.
I know I was early to post and continued to post, but it was kind of a floundering experience for the first few weeks while we all got our bearings. The class needed to have topics picked in the second week of class and the blog activity should be ramped up earlier. “Post Early Post Often” should be the class motto.
Otherwise I thought it was an excellent tool and should be used in the future.
I agree on the guest lectures. There are some additional folks I would like to get in to speak when I do this again. I had hoped to post Prof. Dokka’s presentation, but it contained some slides that have not been released for publication yet.
Should we have a Blogging 101 as part of the first class? I do not have a sense of how familiar law students are with online media, at least beyond Facebook. We should more experience with the software next time – this was the first WordPress blog at the school. I definitely want to get a better notification system for new posts.
I like the new layout better, but I would continue to experiment with others. I think a brief discussion about how to use the site would have been constructive.
OK, let’s try this again without typing out a ton and then having the computer unplug on me…
The new format is much better. But I’d second Nelson and suggest experimenting with others. Now there is so much you might forget where you left off (this would be more for visitors to the site than the students). Also, I think most of us can use a blog fairly well, even if we’ve never actually participated in one before. But a brief tutorial on some of the finer points of WordPress (if that will be used again) might be useful, especially taking into account the things our class had problems with or questions about.
Overall, I think the blog was a good way to offer an alternative to the traditional seminar class. Of course, being in the public domain, it gives a window to the outside world on the research students undertake, which usually doesn’t happen in other seminar-type classes. Also,it allows a little more freedom to explore different areas. Papers can be a bit restrictive if you’re pinned to one topic. But on a blog you generally expect to find a broader range of information.
One caution I would give to future students is to not take another seminar class while also taking one similar to this one. I was taking a seminar this semester with another professor, and , in m experience, the blog lost out to the other class. I had to set aside time to research for each, but for some reason the seminar always seemed to be in the forefront of my mind. This was probably because the prospect of writing a paper seems much more daunting than writing on a blog, although a paper doesn’t necessarily provide a better medium for presenting information nor is it necessarily easier to present that information. Of course, this might have been an experience unique to me, but that is my two cents.
I would second Hill’s suggestion that we get going a bit sooner. Students don’t like to pick topics early on, but I think it would have made the experience a bit better to have a target from a little earlier on. Maybe in the second week have a list of topics pre-prepared, but make it clear that students are free to choose another.
If I remember what else I tried to post last night, I will post it later. But overall, a good class. Blogs could be more widely utilized, depending on the topic.
If anyone sees a blog with a format that looks useful, send me a link. I hesitated to mess with the format on this blog because we had some crashing issues when I made certain changes. I will do that when we have closed out.
I did not ask you folks to use the category tags on your posts. If you look in the right side bar and choose a category, it filters the posts. I added categories to some of the posts so you can see how it works. Requiring that posts be categorized might help with navigation.
Overall, I thought the seminar class was very unique and enjoyed it. I thought the guest speakers were extremely informative and clearly knowledgeable in their respective fields. I do agree that an earlier topic selection might induce further participation since at the beginning of the class I was hesitant to post to the blog fearing that I might not be posting pertinent information. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the fact that the class was as small as it was. With such a small group of people it made it easy to not feel overwhelmed by attempting to read endless posts. I also agree that a short WordPress class or presentation could help since I had never posted to a blog prior to this class as is evident by my very rudimentary posts. I think some of the class time could have been better spent talking about particular topics such as what the students were finding out about their own topics, but on the other hand I actually enjoyed the freedom from restriction once the discussion veered in a different direction. Many times in different classes I hope that the discussion that has seemed to veer off the path will continue when it is abruptly cut short due to time constraints. This was my first seminar class so I can’t exactly compare it to other seminar classes. Unfortunately, I was unable to post as much as I wanted to due to time constraints this semester and other personal events but I really did enjoy reading the other students’ posts and being able to comment on them as often as possible. Hope everyone has a great Christmas holiday!