CED 520 - Is blogger the best tool to do our journaling?

This week in class we discussed whether we like using blogger and doing our weekly posts. It was pretty much unanimous that we currently do not like using blogger and we felt like our posts were been forced because of the limited topics (typically what did you learn this week and how can you apply it). We were asked to think of an alternative to using blogger.

A lot of people discussed using facebook because it is something that we are familiar with and it allows us to know when people reply to our posts. I can see this as a viable option for us to collaborate and I like that it would notify us when others respond. This allows us to keep our discussions going and we can further enhance our knowledge. I think that another option would be edmodo It is a website that allows teachers and students to communicate in a safe and private environment. Its user interface is very similar to facebook, which makes it easy for students to use. Teachers and students are able to post questions, view our class assignments (calendar), take quizes, download/view notes, and upload/post assignments.

I think that the biggest complaint was that blogger does not notify users when people comment on a post. I am not sure if there is a way to change the settings of blogger so that it does this but it would be beneficial. Both facebook and edmodo sounds like good options because of their simple user interface and because they will notify you if someone else responds to your post.

I think that blogging itself is bothersome because we are always discussing the same topic; however, I understand the benefits of it as a reflective tool and I know that it will be useful when we do our final portfolio.