Looking back on the assignments and reflecting on them,the first assignment on the culture of inquiry and where I see myself. I really don't know which culture reflects me the best as I am open and depending on what the project is I can adapt to use what I need to use to make it happen. I do have a project that I am planning that will use the historical research tool, but that project is on the back burner now as I need to focus on this course. Once this is complete then I will start on this and develop it maybe into a publication but more for myself. I have struggled with the group projects as to me I guess I am old fashioned in that I prefer face to face when working with a group. It is here that you get to see and meet the people, learn their strengths and weaknesses and you get to know them, develop a relationship between the members. Here it is all online and I don't feel a connection to anyone, just get in do it and get out. I struggle with the benefit of that, one benefit I have with the class section is you can meet your fellow students in person, online yes you meet people but I doubt that I will ever actually "meet" them. Articles I have come across in reference of doing online group work suggests the best way to facilitate that is that the members get together several times via different methods prior to the project to develop that relationship and bond and to learn about each other, find each others strengths and weaknesses, then to tackle the project. In this setting this is actually not feasible as time is very short and the projects need to be completed very quickly so to me the group project portion is a just do what needs to be done or required then move on. Also doing group projects is hard in that people are in different parts of the world so timing between dialogues is not conducive to a flowing conversation. People expect a reply within a reasonable time frame but depending on where one is located and what one's responsibilities and obligations outside of the course are can affect the timing of a reply. This can create animosity or even distension within groups mainly because we are an "now" society. In todays world everything is now, now, now, patience and understanding seem to have taken a back seat, this needs to be done now, so does this, oh and this. This is what we have at work, in family, in school and in society. Again I am still trying to get a feel for the group portion and make the best of it as it is what it is.
The critiques, that was interesting, looking at the different articles and completing a synopsis of each one then writing an critique on one specifically, going through it in detail and reading and rereading to ensure I am understanding what is being said, again my interpretation may be different from another's view point or the massage taken away may vary but it was very interesting in developing the writing of the critique, did I do what was expected? I'm not sure, I did my interpretation of the directions and completed what I thought was asked.
Now we get to the blog assignment, as I mentioned in a previous post I am not a blogger, I still struggle to see the relevance of creating a blog in conduction with research. I see it as a tool to develop a line of communication but again one needs to look at the audience. There was lots of discussion of from academic bloggers about how many "hits" or access to their articles they had, that just indicates that someone clicked on it, doesn't necessarily mean that the article was read. Also as well any responses that come to the site need to be carefully analyzed as to the source, credentials of the source etc, much the same that any blog entry you read you need to take all those factors into account.In the assignment there are questions that we need to take into account, the first of which asks who in my field may be interested in my blog? That is a very good question right now I honestly do not know who would be my audience, how do you chose your audience, a blog is open to anyone or you can select who can have the ability to read it. So in this sense as to who, it would depend on what the blog is about, my area is simulation so then I would target that audience.As for other interests or even if I develop a story line on something and just put it out there, how many people would read it? Very hard to say. Another question was what other blogs or sources that may be referenced in my blog? Again I don't have an active interest in specifically looking for blogs, for me I have other interests and concerns that I would rather spend my time on, exploring other blogs is not of high importance to me. If by chance I come across one that seems interesting I may look at briefly to determine the value of it and then decide whether to read further or to move on. It also asks for the best style and voice to serve my intended purpose in this forum, again it would depend on the content of the message or blog page. I prefer to be anonymous as you can not predict what the back lash to a comment that is made could happen. In one paper a individual was dismissed from their job for posting on a blog, also employers look at potential employees and their Facebook page and blog page (social media sites) as these can give an insight into the type of person it is that they may be hiring. Do they want someone like this in their employ? As for style and voice that would have to develop as the page is developed, again looking at your audience, if you write as an academic your audience may just be academic, if you want to reach a wider audience then you need to have a writing style that can reach all levels of education and understanding. I am still not convinced on the blog idea as a means for research, it does have potential advantages but also there are drawbacks as well. One has to really make an informed decision as if the blog will assist or hamper their research before developing or sharing an idea on a blog page. One must also be cautious of what is posted both as a blog and as a reply, it is hard to verify the author's credentials and even the content at times. When it comes to using blogs for research, one thing comes to mind to me and that is buyer beware, use due diligence when reading and replying to a blog.