So, using David’s questions about blog assessment, here is how I might assess this post as I write it (with some commentary on the questions along the way.)
1. What did you read in order to write this blog entry? Yee Haw! Blogging starts with reading, and I read David’s post, which leads me to blogging. (I read some other stuff, too. See below.) And I think an even more interesting question to add is “What was your process of reading?” In the previous post about Net Neutrality, I worked between three or four different readings to assemble the ideas contained in the posts. There was nothing linear about it, which is another aspect of reading/writing literacy in hypertext environments that really interests me.
2. What do you think is important about your blog entry? I think the importance here is the deconstruction of the process and the inherent reflection that goes with it. Sometimes blogging is work, and it’s when I’m crafting a post (as opposed to writing it) that I know I’m involved in some real learning. As a blogger/learner, it’s crucial that I recognize and understand the decisions I make about what to write (based on feel and audience), how to write it, and when to publish it.
3. What are both sides of your issue? Well, some feel whatever you do in your blog is blogging. As is well known, I disagree. I do think this reflective assessment about the blogging can point to the power of reading, thinking, synthesizing, writing and reading some more.
4. What do you want your readers to know, believe, or do? I would add learn to that list. And I would also move this up to second in the list (if we are looking at this as process.) The audience aspect of blogging is central to the task, and if we’re not aware of what our purpose is, we won’t communicate it well. This is the Donald Murray school of anticipating the readers questions, responses, reactions. We have to become the audience (if there still is one, of course.)
5. What else do you need to say? I’m not sure this question works for me, because I’d hope that if I had more to say I would say it. What about What have you learned from the process? or How will you find out more?
Regardless, some good initial thinking on how we might begin to teach the metacognitive aspects of blogging.
technorati tags:blogging, assessment, education
Will, I imagine that the final question is probably more useful for blog reading. However, I am convinced that blogging is more about conversation than anything else, and in a conversation, there is always something that hasn’t been said yet. Otherwise, the conversation is over.
There will not be answers for all of the questions in all of the blogs. And there is much that is implied in my questions that I plan to flesh out in subsequent postings. You’ve given that continued conversation a great start.
Thanks, bro!