Comments on: Imagine turning the faucet…and nothing coming out

by: Thing #4: Blogging is creative

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:32:12 +0000

There can be several genres of blogging. Reading this is very interesting. There are alot of good points. I think that by being able to comment then the writer can become more involved with their topics. Bloggs are great because they are directed specifically one subject. Take this one for example the thought of turning on your faucet and nothing coming out gets your attention. In this it talks about the water supply running out and ways of saving it. Things that individuals can do to preserve the water that they have left. I know great things can be done when everyone pulls together for one common goal. I think that is a great way for kids to learn. It creates ways of learning how to save water, it also gives them feedback on what they read and if anyone agrees or disagrees with what they think.

by: Emily Aiken

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:22:59 +0000

I’m really impressed with the conversation going on in this thread. Students shared their ideas about the drought much more than they would have during a normal class setting. Let’s be honest- we wouldn’t always have the time for each student to reflect at such length.
Blogging allows students to express themselves much more freely than in the classroom. In fact, the entire genre seems to be more relaxed, more reflective and more personal. It’s often while writing in a stream of conscious style that you may have an “epiphany”
Reading the original post doesn’t seem to be any different from reading an editorial in a newspaper. It’s the conversation the original post sparks which is new. I also think people seem to be more direct, saying things they wouldn’t normally say to someone’s face. (e.g. the post about assigning homework).
On the other hand, this frankness can pose problems (bullying, fragile egos) which the teacher would have to monitor closely. The whole idea is to have a safe environment in which to express your thoughts, right?
I can’t comment on “blogging writing style”. The styles seem to be, for the most part, typical prose. However, these styles can be as unique as the author.
I would definitely think there is blogging literacy. There are many acronyms I’ll have to get accustomed to. Hopefully I’ll get there!
Blogging can facilitate learning in so many ways that I haven’t even imagined yet. The obvious one would be the teacher prompt/student exchange outside of traditional class time. I also like the idea of providing links and exploratory assignments on the web for my students.
I definitely took something from the post The Ripe Environment I’m excited to find some blogs related to high school social studies curriculum.

by: Mrs.C

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:25:34 +0000

A great way for students to talk about a very important topic! Kudos!

by: DS Thing 3 Post

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:57:13 +0000

I like the way Miss Baker has used blogging in her classroom. Blogging allows for classroom discussions without everyone talking over one another. In a blog, students can be heard and understood in a much deeper way. Blogging allows for students to really think about what they understand and not be under pressure to “answer the question.” I would like to try this forum with some of my classes.

by: Britt Gow

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:00:49 +0000

Great comments about a complex and controversial issue! In Australia too, we are struggling with drought, water restrictions, environmental flows and new sources of water. The Victorian government has recently proposed desalination plants (which use large amounts of power) to provide drinnking water for Melbourne.
An interesting site, where you can calculate your annual water consumption or ‘water footprint’:
http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/home

by: » Post #3 Reflections about Blogging (Thing 4) Kristi’s Big Internet Adventure!

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:13:34 +0000

[...] Task 1: Create a blog post in response to the exploratory reading and questions listed above. Feel free to reflect on anything that struck you about the posts themselves itself or the genre of blogging in general. Be sure to include a link to any post(s) you refer to and include “Thing 4″ in your post title. (NOTE:Because blogs are frequently updated, the “front page” content is always changing. When linking to a blog post, you need to use the Permalink, which is the direct, permanent link to that post. Visit our Edublogs Help page for tips on locating the Permalink of a blog post).As you read, consider the following questions (feel free to adapt and expand on any of these or add your own): I love blogging!!! Okay, I mean I love the idea of blogging ( I am still learning what it means!) It was so interesting to read the blogs of other educators out there because I realized that there are so many different types of blogs, and so many different ways to blog!!! I could really get lost in blog world, and I can think of a dozen different subjects I’d love to research and read. One of the things I really like about the Web course is that I have a focus and a task. Those of you who know me know that I can easily (and innocently) get off track and momentarily forget what I am supposed to be doing. Blogging is meant to be conversational; that is, it is reading someone’s thoughts and ideas then being able to to have a conversation about those thoughts and ideas. What’s really cool is that you get to read the thoughts, reflect on them, and then come back and respond in a thoughtful way. I am particularly interested in how people use blogs with younger elementary students. I teach five and six year olds and while the range of their writing skills varies, they are all at the beginning stages of writing. That’s why I loved the dead words blog, because it allowed kids to write exactly the way they write, inventive spellings and all. How exciting! I was impressed with the WATER CONSERVATION BLOG because I can see how using blogs helps kids to formulate and share their opinions and I loved the way the teacher, Ms. Baker acted as a facilitator to the students. Blog writing is immediate. You can publish your work instantaneously. Because it’s published, I think it makes you a lot more accountable for what you write. It also frees you up to share your ideas which, for teachers, is invaluable. I think we learn by communicating with each other, and blogging is a great way to do that. [...]

