The World is Our Multimodal Oyster

Blogging is a way to express one’s thoughts and ideas on the web. It connects our perspective with others through multiple mediums. Mostly in the form of texts, blogging enables us to share ourselves with others. By incorporating music, videos, and pictures, the blogger joins the consortium of other thoughtful writers on the web. Together, a multimodal oyster is formed and discovered. Reading the work of other writers improves our own writing. At the same time, our creations contribute to the understanding of our peers particularly through this course. Pete Rorabaugh describes the act of writing as “organic and generative” (Hybrid Pedagogy). He explains that any form of writing is a process of self discovery. Through repetition, a writer matures with the words he puts on paper or computer. The tools we use are organs that come together to form a system of coherent thoughts. Rorabaugh suggests that digital writing has the potential to influence more readers than ever before with pen and paper or tablet. While Rorabaugh expresses the beauty of digital composition, Sean Michael Morris seems to demonstrate some nuances of blogging. He notes that “Digital writing is a rebellion” and that “Essays quake and tremble at the digital” (Hybrid Pedagogy). What he gets at is the erosion of good writing as access to instant information is everywhere. In an age where mostly everyone has access to the web, the need for academic writing recedes. One can find reliable information about all things relevant through a free and public computer. The process of learning is no longer limited to higher education. Essentially, an individual can make a living through the screen of their computer if they find a niche. As college students, we are fortunate to have a course dedicated to the art of blog posting. We work together as a group to express good digital content. In class, we learn to communicate through our iPads and other smart technology. Our professor instructs us towards the academic approach to making a good website. We receive feedback on our joint school blog in the classroom, outside of the lecture, and around campus with our fellow bloggers. Dickinson students working on a school blog help to create an online presence for the community. We embody the liberal arts through our study of the humanities, the physical sciences, and the social sciences. By reading classmates’ work in other academic departments, we begin to see beauty across all disciplines. Students who blog about ancient Greek vases are coupled with those who talk about microeconomics. In exploring the literature of Dickinson’s student blogs, both students and faculty can join the movement of massive online learning.