Thanks to blogging, I no longer feel like I\u2019m hiding from the class. With each class and post, I was even encouraged, believe it or not, to raise my hand and participate vocally. Our class blog helped me feel like I was part of the community, and because of it my comfort level increased. Utilizing these aspects encourages all types of students to voice their opinions without the fear of being judged or made fun of.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s consider another valuable point. Digital writing allows students more freedom to explore, engage in and even enjoy the work that they are doing. Over the course of the semester, each member of our class is creating a personal blog project on any topic that their hearts desire. The fact that each student is developing a blog based on something they are actually interested in makes the learning experience so much more worthwhile. In her article, Consider the Audience<\/a>, Jen Rajchel points out, \u201cWhen students feel an increased level of investment in their projects and a heightened sense of responsibility to an actual audience, the work becomes less about grades and more about shaping their scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n This is absolutely true. When I\u2019m writing for my blog, I\u2019m having fun. Weird, right? I don\u2019t find myself stressing about the grade, instead I look forward to creating a new post. This is what learning should be about\u2014not about going through the motions just to get an \u201cA\u201d, but actually feeling passionate about what you are doing. In his article, Start a Reading Revolution: Flip Your Class With Blogs<\/a>, Brian Sztabnik drives this point home when he refers to his class, saying, \u201cNo longer must they be told what to write and how, submitting to another’s power and authority. Blogs provide choice and independence, allowing them to own the learning experience.\u201d Thanks to digital writing, this can happen.<\/p>\n Along with allowing students to immerse themselves in their education, digital writing encourages creativity. Instead of the traditional five-paragraph essay on an 8.5\u201d x 11\u201d piece of paper, students have the opportunity to put their own personal touch on projects and interpret them however they choose. Let\u2019s look at Twitter, for example. Yes, Twitter can be used as a way to keep up with the latest details about your friends and favorite celebrity gossip, but it can also be used as a tool to enhance one\u2019s learning.<\/p>\n Leigh Wright, a journalism professor at Murray State University in Kentucky, has shown with flying colors the effect that Twitter has had on students\u2019 inventiveness. In her piece, Tweet Me a Story<\/a>, Wright explained to her want-to-be journalists the importance of being able to get to the point of a story quickly. To expand upon this lesson, she assigned her students a \u201clive tweeting\u201d assignment where they attended a basketball game and had to come up with simple, yet informative stories on the spot to Tweet. The outcome was unexpected. \u201cOne student developed a snarky tone as he tweeted about the odd chants and cheers. Another student turned her attention away from the game and live-tweeted about the variety of school color fashions.\u201d Each student was able to interpret the assignment in his or her own way. As opposed to being limited to one text-book way of doing something, digital writing allowed students to be original and have fun with it. Wright comments, \u201cThe assignment was both difficult and enjoyable to grade because each student found his own style of writing an effective tweet. Tweeting is not like solving a math problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet again, we have another example of how digital writing positively influences education. With the pressure to tweet quickly, digital writing promotes students to think out of the box and write concisely to summarize a moment, while at the same time encourages them to go with their gut. It\u2019s all about overcoming an inhibition\u2014the fear that what they say, do or in this case write will be \u201cwrong.\u201d Sometimes this concern clouds students\u2019 initial thoughts and instead they end up writing for the professor and not for themselves or their readers. Digital writing gives students the freedom to take that leap of faith and write what first comes to mind, while also being succinct. Not only is this idea important in the classroom, but it is also important in the everyday world. Where would we be without impulse ideas and actions? Probably nowhere near where we are today. The fact that students are being exposed to this idea now will help them to carry it over to their professional, and even personal lives as \u201cgrown-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n So there you have it. Digital writing at its finest. Let\u2019s take a step back and think about where we would be without digital writing. Probably typing out a five paragraph research paper droning on about Abraham Lincoln\u2019s role in the Emancipation Proclamation. Don\u2019t get me wrong, Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation totally rock, but instead of half-heartedly going through the motions, how about we at least make it a little enjoyable? Perhaps an interactive timeline leading up to the events of the Emancipation Proclamation that incorporates audio and pictures? Digital writing allows us to do this. Digital writing makes school more than just sitting at a desk with the \u201cI watched too much Netflix\u201d look. It makes it interactive, productive, thought-provoking and even, dare I say it, fun.