Sunday, February 12, 2012

Is Blogging Worth the Risk?

Hello,
 
Blogging has become a great forum for people to get their voices heard.  Whether it is personal, profession, or both, blogging is a resource that is effective in communicating with others.  As educators, we need to set an example of good communicating by standing up and voicing our opinions. I think blogging is a good forum for students to put their opinion out when maybe otherwise they would not be so eager to give their opinion.  Blogging has taken communication to a new level and I agree that is can be a useful tool in communicating with others.

Personal is just that; personal.  People can get creative and achieve a sense of their own individual style while creating a blog site.  Here is where individuals can stand strong for their beliefs or begin a discussion on a controversial issue. However, controversial issues could cause a problem. If used as a teaching moment, meaning an explanation of the affects words can have on someone, it allows them to be effective communicators.  This is true because people will have to pay attention to the words they use and be responsible for what they put out into a public arena.  A writer needs to be aware of how a reader could misinterpret what point is trying to be made, so they do not offend anyone.  Unfortunately, this is a sticky situation since sometime people can interpret an attitude or a tone in your writings and there is not one.  That is a chance you take when a blog can reach many people, you will not make everyone happy and there is a high chance of offending people. 
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I think blogging is a good tool for communicating and, more than likely will be implemented in schools and in a variety of careers.  The school environment is a great place to introduce this technology to students and I believe it can be an effective form of communication.   Let your blogging begin and your voice be  heard, then be ready for the reaction you may get, positive or negative.

Conni ~

2 comments:

  1. Hi Conni,
    I agree with your post. Blogging is a great way for people to connect and communicate with others and "get their voices heard." Blogs are a great tool that people can utilize to express themselves. Although certain blog posts may not make EVERYONE happy, it is what the poster believes in and he/she has every right to stand behind his/her opinion and make it known. This should not be any different than face to face communication. If an individual wants to say something, he/she should say it. A person should not be afraid of what others think. Now, of course, a person still needs to choose his/her words wisely and make sure that he/she does not offend anyone. Blogging allows a person to do just this... think twice before what they say, and once it is carefully thought about, say it! This ensures that an individual is still getting his/her message across, without offending anyone. I agree that it is a great tool to implement in schools because it will allow teachers to share their ideas and opinions with their students. Yet another amazing way to communicate with others worldwide!
    -Madison Pelzel

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  2. Hello Connie,

    You made a lot of really good points. It sounded like you agreed with many of the things James said in the article that Yes blogging is worth the risk. I absolutely agree that we need a place as individuals to express our thoughts and get our voices heard. I do see blogging getting more popular, but I don't see it really being used is some professional careers. The reason I say this is because many companies do damage control on the Internet all of the time. The last thing I am sure they would want to worry about is having an employee misusing their blog or having their thoughts misinterpreted by the public. As far as using a blog in a classroom I do see it as a learning tool, but I still think there is a safer way to teach this type of communication. Students should learn the pros and cons to communicating in this manner, but there would need to be some sort of quality control in place.

    - April E.

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