Is it working?

In reading through some old posts I had clipped but not done anything with, I ran across this one from blogessor about what we mean when we say something works. This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately.

I have put a ton of work into developing my courses this semester. I am having students blog and we are using a wiki and reading and writing a lot in both my reading and writing classes. Now, a week into the semester, I would have to say that these things don't seem to be working the way I wish they were. My student (Yes, at the moment, ther is only one in each of thse classes. Of course, at the moment there is only one in the whole ESL program, but that is another story for another day.) isn't embracing the tools as I had hoped he would. He has blogged on a class blog before, so this isn't an entirely new experience for him. He has done webquests before, which is basically what we are starting with on the wiki. So what is the problem? Why isn't he more excited?

I don't think we can decide whether or not something works based on students' initial response to it. But I wonder sometimes how long we continue an activity before we decide it isn't working. If I wait all semester to give this student a chance to really try out the wiki and personal blogging and he never "gets" it, am I doing him a disservice?

The worst thing about having real small classes is that there is no momentum built. If this student doesn't immediately buy into the blog and the wiki, there is no one to pull hm along into it, to serve as an example, to build enthusiasm for it.

And I will admit, it seems a little odd to be using these social tools in a situation where there is no built-in audience. What is the purpose of doing this online rather than on paper? I know that my purpose is structuring the course this way was to increase my students' computer literacy and to generate a different energy in the class by doing something different. The computer literacy goal is still valid, and my student will improve his ability to use a computer and to function online. But the energy thing is going to be harder to achieve.

Obviously, I will have to wait until the end of the semester to really evaluate all this. But I can't help asking myself on an almost daily basis whether or not it is really working.

Blogging Birthdays

Bud's post on his blog's second birthday got me thinking about this blog. When I went and looked back, I discovered that I actually have just (by 2 days!) started my third year of Random Thoughts. It doesn't seem possible! In some ways, I don't remember not blogging, and in others it seems like just yesterday that I was trying to figure it all out, trying to believe that I had something to say.

In some ways I feel like the parent who can't wait for their first child to walk and talk and then spends a number of years not being so sure it was a good thing after all! I keep writing, keep finding things to say -- not that they are always profound or even interesting, but I keep finding words to put out there. Sorry for inflicting some of these past two years on you. Thank you all for stopping by from time to time to take a look.

I made my husband cry

My husband, who has been running Ubuntu on a computer we bought as a closeout in 2001, had been complaining that he needed a new computer. I finally decided that we needed to do more than talk about it, so I got him one for his birthday tomorrow. I got him an Acer Power1000 desktop. It is tiny, fast and runs Ubuntu 6.10 like a champ.

But then yesterday I saw Miguel's post about the Linutop. I showed it to my husband, and he cried! It is smaller and certainly does everything he wants. We can't wait to see how much it is going to sell for!

By the way, I got a new Acer 5102 laptop that is now running Linux as well. Acer is selling units with Linux on them overseas, I heard. They may be my new brand of choice. (My son has an Acer laptop, too. He isn't careful with it, and it seems to be doing great. He runs Windows, of course.)

Apologies

Well, another EVO session is upon us, and I am in one called "Webpublishing in Open Participatory Environments". Of course, it involved setting up another blog, so I there now trying to get it going.

I wasn't real happy about starting another blog, but I think it will be OK. If I were more organized, I would try to separate the posts out in some way -- posting certain kinds of things on one and other oens on the other. Actually, I already do that -- or am trying to --posting tech stuff to my blog Using Technology at School.

For the time being, though, I will be writing in both places, so if you are interested in checking the other blog out, it is called Moving Along.

By the way, the new one is on wordpress.com/. So far I really like it!

Cluster Maps

After Miguel's post about Cluster Maps, I decided that it was time to add one to my blog. I know, I am really late to do this! But I never saw a need before. What made me decide to do it is thinking about having my students set up blogs next week. If I want them to be excited about blogging, I have to let them see that their blogs have an audience outside of St. Benedict, LA. So I will have them add maps to theirs -- and hope that some of you will stop by from tme to time to encourage them.

I'll let you know when they are up and running.

Transition complete!

Well, today for the first time I was "allowed" to move my blog to the new Blogger. Because I am a member of a group blog, I hadn't been able to move over yet. I am not sure if/how this will really impact me, but it is interesting. Let's see if it makes me a better blogger!

Getting my students blogging again