<\/p>\n My Personal Journey with Digital Writing<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhat does a liberal arts education mean to you?\u201d This is the loaded question that eager parents of prospective students are craving an answer to on tour. For a while, this was the question I dreaded because I didn\u2019t have an answer, but now it\u2019s simple. To me, a liberal arts education is learning about things you didn\u2019t know you loved. Professor Kersh\u2019s class, Writing for Digital Environments<\/em>, has taught me that.<\/p>\n As a biology major, I\u2019ve always known that I loved science. It\u2019s my \u201cthing\u201d, as people say. So, as you can imagine, I was a bit surprised when I absolutely fell in love with blogging. There was something about the way the words flowed and the way my voice was heard that kept me wanting to write more and more. I\u2019m hopeful that like it did for me, digital writing has the power to spark a passion in people that they didn\u2019t even know they had.<\/p>\n There are so many aspects of digital writing whether it is covering an event via a blog post, tweeting a simple thought, or even telling a story through an Instagram. There is something for everyone, and this is what students should remember about digital writing\u2014the possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at a specific example of digital writing\u2014my personal blog<\/a>. It covers the happenings of the Dickinson Equestrian Team\u2014the shows, the stories, the people, the places\u2014everything you need to know.<\/p>\n With this blog, my goal is to engage the Dickinson College community\u2014those on the team and those not on the team. Digital writing has taught me to focus on who I\u2019m writing for and not necessarily what I\u2019m writing about.<\/p>\n Because of this, I try to write in a way that is informative, yet conversational and fun so as to appeal to those that know absolutely nothing about collegiate competitive riding. Writing for your audience is so important. It\u2019s something that we don\u2019t really spend a lot of time fussing over in other classes, but it\u2019s something that is completely core to digital writing. After all, without an audience, who would we be writing for anyway?<\/p>\n So, what am I trying to say with all of this? First, I love digital writing, but there\u2019s more to it than that. My newfound passion has inspired me to potentially use digital writing in my future life endeavors. Right now, the goal is to go to dental school, specialize in orthodontics and then eventually start my own practice. I could use blogging as a way to tell the story of being a graduate student and even as a way to promote my own practice. Who would have thought that something I learned in school outside of my major would actually relate to my life outside of college. Crazy, right? But it\u2019s not. This is what a liberal arts education is about\u2014sparking passions in people to carry with them through life.<\/p>\n References:<\/p>\n Dougherty, Jack. \u201cPublic Writing and Student Privacy.\u201d Web Writing: Why & How for the Liberal Arts Teaching & Learning.<\/em> Web. 20 October 2014. <http:\/\/epress.trincoll.edu\/webwriting\/chapter\/dougherty-public\/<\/a>><\/p>\n Cecire, Natalia. \u201cHow Public Like a Frog: On Academic Blogging.\u201d Arcade<\/em>. Web. 20 October 2014\u00a0<http:\/\/arcade.stanford.edu\/blogs\/how-public-frog-academic-blogging<\/a>><\/p>\n Rajchel, Jen. \u201cConsider the Audience.\u201d Web Writing: Why & How for Liberal Arts Teaching & Learning.<\/em>\u00a0Ed. Jack Dougherty. Web. 20 October 2014. <http:\/\/epress.trincoll.edu\/webwriting\/chapter\/rajchel\/<\/a>><\/p>\n \u00a0Sztabnik, Brian. \u201cStart a Reading Revolution: Flip Your Class with Blogs.\u201d Edutopia<\/em>. Web. 28 October 2014. <http:\/\/www.edutopia.org\/blog\/flip-ela-class-with-blogs-brian-sztabnik<\/a>><\/p>\n \u00a0Wright, Leigh. \u201cTweet Me a Story.\u201d Web Writing: Why & How for Liberal Arts Teaching & Learning.<\/em>\u00a0Ed. Jack Dougherty. Web. 22 October 2014 <http:\/\/epress.trincoll.edu\/webwriting\/chapter\/wright\/<\/a>><\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Everyday we sit through class after class with the same look on our face\u2014one that says, \u201cI stayed up way too late watching Netflix, and I\u2019d rather be sleeping.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 We constantly think, \u201cHow will this class really impact my life?\u201d … Continue reading ![\"Screen](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/wrpg211\/files\/2014\/10\/Screen-Shot-2014-10-30-at-1.02.38-PM-300x142.png\")
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