1. I had never actually used a blog prior to attending RTF 305. It had always seemed like an interesting thing to do, but I just never had the time to get around to it. I may open one for personal reasons now because I actually enjoyed it a lot.
2. There were quite a few positive aspects to the blog use in this course. One of them was the simple enjoyment that I got out of writing about topics that interested me, as well as being graded on them. It is not often that I get assignments which I actually enjoy doing. Another positive aspect was the expedited process of turning the assignments in. As opposed to turning assignments into class, where there is a risk that you could leave your assignment at home or forget to print it, here you can be absolutely sure that you have turned yours in. There is little worrying involved with the blogs. Also, having a blog allows for more interactivity. You can read what your classmates wrote and get their opinions on the topics, and you can even comment on theirs if you have anything you would like to mention. It is definitely more enjoyable than simply handing in written assignments.
3. I really only encountered one problem during my use of the blog: the use of HTML. For my first few blogs, I had no idea how to embed pictures or YouTube videos in blogs for a while, so they were not as enjoyable as I wanted to make them. However, after a few blogs I managed to figure that out.
4. The way I managed to overcome the difficulty of using HTML was by simply tinkering around with the different tools that were present on the blog. I understand that there is a giant link above the blog which says "Edit HTML," so I should not feel very bright for not being able to figure it out. But I was not used to a blog at the time, so it was hard for me to figure out anything. Basically, all it took was seeing that link at the top to figure out how to use HTML.
5. The blog prompts which I found to be the most interesting were the ones in which I could apply the lessons that I learned in class to my favorite films or TV shows. I joined this class to learn about television and film mainly, so when I could apply those lessons to films or TV shows that I love, it made for a very entertaining writing experience. Two specific examples that I can think of are the blog where I had to describe the shot progression in a film that I was very familiar with (I chose Alex Proyas' Dark City) and the prompt where I had to compare a modern family-oriented sitcom to All in the Family (I chose George Lopez). In contrast, the blog prompts that were the least interesting to me were the ones in which I could not talk about film or television shows at all. I am very passionate about film and television, so I had great fun when I was able to talk about them. On the contrary, anything not having to do directly with TV or film was not that enjoyable to write about, although I know that you cannot eliminate them from the lesson plan because they are as integral to the class as are the other blogs. Really, though, the only blog in this category was the one about radio and a factor that influenced its growth as an industry. Radio is nowhere near as interesting as television or film, so it is more boring to write about. Really, though, most of the blog prompts were enjoyable.
6. Without a doubt, I would definitely recommend using a blog again in RTF 305, as well as in other undergraduate courses here at UT Austin. Due to the increased interactivity, as well as the expedited process of turning assignments in, a blog is a much better tool to evaluate students' progress than assignments turned in during class or anything like that. Also, it gives students a more flexible schedule around which to turn in their assignments. Students will appreciate the class more if they can have a blog instead of having to physically turn in assignments.
7. One improvement in the blog process that could be made is the grading process. A good idea would be to, aside from posting grades in a grade book, they could also be posted in the comments section of the blog. Even though it may not appeal to all students, that would nonetheless be a good way to notify students of their grades. Or, at least comments could be posted on how to improve the blog post so that the students can understand what they did wrong in it. That would be a great way to give constructive criticism to the students.
Yes, you can use my blog in a paper or report.
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