Mortensen (with Jeremy and Beth Anne)
Based on class interest, in this slot, I'm going to name:
Mutual Fantasy Online: Playing with People (Mortensen)
Torill actually visited SHU several years ago, when academic blogging -- and blogging in general -- was very new. I invited her to present on media panics and hypertext theory.
The story of how I spent a week getting a group of students to disagree with what she was posting on her blog, then asking them to consider what they would say to her if they ever met her, and then having her walk into the classroom was quite amusing.
Discussion leaders: Beth Anne and Jeremy.
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/KeithCampbell/2010/01/playing_with_people.html
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/JeremyBarrick/2010/01/el_250_torill_mortensen.html
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/MichellePolly/2010/01/motivation_or_lies_whatever_wo.html
Here is my overview of the reading.
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/SusanCarmichael/2010/01/mortensens_online_fantasy.html
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/JessicaKrehlik/2010/01/personal_blogs--public_diaries.html
I talk about the 'Cultural Practice' gamers get when playing.
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/MattTakacs/2010/01/cultural_practice.html
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ElizabethSwartzwelder/2010/01/just_because.html
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/CodyNaylor/2010/01/dr_jerz_playing_bloggers_advoc.html
Shellie mentioned that things like debates gets people talking, but I think that sometimes people can get lost in debates. If you're a shy person, you're more likely to sit in the back and not say anything while the outgoing people duke it out. What makes you guys speak up?
Jessie mentioned blogging as well...what do you guys think of blogs as a medium for discussion? Any likes or dislikes? What makes them successful?
I like blogging as a medium for discussion. It's a great community, especially for an academic setting. The only problem I seem to run into fairly often is there's always that chance that your entries won't catch the eye of your peers and you won't have a heated discussion on your blog. Plus, sometimes it's a bit of a hassle to return back to your peers entries over and over again to see if they've responded to what you posted on their blog. While I still like the way we blog, I also thought the initial comments we had before our blogs were set up were quite successful.
The only way for blogs to be truly successful is for everyone in the blogging community to be willing and able to contribute to each other's blogs.
I think that blogging helps get everyone's own ideas together first before launching into a discussion. Unlike in a classroom discussion, you have the opportunity to digest the material at your own pace and then present your thoughts. I am not sure that blogging would be as successful in a traditional class as it is here, but it could be a useful tool for bouncing ideas and questions off one another.
My questions lie here:
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/JeremyBarrick/2010/01/el_250_questions.html