by: Reflections from the Trenches

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:22:42 +0000

[...] I also enjoyed reading the Biology blog post about the Georgia drought. It is amazing to me how many kids have commented with their thoughts on conservation. This is a good example of a problem-based learning opportunity. Grab a free edublog to your get your own avatar! No Comments so far Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]

by: Thing 4 - Blogging Begins With Reading

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:44:40 +0000

[…] http://www.missbakersbiologyclass.com/blog/2007/10/07/imagine-turning-the-faucetand-nothing-coming-out was the first blogI read today and yes, I think there is a very real question of what is needed in order to sustain the availablitity of water during this long drought in GA. The amount of water to save the sturgeon is only one of many challenges that will demand dialogue beyond blogging! However, the blogging may prompt more people to think seriously about what we are facing in the future should the drought continue. […]

by: Web Tools Now » Thing 4

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:05:06 +0000

[…] It seems that blogging as a genre can be several different styles. Some seem to be casual as in Imagine Turning On the Faucet and Nothing Coming Out while others are more formal like Why I Don’t Assign Homework. They can informative Spies Like Us or just hopping on a soap box to tell the world. Also with reading blogs I found that it seems to be interactive type of read. The blogger can enhance his topic with links and images. I also think reading a blog allows the reader to become more involved with the topic because he is also reading feedback from the comments and also can add a comment. The commenting on a blog is another way of interacting with not only the blogger but also with the other people who have commented. You could almost say it way new way to network with people. The group already has mutual interest in the topic and has link to each other. Also the commenting allows the reader to get multiple view points on a topic which leads to a better understanding of the information. Hopefully with this class I can work on ways to use blogging as a learning tool. I’m sure interactive conversions on topics could be a way. […]

by: The LAB-rynth of Science » Thing 4 - Some Thoughts on Blogs I’ve Read

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:10:03 +0000

[…] In Thing 4 the task is multi-fold: examine a number of blogs, evaluate blogging with a number of given critera, make comment on blogs read. Whew! I hope that my benumbed fingers are up to it. Let’s examine the “genre of blog writing in general”. First impression is - instant messaging on steriods. The writing style is chatty, personal, introspective, and highly opinonated. Examine the comments in the blog Imagine Turning On the Faucet and Nothing Coming Out . Most of the comments really don’t address the “big picture” but rather deal with how does this affect me. […]

by: Jon G.

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:22:59 +0000

I think that it is serious that were running out of water. A way I know to conserve water is, like Miss Baker said in class that when you flush the toilet you use 5 gallons i think, but I’ve heard that putting water bottles in the back of the tiolet filling them up with the clean water in the filter stuff behind the toilet and leaving them in there will decrease the amount of water the tiolet bowl fills up with. I dont reccomend doing this unless your parents let you because I know my parents would kill me if I broke the tiolet cramming water bottles behind it.

by: amanda

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 01:47:28 +0000

My family is the same as Steph’s. I try to explain the importance of saving water but they just don’t seem to care. It makes me really angry that they aren’t taking into consideration just how desperate the situation is. People think that this problem is just going to go away, but it’s not. If we don’t do something about America’s huge water consumption, in a few years we all may face the situation Georgians are facing right now.