Message no. 226[Branch from no. 219] Posted by Thomas Culhane (1311520071) on
Hi Varshawn! As the Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy says, “Don’t panic!” I'll try to explain vat zee blog eez! (Actually, it may be easier for one of your classmates who is new to blogs but successfully created one for the class to answer your question, because when you are as familiar with them as I am it is hard to know where the confusion is – you know how the best people to explain something are the one’s who are just learning it? This is why I don’t believe in education ruled by “experts” and why I like peer education. The expert should be there like a coach or a guide or a ship captain to correct our course, but learning occurs best by doing and sharing discovery as we explore what are new environments to us.)
To tie this discussion into our study of cognitive maps, Imagine, for example, that you were trying to explain to somebody how to get to your house. Who do you think would do a better job – you, who have travelled the route so many times that you can do it with your eyes closed, and hence tend to ignore the salient wayfinding cues (see page 88 of our text for more on that!) or somebody who just learned how to get there, somebody who tried it a couple times and got lost, and is now keen on describing each and every landmark along the way!?
So hey class, chime in, and give Varshawn a hand will ya?!
Here is my attempt to explain it though: A BLOG is a web page you can easily create to share your ideas and photographs without having to know how to make a web page. The word “blog” means a “web log”. And a “log” in this case is like “Captain’s Log” on Star Trek, not something you put on the fire!
Here is how Wikipedia describes it: “A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media. The term "blog" is derived from "Web log." "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.“ (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog).
We should all get very familiar with Wikipedia. Bookmark http://en.wikipedia.org/ and use it often, all the time. You will note that Adrienne used it in her relational summary (remember, though, if you are going to use wikpedia, you must quote it, as i have done here. also note that wikipedia is NOT PEER REVIEWED, meaning there is no way of being sure what it says is verified or truthful. For this reason academic writing discourages using Wikipedia as a real source, and in the future, as we improve our relational summaries, we will not use Wikipedia as one of our minimum of three sources, since it is not a valid source. It is okay to reference it, but we just have to keep in mind it is not an authoritative source!)
To make your blog, why not click on the following, and let it guide you through the easy steps: http://blogspot.com There are other places to post blogs, but I find this very friendly and easy, as apparently have others in the course!
Anyway V, don’t get overwhelmed! I’m hip to what you are going through, so I’m extra cool when it comes to getting up to speed. Having a baby and raising it well is one of the most important things we do in life, and education is supposed to support and enhance that experience. Please keep in mind that as far as I’m concerned ALL OF YOUR FAMILY LIVES COME FIRST! The course is meant to make your family life easier, not harder.
So let’s support one another, hey? This kind of education IS MUCH DIFFERENT, as you say, and that is why it SHOULD BE BETTER! Just as Dawn scanned the first chapter of the text for us, I’m sure somebody would scan the second if it is necessary; all ya gotta do is ask! And THANKS for sharing these concerns – it gives us a clearer idea of your environment and how it influences the psychology of your behavior! And isn’t that what it is all about!? Now all we gotta do is relate the challenges we are going through in life to the formal theories and ideas and vocabulary found in our textbook and we will be shining! In this way you will all walk away with a meaningful degree and people will say, “dang, that person is mighty well educated, and helpful too... they seem to really know what they are talking about. I kin trust them to help solve my problems too and make the world a better place!”. THAT, in my opinion, is the goal of our learning environment!
The capitan
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