Analysis Of Blogs Vs. Term Papers

Distraction or

The article in the New York Times Paper, “Blogs vs. Term Papers” By MATT RICHTEL discusses the controversy of using technology, in this case blog post as opposed to the traditional term paper, in a classroom setting. In his research, Richtel received the opinions of many different individuals from multiple institutions. A few of his sources are currently conducting studies of their own on this topic. The responses he received varied. Some view this as beneficial and a more productive way of learning to write for students. Others, however, disagree by clinging to the “old literacy”. They believe blog posts cannot teach thinking and writing as accurately. I am currently, experiencing the use of blog posting in an English class

For example, Cathy N. Davidson states her liking by using new technology such as blogs, in her English classes. She claims to assign a blog post of about 500- 1500 words in her class rather than term papers every quarter. However, this does not necessarily mean they are writing any less because there could possibly be a blog post every week. Regardless of this factor, writing less at a time, but more often can enhance the quality of a student’s writing. Not only does it have the quality over quantity affect but writing online can have more appeal for a student that is not one to enjoy writing papers. Blog posting allows the information or research to become more personal. There may be guidelines to what is included in the writing; however, blogs allow a student to be creative with the look of their own personal

Professor Lunsford uses this concept in her classroom curriculum. She first has her students write a 15 page paper, and then they use those thoughts to create new media presentations, such as power points, web sites and blogs. Lunsford goes on to explain her struggles with the school she is currently teaching at “Stanford’s writing program won’t be making that change right away, since our students still seem to benefit from learning how to present their research findings in both traditional print and new media.” Many teachers in today’s society are facing these issues. Professor Davidson tells Richtel that “I was basically kicked out of the writing program for thinking that was more important than writing a five-paragraph essay,” Many could argue that using a large amount of technology in the classroom could be distracting and for some this may be an accurate statement. However, in the job world, having the skill of converting thoughts into a digital presentation is