Thursday, January 29, 2009

Blog Response

What do you think about using blogs? What and how do you think blogs would be useful for education? Some people think using blogs in classrooms is a waste of students’ time. How would you respond?

Personally, I think that blogs would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom. Not only does it provide a posting board and repository for a teacher's assignments and the students, it also allows for public communication of ideas and interaction from the safety of cyberspace and from their homes. It also allows students to become familiar with interaction online, which is a useful skill considering how much communication is done over the intertubes.

As to those who think that blogs are a waste of time, I can see where they can think that. Blogs are typically viewed as places for idle chit-chat about 'unimportant matters', or they feel that teaching is better done in a face-to-face environment. While I value face-time with a teacher, I would respond that sometimes it's easier to go to a teacher's blog and read assignments there, or leave comments in a discussion thread. There's a lot of use for blogs, outside of opinion logs and fan sites, after all, and we would be fools to not use all the tools at our disposal.

Monday, January 26, 2009

GREETINGS TO ALL YOU PEOPLE ON THE INTERWEBS!

Good morning, evening, or whatever time it is where you are. My name is J. Burkhart, and I'm an internet addict.

Currently, I'm a student at Texas A&M Commerce, with an English Major with 8-12 Grade Teaching Certification. I'm active around the college: I'm a member of the Pi of Texas Alumni Association, I go to several events during the year, and I generally wander around campus.

My family lives in Mt. Vernon. I'm an only child, and on weekends I go over and visit them at their sprawling house.

When I'm not being a 'man around campus', I tend to spend a lot of time on the internet. I read TvTropes.wiki, lolcats, and wikipedia a lot. I also enjoy online comics such as Something*Positive, Girl Genius, Newshounds, Buck Godot: Zap Gun For Hire, and several others. I'm also into various other geeky stuff, such as Japanese Animation and Roleplaying Games. I'm also a bibliophile; I love books, and I love to read.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all. Welcome to my little corner of randomness.