Something Old, Something New: Reflective Journals and Social

Networking.

VERONICA BAIGAcademic Coordinator, English Language & Writing Studies ,

Athabasca University

TESL CANADA, HALIFAX, 2011

The Old—The New

• Writing Journals– Hard copy

• Social Networking– Possible student-

student interaction– Internet mediated

The Students/The Courses

• Advanced level• Both NS and NNS• Adults• Skills Courses and Integrated Courses

Constraints• Any internet activity must be pedagogically sound• Students are self-paced• Courses are asynchronous• New students start each month• Some courses are low enrolment• Internet activities must apply to all students

wherever they are in a course• The instructor must be comfortable with the

technology• Institutional limitations on the use of technology

On

Classroom based

Synchronous

Online

Synchronous

Classroom based

Asynchronous

Online

Asynchronous

Something Old…A journal fulfills several functions; it allows students to•write more—practice more•write in a different genre—less formal•reflect on the writing processIt also allows insight into the student perspective

Some “Old” Drawbacks

• The interaction is restricted to instructor-student;

• The student often ends up writing for the instructor;

• The content can become too personal;• The content can become more of a diary than

a learning journal.

Problems in Writing Courses

• Students ignore the feedback provided by the instructor—same old mistakes every time!

• Students submit more than one assignment at a time—counter-productive in the writing process

• Students do not reflect on their learning• Students do not understand that improving

writing takes time

Something New—E-Journals

• Another way to contact students• An additional way to interact with students

and increase their level of involvement• An increased audience• Another opportunity for students to practice

some of the course concepts and writing• A way to reduce the isolation that can occur

with distance education

Reflective Online Journals

• Compulsory• Uses me2u or Athabasca Landing• A real blog• Think about and respond to writing feedback• Submit only one assignment at a time• Possible social networking

Reflective Online Journals

• English 177—currently in me2uhttp://me2u.athabascau.ca/elgg/engl177oj/

• English 143—will open in Athabasca Landinghttps://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/groups/19959/engl-143-online-journal/

There is a need for privacy and security in a compulsory activity in which students are writing more personal commentaries.

Other Issues …

• Involving the instructors• Modeling blogging/journaling process• Providing feedback• Marking the journal

Introduction (1)

My name is J. O. It has been some time since I have written anything in a formal sense and that's why I chose this course. It seemed to be a good place to start my academic pursuits. I truly desire to do well but, because I don't know what to expect, I am terrified of failing. I hope that this first assignment will ease my fear. J.O.

Reflection on Feedback (1)It always makes me a little nervous to write longer sentences, I feel that the

reader would never be able to take a breath if they read it. But obviously there is a adequate way to write them. With these paragraphs, with so much information to summarize, you really need them to make the paragraph have all the necessary points. I'm interested to write my own paragraph and see how I can do, with my own amount of information to sort out. But maybe when your writing about your own topic, it just comes easier, knowing what information that you want to keep. I like the comment about the passive voice "de energizes the writing" when I read that again, and what Veronica's suggestion was-it does take it down a notch!!!

All is well, hope the same for everyone.C.R.

Reflection on Feedback (2)With this assignment I learned how to distinguish classification and division from

cause and effect writing. This was difficult for me and took some time. The resources that Cara gave were very useful and helped clarify what classification and division was.

The economy of Grenada was an interesting topic for me as I am moving there in January for two years. Learning about the economy and getting a better understanding of the challenges have helped me prepare for the move. The different types of sentences are still confusing to me. I will continue to practice this part of the lesson.

In the next assignment I realized I need to work on wording, so it doesn’t feel as awkward. I hope my studies are going to be easier from now on as I was accepted to medical school! This reduces the number of commitments I have, giving me more time for this course. I hope to complete it by the end of September!

V.M.

Reflection on Feedback (3)I realize that I made a stupid mistake. I have been working on the course for more

than two months. I do not want to give it up right now. I hope that I still have the chance to complete the course. I will rewrite the assignment. If you give me one more chance, please give me some feedback on the rewritten assignment.

I have finished the eighth assignment. Before I wrote this essay, I downloaded the music and listened to it many times. I tried to get into author’s imaginative world to understand the underlying meaning of the lyrics. I think that the lyrics express author’s devotion to freedom. I picked three most representative features of romanticism which are solitary life, yearning for the sublime and emotional devotion to beauty, love, and worship of nature in Cohen’s music. I tried to find convincing clues from Cohen’s lyrics to support these three features. I put specific references right after each statement I made in the essay.

X.Z.

Reflections on the Course (1)I postponed this last entry until this weekend because my job has been very

demanding lately. As you all know, coping with work, studies, and family life can be challenging. Of course, there is no doubt that I significantly improved my English writing with this course. Understanding the mechanics of this language is not only useful for reading and writing, but also gratifying. Although I felt sometimes overwhelmed by these numerous assignments and a full time job, I am proud of what I have accomplished so far. Also, I enjoyed reading comments of other students about assignments; I felt supported through each step of the course. Finally, thanks to my tutor for her valuable advices. Good luck everyone!

G.L.

Reflections on the Course (2)I would like to add a few comments on the subjects of the

course before I sign off for one of the last times. I did enjoy the subjects we were forced to research for our essays. Left to myself, some of these subjects I would never have explored. The immigration process to Canada was particularly interesting. I see ethnic groups and the integrated mosaic of our culture with new eyes. Learning of tsunamis was also very interesting. Thanks again for everything.

J.T.

Reflections on the Course (3)Who says English can't be fun? At first I thought the topics were

horrible. Once I got researching them, I could always find a branch of the topic that I found very interesting and may have even had questions about sometime in life. I was able to satisfy my curiosity about it and write a paper on it. It was always challenging but enjoyable on most moments. I have not got marks back on my test so I am scared! But thank you!!!

J.T.

Supportive Posts (1)Welcome to the course L…! I'm about halfway through and so I thought I

would write this note to encourage you along! It's definitely a challenge, but you will find yourself learning a lot of things along the way that you may have wondered about before. I also have a science background, and haven't done much writing. I needed some humanities courses to get into Naturopathic medicine and I'm very glad I chose this course as it's a great foundation.

Working at a camp for special needs kids sounds very rewarding. Is it something you've done for a long time?

Good luck with the course and Physio school, I'm sure you'll do well!M.O.

Supportive Posts (2)

You made me laugh when you wrote "the subjects we were FORCED to research". Yet, it's so true... In our current society, we are expected to be specialized (if not OVERspecialized) in our field of expertise, and it becomes easy to stop worrying about other subjects. I felt that having to write on new topics really raised the bar as it not only forced us to write properly, but also challenged us in our comprehension skills.

Good luck with your test! J.G.

Supportive Posts (3)Bless you, I understand totally! I put in the wrong tense of words more than

once. And made the worst spelling errors too! I understand the feeling. I hope you can make your grades go up. Unfortunately for me, I learned to accept my grades. I tried very hard to keep them going up but with each assignment, I made a fresh batch of mistakes. I just kept doing my best. So, in the very end, I know that I did my very best and regardless of my marks, I can feel proud of what I have done. So, keep trying.

All the best to you!!!J.T.

Questions?

Contact:Veronica Baigveronica@athabascau.ca